YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

FIFTY YEARS OF PUBLIC LIFE.

THE C

LIFE AND TIMES

OF

LEWIS CASS

BY W; L, G. SMITH, ..-

ETO1) a $ortraft ore Steel.

NEW YORK:
DERBY & JACKSON, 119 NASSAU STREET.
1856.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855,
By W. L. G. SMITH,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Northern
District of New York.

THOMAS A LATHROPS,
6TEREOTYPKRS AMD PRINTERS,
BUFFALO, N. Y.

PREFACE.

The following pages contain the life of an eminent citizen of
the Republic. The compiler's object has been t|0 present him, as
he moyed along, from point to point, .in his own thoughts and
actions. '
Most of- General Cass's time has been passed in public occupa-
tion; and, hence, the propriety of bringing out this work during
his life-time-.
It is believed that no topic of public concernment, for fifty
years past, has been introduced, upon which General CJvss has
not expressed his views. In most instances, official position
required him to do so. Headers may differ as to the value of
these views J but all will concede that his history would be
imperfect without them. To do, justice to him, the compiler, in
some instances, has presented his entire argument — especially
upon the British claim to the right of visitation and search.
Questions of the most exciting character have arisen, to which
General Cass was necessarily a party. He never shrinked from
his just responsibility: but,, in so doing, he has often been criti
cised, and his opinions and actions, sometimes, roughly assailed.
In this compilation, the writer has not avoided these points.

IV PREFACE.
Without intention to open afresh any wound that time may have
healed, events, as they occurred, have been impartially given.
In short, the intention has been, to give a true and unreserved
record of the life and times of a man, who has made his way
through the world and attained a lofty position in its annals,
unaided by the influence of family or wealth, indebted solely
to his own judicious efforts and native abilities : thus furnishing
another example in proof of the priceless goodness of a govern
ment that diffuses its blessings upon all alike, the low as well as
the high — the poor as well as the rich.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

GHAPTEE I.

Introductory — Birth of- Mr. Cass — His -Ancestors— His Father in the Wars — His Pa
rents Emigrate to Ohio— Mr. Cass's Education — Exeter Academy — A Test of
his Disposition — The Everetts and Daniel Webster — His Health and Amuse
ments — Dependent upon his own Resources — Goes South — His Residence in
Delaware— School Teaching — Success — Views of Slavery — Crossing the Alle-
ghanies — Stops at Marietta — Acquaintance with Judge Meigs — Reads Law — Mr.
Baccus — Admission to the Bar — Professional Life— His Marriage — Blcnnerhas-
sett — Aaron Burr — Elected Member of Legislature — Burr's Conspiracy — Mr.
Cass's Action — Mr. Graham — President Jefferson — Mr. Cass appointed Marshal
— His Success as an Advocate— His Politics — An Important Question — Impeach
ment of Judges^-Mr. Cass's Argument,  13
CHAPTEE II. X.
Indian Confederacy — Tecumseh and the Prophet—Relations between the United
States and Great Britain — Gov. Meigs's Proclamation — War of 1812 — Mr. Cass's
Views — Volunteers his Services — Commissipned Colonel — His Speech to the
Troops at Dayton — Its Effect — General Hull — Plan of the Campaign — Rendez
vous at.Urbana — March to tbe Maumee — Hardships and Trials — Declaration of
War-r-Disaster on Lake Erie — Council of War — Col. Cass present — Advises tho
j Invasion of Canada — Disinclination of- Gen. Hull — Advice* of Col. Cass adopted
— Passage of Detroit River — Landing in Canada — Hull's Proclamation — Col.
Pass, urges prompt movement oii Maiden — Hull's Delay — Col. Cass visits' Mai
den with Flag of Truce— Return to Camp^— Leads a Detachment against the
Enemy — The Engagement at theAux Canards — His Heroic Conduct — His Re
port to Hull— CoL Cass's Courage— Hull's Timidity...............  33
OHAPTEE ni. .
Armistice on Niagara Frontier— HuU favors the Re-crossing of Detroit River— OoL
Cass Remonstrates — Battle of Brownstown — ISvacuation of Canada — Engage
ment in the Woods of Maguaga— CoL Cass volunteers to lead, a Detachment

VI CONTENTS.
i
, through the Wilderness to the River Raisin— Gen. Brock's arrival at Sandwich-
Summons the American Fort at Detroit — Bombardment — Hull's Surrender — In
dignation of Col. Cass and the Troops — His return from the River Raisin — Dis
position to Fight — Breaks his Sword,  41
CHAPTEE IV. ,
Gen. Brock's surprise at his Success — His Report — Col. Cass a Prisoner of War — On
his Parole — Interview with Gen. Brock at Maiden — Gen. Hull ordered to Mon
treal — His Report— -Effect of the News — The Ohio Volunteers on Parole — Reach
Cleveland — Col. McArthur, senior officer, orders Col. Cass to Washington — Col.
Cass departs — Sickness at Martinsburgh — The War Department Informed — Mes
senger despatched — Col. Cass reaches Washington — His Official Letter — His
Return to Marietta — His Conduct — Opposition to his Report — Mr. Rush — Col.
Cass's Letter to the Editor of the National Intelligencer — Mr. Eustis — His Clerk
^-False Impressions,  .   ,.  "...  48
CHAPTEE V.
Action of War Department — Of Congress — General Assembly of Ohio — Confidence
in Col. Cass — Colonel in IT. S. Army — Raises a Regiment — Elected Major General
of the Militia — Appointed Brigadier General in U. S. Army — Joins the Army,
under Gen. Harrison at Seneca Town — Ardor of his Command — Gen. Harrison's
Confidence in him— The Enemy at Lower Sandusky — Major Croghan — His Gal
lant Defence — Artifice of the British Officers — Gen. Harrison marches to Sandus-
; i ky — Perry's Victory — Embarkation on Lake Erie — Harrison assigns Command
of the debarkation to Gen. Cass — Arrival at Maiden — Proctor's Retreat — Council
of W(ar — Pursuit of Proctor — Battle of the Thames — Defeat and Flight of Proctor
— Pursued by Gen. Cass — Harrison's Testimony to Gen. Cass's Personal Exer
tions — His Bravery,  66
* •
CHAPTEE VI.
Gen. Cass in Command of the North-western Frontier — Fixes his Head Quarters at
Detroit — Letter from Gov. Meigs— Surprise of Gen. Cass — Appointed Governor of
the Territory of Michigan — Acceptance — Resigns the Office of Marshal — Sum
moned to Albany as a Witness on Hull's Trial — His Journey — Cuts open the
Mail Bags — Reports the Burning of Buffalo, from' Cold Spring — Incident at the
Genesee River, near Rochester — Arrival at Albany — His Testimony — The Char
ges — Sentence of the Court Martial — President's Action — An Examination of the
Trial, its Proceedings, and Hull's Defence— His Imbecility,  81
CHAPTEE VII,
Gen. Cass returns to Detroit— Situation of the .Fortress— Resigns the Command of
Brigadier General— Superintendent of Indian Affairs— His Policy— Appointed
Commissioner to Treat with the Indians — Holds a Treaty at Greenville — Sur-

CONTENTS. Vii
rounded by Five Thousand Indians— Their Threats— His Intrepidity— The Trea-*
ty— Sends Reinforcements to Gen. Brown— The Inroads of Hostile Indians
— He disperses them — His Pet Indians — Colonel James — Correspondence —
Gen. CasB's rejection of British Interference in the Civil Affairs of Michi
gan—Treaty of Peace— Removal of his Family to Detroit-British Arrogance
— Boarding of American Vessels — Gen. Cass Remonstrates— Its Effect,  97

CHAPTEE TE.
The North-west Territory— Civil Government of Michigan— Land Titles— Condition
of Michigan at close of the War— Currency — Extent of the Territory — Gen.
Cass feels the Responsibility of his Position — Imputed Frauds on the Indians —
How he performed his Duties— Appointed to treat with Ohio Tribes of Indians —
Treaty of Fort Meigs — Aversion of Ihe Chiefs to Remove — Wisdom of Comniis-
• sioners — Large Cession — Military Road — The detroit Gazette — The People
against a Change of Government — Public Survey — Emigration into the Territory
— The Six Nations — Gen. Cass's views of the duties of an Indian Commissioner —
Negotiates a Treaty at St. Mary's — Council at Saginaw — His Popularity with
the Indians — Election of Delegate to Congress — Its Benefits,  106
CHAPTEE IX.
Gen. Cass's Indian Superintendency Extended — His views of Governmental Policy
— He recommends a Peaceful Expedition into the Superior Country — His Let
ter to Secretary of War — The Secretary's Reply — Expeditipn — Plaster of Paris
Discovered — His Letter upon the Subject — Ordered to Procure Cessions of Land
at Sault St. Marie — Departure of Expedition — Arrival at the Sault — Indian
Council — Gen. Cass's Fearlessness — His Success — Journey to the Sources of the
Mississippi — Return — Report to the War Department,  117
CHAPTEE X.
Progress of Settlement — Land Sales — Gen. Cass's Purchase — Scarcity of Roads —
Public Surveys — The Population of Michigan — Extinguishment of Indian Title — '
His Journey to Chicago — Treaty with the Indians — He prohibits the Use of
Whisky — The Pardoning Power — New Counties — Public Conveyances — Travel
ers — He recommends a Change of Government — Legislative Council,  141
CHAPTEE XI.
First Session of Legislative Council — Gen. Cass Delivers his Message — His recom
mendations — His viows of Political Power — Of Schools and Education— The
Copper Mines — Treaty with the Chippewas — Council of Prairie du Chien — Gen.
Cass's Prudence and Tact — The Gopher—Hunter's Narrative — Its Exposure —
The Customs and Traits of the Indians — Their Language, Religion, and Depopu
lation — Gen. Cass's Description,  '  143

Yin conteInts.
CHAPTEE XII.
The Tear 1826— Gen. Cass again traverses the Lakes — Holds an Indian Council at
Fon Du Lac — Indians Appear with the British Flag — A Treaty Concluded —
Repairs to the Wabash — In Council with Pottawatomies and Miamies — His
Speech to them — Concludes Treaties — The Legislature — Territorial Boundaries—
The Message — Accountability of Public Officers — Qualifications Requisite —
Democratic Tone of his Messages,  174
OHAPTEE HE.
Another Negotiation with the Indians — Journey to Lake Winnebago— Hostile Feel
ing among the Win nebagoes— 'Descends the Wisconsin River — Personal Danger
at an Indian Village — Providential Escape — Attack on the Miners — 'War Messa
ges — Gen. Cass organizes the Miners for Defence — Alarm at Fever River — He
hastens to St. Louis— Gen. Wilkeson orders on Troops— Rapidity of Gen. Cass's
Movements — Arrival at Green Bay — Treaty of Butte De Morts — Singular Occur
rence — Cause of Indian Difficulties — British Agents — The North American Re
view — Article of Gen. Cass,    185

CHAPTEE XIV.
Effect of the Article in the Review; — The Lake Communication — Gen. Cass's Literary
Efforts — Treaty of Green Bay — His Labors — Historical Society of Detroit — His*
Address — Hamilton College— Oration before the Alumni — Degree Of LL. D. 207

CHAPTEE XV.
Gen. Cass resigns the Office of Governor — President Jackson invites Gen. Cass to
the Head ofthe War Department — His Acceptance — Public Demonstration at
Detroit — Address of Major Biddle in behalf of People of Michigan — The Reply
— The Congratulations,  „_..,  ..,  .   231
- ' CHAPTEE XVI.
Gen. Cass assumes the Duties of Secretary of War — The Cabinet — Reforms Introduced
— HiB Family — His Indian Policy — His First Report — Indian Difficulties in-Geor-
gia — Gen. Cass reviews the Decision of the Supreme Court — Its Influence, 239
CHAPTEE XVll.
Black Hawk War — Peace — Treaties of Cession with the Winnebagoes, Sacs and"
Foxes— Gen. Cass's efforts to effect Reforms in the Army— The United States
Bank— Nullification — Letters to Gen. Scott— The Action of. South Carolina —
Letter to Mr. Ritohie — The Virginia Legislature — The Mission of Mr. Leigh—
The Happy Termination,  263

CONTENTS.. IX
CHAPTEE XVIII.
Sen. Cass calls the attention of Congress to Intemperance in the Army — Richard
M.Johnson moves formation of National Temperance Association — State of
Society in Washington — Gen. Cass invited to deliver an Address in the Capitol
—Accepts — Extracts from the Address — Entire Interdiction — Gen. Jackson Re-
inaugurated — Gen. Cass offers' to Vacate — Gen. Jackson refuses Permission —
The. Alabama Trouble — Letters,  ,.....->-„.,...,-;  ,  276

CHAPTEE XIX.
Removal of the Deposites-— Popularity of the Administration — Mr. Clay's Resolutions
.—Their Effect on Gen. Jackson's Mind — The American Historical Society— rGen.
Cass delivers an Oration — Extracts — The Auditory — Their Feelings on the Oc
casion,  283

CHAPTEE XX.
The Florijda War— Its Origin-rlts Conduct, whilst Gen. Cass, was Secretary of War
— An Examination of Testimony given before a Military Court of Inquiry at
Frederick,  296*

CHAPTEE XXI,
Battle of New Orleans— Intimacy between Gen. Jackson and Gen. Cass* — The Latter
at the Request of the Former prepares an Authentic Account of the Battle — Ap
pears in the Democratic Review — Defences of the Country — Gen. Cass's Report
on the Subject,  ,  -   314
CHAPTEE XXII.
Gen, Cass's. Health— Desire to leave the Cabinet — Accepts the French Mission —
Voyage across the Atlantic — Reception at the Court of St. Cloud — Gen. Cass as
a Diplomatist — His Duties — His Memoranda of Court Customs — French Life —
An Emeute — French Manners — French Knowledge,  323
CHAPTEE XXIxI.t
Gen. Cass visits Italy — Greece — Egypt— Syria— His- Tour— His Memoranda— Gen
eral Reflections — His return to Paris,  -  337
CHAPTEE XXIV.
Gen. Cass resumes his Official Duties — His Position at Court — Intimacy with the
King — Jealoasy of England^-His Memoranda Relative lo Louis Philippe, his
Court and Government — The Reasons for Publication — Charges made against
Gen. Cass Examined— Their Refutation,  *  374

I

X CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE XXV.
Ambition of England— Quintuple Treaty— The Chamber of Deputies— Geni Cass
Determines to Resist the Treaty,  -  — 399
CHAPTEE XXVI.
The Appeal of Gen. Cass to the People of France,  403
CHAPTEE XXVII.
Gen. Cass protests to the French Government — Notifies the Secretary of State —
Treaty not Ratified— His Course approved by the President — The Protest to the
French Government,    428
CHAPTEE XXVUT.
Disappointment of England — The Washington Treaty — Gen. Cass resigns his Mis
sion — The Correspondence — England's Construction of the Treaty,...  435
CHAPTEE XXIX.
Gen. Cass retires from the French Court — Public Dinner — Arrival at Boston — En-
- thusiasm of the People— Their Address to Gen. Cass — Arrival at New York-
Public Demonstration — Letter of Mr. Dickerson — Gen. Cass's Reply — The Pub
lic Press — Arrival at Washington — Tour to Detroit — Reception at Home,. .481

CHAPTEE XXX.
Private Affairs — Gen. Cass's Pecuniary Troubles — His Wish — Named forthe Presi
dency — Letter to tho Indiana Committee — The Cincinnati Meeting — Gen. Jack
son's Letter,  488

CHAPTEE XXXI.
Gen.,' Cass delivers an Oration Tit Fort Wayne— The Celebration — Preparations for
the Presidential Election — The Candidates — The Texas Question — Gen. Cass's
Views— The National Democratic Convention of 1844— Letter of Gen. Cass to
the Delegates from Michigan — The Whig Convention — The Democratic Ticket-
Support of Gen. Cass — The Result,  496
CHAPTEE XXXII.
tJen. Cass Elected Senator— President Polk— His Message— The Monroe Doctrine-
Gen. Cass's Views— His Speech to the Senate.,  509

CONTENTS. XI
CHAPTEE XXXIII.
The Oregon Question — Gen. Cass addresses the Senate — His Opinions — Extracts
from his Speech — His Reply to Col. Benton — The Treaty of Oregon — The Sen
ate in Executive Session,...  515

CHAPTEE XXXIV.
National Fortifications — Unsatisfactory Relations with Great Britain — War with
Mexico — The Three Million Bill— The Sabbath — Wilmot Proviso — President's
Recommendation — Gen. Cass advocates Appropriations — Extracts from his
Speech — For Vigorous Prosecution ofthe War,  583

CHAPTEE XXXV.
Prospects of Peace — The Three Million Bill again — Wilmot Provisd again— Gen.
Cass on the Proviso — Peace with Mexico — The Nicholson Letter — Its effect on
Public Opinion,  601

CHAPTEE XXXVI.
Harbor Appropriations — Views of Gen. Cass — The Chicago Convention — The Famous
Letter — Gen. Cass's Official Acts for Harbor and other Public Improvements —
His Speeches and Votes — His Vindication,  619

1 CHAPTEE XXXVII.
Foreign Governments — Gen. Cass's Sympathies with the King-ridden People — Aus
trian Intsrcourse— :Gen. Cass favors Suspension — Extracts from his Speech — Ire
land — The Distress of the People — Gen. Cass moves an Appropriation in their
behalf — His Relations with Mr. Polk's Administration — Yucatan,  637

CHAPTEE XXXVIII.
The Baltimore Convention of 1848 — The New York Difficulties — Gen. Cass again
Named for the Presidency — His Nomination — Resigns his Senatorship — The
Canvass before the. People— The Buftalo Convention— The Clay Letter of 1825^-
The Result,  648

CHAPTEE XXXIX.
Re-election to the Senatorship — Gen. Cass proceeds, to Washington — Reception in
New York City — Campbell P. White and others Address him — Invited to a
Public Dinner — His Letter of Declension — In the Senate again — Wilmot Pro
viso — Instructed to vote for it — Declines — Instruction repealed — Gen. Cass's
Motives Impugned — Charged with Inconsistency — The Refutation,  662

Xll CONTENTS.

CHAPTEE XL.

The Compromise Measures— Committee of Thirteen — The Report — The Debate-f
The Union Party,..  694

CHAPTEE XLI.

Opposition to the Compromise Measures— California — Public Meeting in New York
— Gen. Cass Present — What, he said to the People — How they received it — Re-
¦^ elected Senator for Six Years,  709

CHAPTEE XLII.
Gen. Gass again at his Post — Preparations for another Presidential Contest — Gen.
Cass a Candidate — His Friends — The Nominating Canvass — Baltimore Conven-
tion-^-The.Result — The Cuban Question — The Views.of Gen. Cass,  717

CHAPTEE XLin.
-President Pierce — His Inaugural — The Nebraska-Kansas Bill — Gen. Cass's Position,
Views, and Votes — The attack of Col. Benton— Gen. Cass repels it— His Speech
«— Extracts,..,.'.,  ,  ...,  ;  727

CHAPTEE XLIV. ,
Gen. Cass's Aversion to everything British — The Second War — The Clayt'.n-Bul-
wer Treaty — The Homestead Bill — The Employment of Indians — The Anglo-
. French Declaration— Slavery again, — Legislative Instructions — The Senator's
Reply— Know Nbthingism — Age of Gen,. Cass— His Habits — Residetice: — Death
of Mrs. Cass— Gen, Cass's Private, Affairs — His Property — His views of the
Past and Future — The Terniina.tion,.,.,  ,  748

LIFE AND TIMES

OJ

LEWIS CASS.

CHAPTEE I.
Introductory — Birth of Mr. Caste — His Anceetors-^-His rather in the Wars — His Parents emigrate to
Ohio — Mr. Cass' Education — Exeter Academy — His Disposition — The Everetta and Daniel Webster
— His Health and Amusements — Dependent on his own Resources — Goes South — His Residence in
Delaware — School Teaching — Success — Views of Slavery — Crossing the Alleghanies — Stops at Mar*.
etta — Acquaintance with Judge Meigs — Reads Law — Mr. Baccus — Admission to the Bar — Profes
sional Life — His Marriage — Blennerhasset — Aaron Burr — Elected Member of the Legislature —
Burr's Conspiracy — Mr. Cass' Action — Mr. Graham — President Jefferson— Mr. Cass appointed
Marshal — His Success as an Advocate — His Politics — An Important Question — Impeachment of
Judges — Mr. Cass' Argument.-,
The lives of individuals furnish materials for a history of the
nation. Fullness and authenticity are secured, if the events ¦
which chequer the career of the actor are compiled during his
lifetime, fresh ..from memory. If the history of a nation is worth
preserving, it is not essential to pause for the purpose of consider
ing the propriety or necessity of such compilation, especially if
the leading incidents are intimately connected with the develop
ment of the growth and prosperity of the country. The student
who reads to gain a mere information /of events, as well as the
philosopher who lays deep the foundation of knowledge, accom-»
plish their several purposes with far greater satisfaction, if, instead
of being confined to cursory glances and meagre generalities, they
can go behind the curtain and behold and study at leisure all
the objects, scenes and details, which, fill up the panorama of
society, and expose to their gaze the springs of change and
government. • ,
The following pages will disclose to the reader a minute and
true history of the life and character of an eminent citizen of the

li LIFE AND TIMES
American Eepublici Having occupied, for fifty years, a promi
nent and highly influential 'position among his fellow citizens, and
taking an active and responsible part in the bold and progressive
movements of society, the government, and the world, strange in
deed would it be if he had not encountered many tempestuous seas
and experienced the ill-will of rivalry and ambition. Never back
ward in a manly expression of his sentiments upon all topics sub
mitted to his consideration — whether pertaining to individuals, the
community in which he lived, or the nation at large — his motives
and actions have frequently been subjected to the severest canons
of criticism. But time unravels all things ; and conscious of the
rectitude of his own purposes, and willing to be tried by this infal
lible test of truth, he has moved on in the career of life with
undisturbed serenity, until he has attained a -lofty position in the
annals of his country.
In the village of Exeter, in the State of New Hampshire,, may
be seen a small, unpretending, wooden dwelling-house, which has
Withstood the wear of the elements upwards of three-quarters of a
century. It was occupied, in the year 1782, by Theophilus Gil-
man, andron the ninth day of October, in that year, in this house,
Lewis Cass was born.
His ancestors, on the side of both father and mother, Cass and
Gilman, were of Puritan descent, tracing their origin to the first
settlers of New England, and their names are to be found in the
"records of the early colonial proceedings.
His father, Jonathan1 Cass, was a fair representative of the sub
stantial yeomanry of New England, who, struggling with the
disadvantages* of straitened circumstances, and of a very limited
education, by the power of intellect and force of character, added
to virtuous principles, attain for themselves, by unceasing exertioi^ 1
an honorable position in life, and only rest from their work until
they rest in the grave. While a lad, and indeed until the age of
early -manhood, he was employed in the severe labors which at
tended the settlement of the country, and during a portion of it,
in cutting logs and making lumber, then the employment of the
winter— hard and exposed work — but which furnished almost
the only article of exportation, supplying the means of the "West
India trade. It was a harvest, to be reaped only in the cold sea- *
Bon, when the swamps were frozen, and the ground covered with
many feet of snow, and when men and cattle were secluded in

OF LEWIS CASS. 15
deep forests, encountering hardships and privations, which, if they
tried the human system, no doubt left a favorable impress upon
the character of the country:
When the Revolution broke out, his father was about nineteen
years of age. Animated by the spirit of the times, he entered the
army as a private soldier, the day after the battle of Lexington,
and remained in it until its disbandment, in 1783, when he left it
a captain, which rank he obtained by his gallantry and good
conduct. During that period, he was in the battles of Bunker
Hill, in both the battles of Saratoga, in that of Long Island, of
White Plains, of Trenton, of Princeton, of Germantown, of Bran
dywine, in the expedition of Sullivan up the Susquehanna into
the western part of New York, and in almost all the active opera
tions of the army in the Northern and .Middle States. He was
recommended by the New Hampshire delegation in Congress) as
the first marshal of that State under the Constitution, and, as one
of the senators wrote 'to him, the question was not, who was the
man, but will he accept ? So many revolutionary officers had,
however, been appointed, that it was thought best, by General
Washington, not to add to their number. Without his own
knowledge, he was appointed a captain in the army, upon its
organization, and immediately ordered to the West, and for some
time commanded the fort at the mouth of French Creek, upon the
Alleghany. .
He afterwards joined Wayne's army, as a major, in command
of the Third Regiment, and was stationed at Fort Hamilton, the
site of the present town of that name in Ohio. In 1799, he re
signed his military commission, and removed, with his family, to
Wakatomaka, upon the Muskingum river, a few miles above
Zanesvillex and established himself upon a tract of land, in the
United States Military District, being the first choice which fell
to him by lot, in the location of the revolutionary bounty land
warrants. Here, for thirty years, he lived the peaceful life of a
farmer, esteemed and respected, carrying into his retirement the
fruits of a long and varied: experience, an experience aided by
reading and observation, and by a strong and vigorous intellect,
and fulfilling the best of all duties, the duties of private life, with
a purity of purpose and a sense of honor, ever operating and never
questioned. He died in 1830, calmly and resignedly, and watch
ing the approaches of death upon the bed of sickness with as Httle

1© LIFE ASTD TIMES
fear as he had encountered them on the battle field. So composed
•was he, that, when the last struggle came, he observed, "This
then is death ! " and thus he died.
His venerable consort followed him to the grave in the course
of two years afterwards. She was a native of New Hampshire,
of masculine intellect, strictly attentive to the duties of her house
hold, and in the absence of her husband in tbe wars, had the sole
charge of their family.
Major Cass was the type of his class ; a representative, and a
faithful one, of that band of patriots who hazarded all they! had
and all they hoped for, in the great contest mto which they entered
for the assertion of human rights, and for the resistance of foreign
tyranny. The whole history of human devotedness and exertion,
contains no chapter equal in patriotism, in courage, in suffering,
in self-sacrifice, in examples of public and of private virtue, and in
all the best elements which adorn our nature, to that which records
the story of the American Revolution. For seven long years^
against the most- powerful nation then on the face of the globe,
without pay, almost without clothing or provisions, and through
trials, whose description we may read, but whose extent we can
never appreciate, did the men of that day maintain their own
Revolution, and the cause of their country, without the shadow
of change until the new republic took her station among the inde>
pendent nations of the world.
Lewis Cass had two brothers and two sisters, himself being the :
eldest of the five. One of the brothers, Charles L., is dead, and
held a captain's commission in the United States Army. The
other brother, George, is a farmer, residing in the town of Dresden,
in the State of Ohio. The two sisters, Mrs. Silliman and Mrs.
Munroe, are widows, the former residing in the State of Missouri,
and the latter in the State of Ohio. AU are respected and
esteemed throughout the circuit of their acquaintance.
Young Lewis evinced great precocity in acquiring the rudiments ,
of education, and showed more fondness for books than for boyish
amusement. His father -having been absent from home for several
years, engaged in the wars at a trifling pecuniary compensations i
and that liquidated in exchange for a depreciated currency, was
without wealth and ill prepared to afford his son the benefit of »4
collegiate education. There was an academy, however, at Exe
ter, under the charge of Benjamin Abbott, and. the name of young

OF LEWIS CASS. 17
Cass was entered upon the roll of its pupils in tbe year 1792.
Although scarcely ten years of age, yet such was his disposition
to acquire knowledge and become familiar with the classics of other
times, that he applied his youthful mind to the labor before him
with unremitting assiduity ; and what by some is regarded as a
burthen, to him was a source of pleasure. The Exeter Academy
is. his Alma Mater. The Principal was an accomplished scholar.
To a strong intellect, well stored with learning, he added a reason
able but rigid discipline for the government of the young minds
committed to his direction. Young Cass was naturally kind and
obedient, slow to fancy injuries,but prompt to repel and chastise,
if in his power, real aggressions. Many incidents are related of
his; academic career, demonstrative of his disposition in this respect.
He was favored with a robust constitution, and seldom detained
at home by sickness. He was a descendant of a hardy race. But
although he had no reason to anticipate disease, yet he had the
good sense to take proper care of his health, and to refrain from,
an indulgence in those pleasures whose inevitable tendency is to
weaken, rather than strengthen, both body and mind. The number
of young men. in. attendance at- the Academy, from Exeter and
vicinity, was large for those days, and during .a portion of the
time he had for companions at that seat of learning, the distin
guished Buckingham and Salstonstal], and Daniel Webster. The
latter was esteemed by, his associates, but he did not then give
promise of those commanding powers of intellect which, later in
life, placed him among the most eminent men of the age in which
he lived. Dr. Abbott was well qualified, by firmness and discre
tion, to exercise a moral, power over young men, and by his virtue
andi learning, to prepare them for the duties of life. For more
than half a century he occupied this station, and. then retired
voluntarily, with the respect of the community and the gratitude
of all who had enjoyed the benefit of his supervision. Both the
Everetts— ^Alexander and Edward: — enjoyed the benefits of his
tutelage. Young Cass remained at the, Academy, diligently, pur
suing the usual course of studies, until 1799, when,, in the seven
teenth year of his age, he began to look forward to the future, and,
scanning the various employments of mankind, to determine what
should be his occupation to gain a livelihood. His father, had
returned from 'the, wilds of .the North-western territory, and gave
1 a glowing account of the boundless^ extent of tillable land, watered

18 LIFE AND TIMES
by ever-running springs and large rivers, but covered with heavy
forest trees, and the woods filled with wild beasts, there being
hardly but two spots where the arm ofthe frontier-men had made
a clearing and let in the sun, the one at Marietta and the other
at Cincinnati. The young student had not been accustomed to
farming, and believed he should make a sorry business of it if he
made the attempt, especially in that far-off region. His father,
however, with the consent of his mother, had concluded to emigrate ,
there as soon as was practicable, and settle upon land acquired
by his own bravery.
Young Cass was thus thrown upon his own resources at this
early period of his life; but with' a well educated mind and healthy
body, he repined not at his lot, and felt himself equal to the
emergency. He determined, with the consent of his parents, to
visit the southern country, and there, by teaching or some other
respectable employment, earn the means to defray his necessary
Expenses whilst acquiring a sufficient knowledge ofthe law to enable
him to practice at the bar of the courts. Accordingly he soon hid
farewell to the Academy and the companions of his youth, and left
Exeter with his father and family for Wilmington, in Delaware,
where his father was stationed for a few months for military
service, and where for a 'short time Lewis was employed in teaching
in an academy at that place. He was there when Gen. Wash
ington died, arid witnessed the burst of grief through the whole
country, a tribute as Well to his own transcendental worth, as to
tbe feelings of the American peop'le. He made several valuable
personal acquaintances, whose friendship he retained through life.
Th$ city of Wilmington was pleasantly situated upon an arm of
the majestic river which washes the eastern banks ofthe State- in
its course to the ocean. The surrounding country was in a high
state of cultivation, and yielded a large revenue to the owners.
The great , thoroughfare leading from Philadelphia to Baltimore,
passed through Wilmington, and vessels of large tonnage, coast
wise and foreign, visited its wharves. The' plantations were
covered with- slaves, and, for aught that appeared, were content
with their lot. They loved their masters and mistresses, and were
treated as part and parcel of the household. So far as his personal
comforts were concerned, it was a pleasant residence, and he had
no reason to indulge in gloomy forebodings of the future, or tc
doubt success and prosperity; But his thoughts were upon the

OF LEWIS CASS. 19
Great West ; and wheresoever he might go, he deemed it advis
able there to study his profession, and pursue his business. He
had heard so much, concerning the country beyond the mountains,
from the lips of his father, had thought so much about it, and
blessed with a mind capacious enough to grasp its future greatness
in wealth and power, that he no longer was skeptical of the choice
his interest required.
From Wilmington, Major Cass with his family repaired to
Harper's Ferry, where they resided a brief time,, and where Lewis
often contemplated with admiration the gigantic naturallfeatures
wliich give interest to that remarkable spot, exploring its recesses
with ever-increasing admiration. The scenery itself, and Mr.
Jefferson's graphical description of it, left impressions which time
has not effaced. Leaving Harper's Ferry, they removed to Win
chester, where Lewis often conversed with General Morgan, of
revolutionary memory, and listened hour after hour to anecdotes
told by him, and by a Mr. Bush, the innkeeper, of the early life
and conduct of Washington, who was stationed for some time at
the fort, whose dilapidated walls were then visible. It was
impossible to hear these narratives, and witness the interest of the
speakers, Without the conviction that there 'was something in the
character and bearing of^ the great American; which almost in the
infancy of his career gave the promise of future distinction, as it
gave the proof of ascendency over his associates and companions.
From Winchester — hospitable and delightful Winchester, which
has left pleasant memories of those days — they traveled the route
known as Braddock's, to Cumberland, and thence across the
mountains to Pittsburgh. Here Lewis first saw General Harrison,
who was then on his way to Indiana, of which he had just been
appointed governor by Mr. John Adams. General $t. Clair, the
governor of the North-western territory,' was also there, as was
also General Wilkeson, at that time the Commissary General of
the Army. General St. Clair was a most interesting relic of the '
revolutionary period ;¦ tall,* erect, though advanced in years,, well
educated, gentlemanly, thoroughly acquainted with the world, and
abounding in anecdotes, descriptive ofthe men and the scenes he
bad encountered in his eventful career. He had been an officer
ofthe British army, before the Revolution, and had served in the
campaign under Wolfe, which terminated in the capture of Quebec.
Resigning his military commission, he established himself at a

20 LIFE AND TIMES
valley in the mountains of Pennsylvania, where he became, a
pioneer of the settlement. The Revolution found him here, with
his plans_ for life all formed^ and with a fair prospect for their
accomplishment. But it called him from his chosen employment,
and he obeyed the call. His military experience designated him
as one, to whom the country should look for one of its higher
officers, and his political sentiments were in unison with those
which everywhere animated the people. He became a major
general, and acquired the confidence of Washington. But he
was unfortunate in the commencement of his service, and the
misfortune and consequences adhered to him through life. His
retreat from Ticonderoga, though his conduct passed the ordeal
of a court of inquiry arid was approved, was very unaccountable
to the public, which too often judges the wisdom of measures by
the result, and he never recovered from the effects of it. He
served, however, with an honorable reputation through the whole
Revolution, and subsequently he was elected a delegate to Congress
from Pennsylvania, and ultimately became the President of that
body,: then the first position in the nation. On the accession of
General Washington to the presidency, he was confirmed in the
office of governor of -the North-western territory, to which he had
been appointed by the Continental Congress, and soon after a
major general, commanding the army. In this latter capacity,
he organized an expedition to the Indian country to repress the
hostile tribes who for years had been committing terrible ravages
upon our frontiers. His means were incompetent, and his force
undisciplined, and at Fort Recovery he suffered the most signal
defeat which our arms have ever encountered in Indian warfare.
He soon after resigned his military commission, and was succeeded
by General Wayne, Who, under more fortunate auspices^ restored
our ascendency by his decisive victory at the foot of the Rapids
ut Maumee. General St. Clair continued to serve some years
after the election of Mr. Jefferson, as governor of the North-west
ern territory, but on the eve of the formation of the State Gov
ernment he was, removed, in consequence of some improper inter
ference, and eventually retired to his primitive location at Ligo
nier. There, some years after, Lewis Cass saw him for the last
time, in a rude cabin, supported by selling supplies to the wagoners
who traveled the road, one of the most striking instances of the
tnutations which chequer life.

OF LEWIS CASS. 21
Pittsburgh, when young Lewis first saw it, was little more than
a village, but it possessed an intelligent, enterprisingpopulation, and
among these, men who deservedly enjoyed the confidence of the
country, like Col. O'Hara, Gen. Nevill, Maj. Denny, and others.
At that time, the principal part of the old British fort was stand
ing at the point where the Alleghany joins the Monongahela.
At Pittsburgh, Maj. Cass resigned his commission in the army,
and descended tbe Ohio river, to Marietta, in one of those Ken
tucky boats, as they were then called, which furnished the only
means of traveling down the river. Sometimes, indeed, although
at rare intervals, a keel-boat, from New Orleans, passed up, after
a journey of six months, pulled by twenty half-naked Creole's, the
only, 'ascending communication between the Delta of the Missis
sippi and the Upper portion of the great tributary, drawing its
Supplies from New York and Pennsylvania. What a difference
between the slow and toilsome process and the rapid intercourse
now created by the practical development of the powers of steam,
a difference as startling as the change from the solitude of the
lonely stream, fringed with a primitive and gigantic forest, to the
busy hum of human industry, which salutes the ear for thousands
of milesin succession. l So little was the country prepared for the
miracles of this mighty agent, that a few years later, when our
yourig adventurer was a member of the legislature of Ohio, an
incident occurred, which taught him a profitable lesson, and led
him, ever afterwards, to express, with becoming moderation, his
dissent from any proposition' of improvement. At the session of
the legislature, a, petition was received, asking an exclusive right,
by the petitioners, to enjoy the use of their invention for steam
navigation upon the waters within the jurisdiction of the State of
Ohio, and offering, as a consideration, to propel boats up stream at
the rate of four miles an hour. The proposition was considered so
unreasonable, ridiculous, perhaps, is the word, 'as to be unworthy
of serious consideration, and was cohtehrptuoUsly thrown aside
without action. Such has been the case with many important
discoveries made in advance of the age by sagacious minds, and
condemned in their inception, but redeemed by subsequent suc
cess. Such was the fate of the great canal project of New York,
zealously advocated by De Witt Clinton, but which, for years,
encountered every opposition that party prejudice, reason or ridi
cule could urge against it, and rendered more obnoxious by an

22 LIFE AND TIMES
obnoxious name— the Big Ditch. But the Big Ditch has become
one of the great rivers of the world, the rival of the Mississippi,
and the superior of many mighty streams, renowned for their size
and for the extent of country which they drain.
From Pittsburgh to Marietta, the country was almost in a state
of nature, the solitude broken occasionally by the cabin of the
settler and by the deadened, but still standing, timber, which
marked the field where his first efforts were applied for the sub
sistence of his family.
Major Cass, with his family, landed at Marietta in October,
1800, and remained there a few months, and then removed to his
land upon the Muskingum. Lewis remained at Marietta, and
became acquainted with Governor Meigs, who, at that time, occu
pied a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court of the Territory,
and soon entered his office as a student at law. He continued
under the tuition of Governor Meigs a few months, when he left
his' office for that of Mathew Baccus, a distinguished counselor at
law in the same village. Mr. Cass remained with Mr. Baccus
until December, 1802, when he was licensed to practice in the
courts of the Territory. He immediately commenced the practice
of his profession, although not then twenty-one years of age, and
is now the only survivor ofthe Ohio bar of that period. The
territorial statute,' relative to the age of the applicant for admis
sion to the bar, was silent.
Emigration to Ohio, at this time, was large, and increasing
with every year. Friends wrote back to friends, in New England
and adjoining States, and family after family disposed of their
mountain homes' for the broad and fertile valleys of the western
country. The population was large enough to authorize a conven
tion of the people for the formation of a State Constitution, and
they exchanged their territorial government for that of an inde
pendent member of the confederacy.
Mr. Cass, while a student at law, had gradually extended his
acquaintance at Marietta, Zanesville, and vicinity. He was looked
upon as a young man of great promise and marked ability, and
when he commenced business for himself, his clients came to him
instead of his seeking them. He devoted his time and learning
diligently to the work. He rose rapidly in the estimation of the
people, and was regarded, by the courts, as an ornament to the
profession. The circle of his legal fame widened, and ere three

OF LEWIS CASS. 23
years had completed their cycle, he was distinguished, along the
banks of the river Ohio and upon the northern frontiers of the
State, as the eloquent advocate of Zanesyille, where he then re
sided. Nor was his fame confined to this branch of his profes
sional duties. The sound of his name had penetrated far back
into the solitary clearings of the wilderness, and when disputes
of boundary and title arose among those isolated communities, np
man's judgment, save him. who sat upon the wool-sack, backed
by the sovereign power, of a State, commanded higher respect,
or was followed more implicitly, than that of Lewis Cass. He
acquired ¦ reputation, however, faster than money. The latter
commodity was a rare article in those days in Ohio. The products
of the earth were regarded as possessing intrinsic value, and con
stituted the principal currency in trade. If the settlers could get
silver enough to pay for their lands, that was deemed sufficient
for all practical purposes. It was customary, with the legal pro
fession, to receive their fees and retainers in grains, and then, like
the merchants, forward them to the nearest cash market, up or
down the river, and sometimes as far as New Orleans.
In those days, the judge and the lawyer mounted their horses,
and rode one and two hundred miles to a court, and then to an
other, and another yet, and through woods, following a mere bridle
path, crossing the swollen. streams upon their horses, while swim
ming, and thrown together at night into a small cabin. The
school of Democritus had far more disciples among them than
that of Heraclitus ; and sometimes amusing incidents occurred on
these journeys. Mr. Cass, upon one occasion, when riding his
circuit, had occasion to cross the Sciota Salt Creek, suddenly
raised by heavy, rains, and was unhorsed by the breaking of the
saddle-girth. . His horse was a bad swimmer, who, .instead of
advancing, after losing his footing, amused himself by sinking to
the bottom, and then leaping with his utmost force ; and he con
tinued this new equestrian feat until rider, saddle, saddle-bags,
and blankets were thrown, into the water, and- the recusant animal
emerged upon one side of the creek, and the luckless ride? crawled
out upon the other as he best could, while the luggage commenced
its voyage for New Orleans. But the troubles of the day were
recompensed by the genuine democratic comforts of the evening,
when the hospitable cabin and the warm fire greeted the traveler,
and a glorious supper was set before him, of venison, turkey, or

24 LIFE AND TIMES
bear's meat, fresh butter, hot corn cake, sweet potatoes* and apple
sauce. The sturdy English moralist may talk of a Scotch supper
as he pleases, but he who never sat down to that meal in the
west, forty years ago, has never seen the perfection of gastronomy.
And then the animated conversation, succeeded by a floor and a
blanket and a refreshing sleep !
The primitive court-house, built of logs, and neither chinked
rior daubed, but with respectable interstices big enough to allow
the passage of a man, was another of the features in the life of the
legal practitioner of those times, quite different from those of to-day.
And in this sanctuary of justice, as well as in other public houses,
the court and the- bar, and the suitors and the witnesses, were
mingled in indescribable confusion. There were many men,
however, of high intellectual endowments, and who have since
occupied distinguished positions, who were then members of the
Ohio bar. The court and the lawyers were necessarily brought
into close contact, with each other. It was no time for the dignity
of horse hair and big wigs. They traveled together in the prim
itive mode, on horseback. The hotels were log-eabins, the court
houses log-cabins, and the jails, about the same. The beds were
puncheon floors, (puncheons are rough planks, split from logs
before saw-mills were in use,) and the rides were long and severe,
varied occasionally by the pleasure of swimming a rapid and over
flowing river, at the hazard ofthe lives of horse and horseman. But
the evenings, and especially the' evening meals, were glorious, and
there was plenty of kind feeling.
.In the summer of 1806, Mr. Cass married Elizabeth Spencer,
daughter of Dr. Spencer, of Wood county, in the State of Virginia,
and formerly from Lansingburg, in the State of New York.
Mrs. Cass was a lady of refined mind, of modest and accom*
plished manners, tenderly attached to her husband, and beloved
by a large circle of friends. Mr. and Mrs. Cass passed' many
days during the summer of their marriage on a delightful islet in
the Ohio river, about fourteen miles below Marietta. They were
the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Blennerhassett, whose elegant
hospitality was freely tendered to their guests. ¦
Blennei-hassett's residence has been made memorable by the
gorgeous- description of Mr. Wirt, who made large drafts upo#
his imagination, on the completion of bis picture. Mr. Cass knew
JAr. and Mrs. Blennerhassett well. Mr. Blennerhassett was an

OE LEWIS CASS. 2£>
Irish gentleman, of a highly cultivated taste, and who had become
involved in some of the political movements in Ireland, which had
rendered it necessary for him to emigrate. He came to this coun
try, and after visiting Marietta, was persuaded to purchase the
upper pari of the island, which bears his name, and where he
ferected a strong and comfortable house, and where he made many
tasteful improvements. But his selection was)Vfor him, a very
unfortunate one. . In the habits of his life, society was essential to
him. He was no farmer, nor calculated to encounter the rough
obstacles of frontier life. • On the island he was in utter seclusion,
and soon began to find that he had! chosen unwisely. He pos
sessed an extensive library and philosophical instruments, and his
house was furnished with taste and luxury. Mr. and Mrs. Cass
spent many a happy hour there. Mrs. Blennerhassett was a highly
accomplished lady, elegant in her manners, beautiful in form and
feature, and fitted to adorn society in any country whatever. It
may well be supposed- that persons with such accomplishments,
tastes and habits, soon felt the loneliness of their situation, at that
early day, looking out upon the high hills below the Kanawa upon
one side, and the farmers of Belpec upon the other.
Aaron Burr visited this retreat of domestichappiness ; and Mr.
and Mrs. Blennerhassett, enamored with his genius, for hours
would entertain Mr. and Mrs. Cass with the conversations of the
ex vice-president. Although improper designs Were occasionally
whispered against Mr. Burr, in different parts of the country, it
did not occur to the mind of Mr. Cass that he was weaving a web in
which to entangle the chivalrous and open-hearted Blennerhassett.
The expedition of Miranda, the prospect ofa rupture with the Span
ish government, the growing importance of New Orleans, the future
position of the Mississippi valley in the commercial transaction^
of the world ; all* these topics were occasionally adverted to iri
their casual and random conversations. Mr. Burr was looked upon
as an adventurer, and visiting that region of- country for the pur
pose of selecting land for subsequent purchase. Possessed, in an
eminent degree, of the, faculty of persuasion, and an adept in con
cocting real, or fanciful inducements, to captivate the minds of
those with whom he came in contact, subsequent developments
* showed what progress he made, in this respect, at that place. He
found the Blennerhassetts in a frame of mind ready to receive
his impressions. What specific project he held out, is left to

26 LIFE AND TIMES
conjecture, but he soon acquired an ascendency over them, and they
joined iri his projects. There is no need of saying that this fatal
error led to the ruin of this accomplished Irish gentleman.
Mr. Cass continued to apply himself diligently to his profession.
Ohio had taken her position as a State, and state legislation had
commenced. But, as her population increased, and cultivated
territory expanded, it was evident that more wisdom and knowl
edge of legal rights and remedies were required, on the part of
her legislators. Mr. Cass, without solicitation, was elected a mem
ber of the Ohio legislature, and took.his seat on the first Monday
of December,- 1806, at Chillicothe, then the capital of the State,
A few days prior to the assembling of the legislature, John
Graham, chief clerk in the Department of State, at Washington,
visited Chillicdthe, by order of President Jefferson, for the purpose
of communicating with Governor Tiffin, then the executive of the
State, and ascertaining who was true to the Union. The repute!
plans of Mr. Burr occupied much of the public attention. The
mystery which shrouded them alarmed the general government^
and gave rise to a multitude of conjectures ;¦ and many disheart
ening reports concerning the instability of the people beyond the
mountains, and their want of attachment to the federal Union,
reached the- ears ofthe President. Some said the design was to
sever the Western from the Extern States, and others, that it was
in contemplation to take possession of Orleans, seize the specie
there, and then invade Mexico, to conquer it.
Mr. Graham's mission to Chillicothe resulted in a special mes
sage from Gov. Tiffin to the Ohio legislature, immediately upon
its assembling. The message recapitulated, for the information
of that body, the supposed schemes of Mr. Burr, and urged prompt
action to ferret them out, and bring the guilty to condign punish
ment. The message was considered in secret session, and referred
to a special committee. It was important that the members of
this committee should be trusty and capable men. This was Mr.
Cass' first appearance in any legislative, body, and young he was
in years-. But such was the estimation in which he was held by
his .associates, that, by universal consent, he was placed upon the
committee, with Gen.. Massie as chairman. The committee put
themselves in communication with Mr. Graham, and acted with'
all the prudence and energy demanded by the crisis. They were,
presently, in possession of incontrovertible evidence, that '¦Colonel

OF LEWIS CASS. 27
Joseph Barker, of that State, had contracted for the building of
a large fleet of small boats, suitable for the navigation of the Ohio
river ; that a large quantity of provisions were warehoused, and
many head of cattle were quartered at different points, and all for
the same destination down the river ; that large numbers of young
men, dazzled with thetprospect of military renown and wealth,
had promised to join the enterprise; and the committee, there
fore, had no hesitation in believing that.the enterprise was war
like and treasonable, notwithstanding the protest of some, that
the design was to go to New Mexico, and there, under Miranda,
establish a new government ; and of others, that it was a party
emigrating to lands taken up by Mr. Burr, on the Washita river,
in the State of Louisiana.
Accordingly, the committee- reported a law, drafted by Mr.
Cass, authorizing the governor to call out the militia, and to
arrest all persons engaged in any warlike enterprise. There were
some members of the legislature who hesitated, and were inclined
to give credence to the idle rumors afloat, and doubted the neces
sity pf passing such a law, 'intimating that it might be used
wrongfully, and to the annoyance of the people. When the bill,
for the suppression of this conspiracy, was under consideration,
the committee relied upon Mr. Cass to explain and urge its pas
sage. He was ready to do his duty, regardless of the personal
animosities which might be engendered in consequence. Mr.
Burr occupied a foremost position among the prominent men of
the day, and this was the first public act of condemnation leveled
against him, as wanting in fidelity to his country, from any legis
lature, convention, or any body of men, acting deliberately and
in concert. Here the ball was to be set in motion, without a
certain knowledge how far the conspiracy extended, if it, in fact,
existed, or how much strength it had at command. But the young
legislator possessed firmness and Courage equal to the occasion,
and in advocating the passage of the bill, said he was well aware
that its provisions were important and the penalties heavy, but
that he could see a justification for supporting it, in the rumors
which were then afloat, threatening the peace and tranquillity of
the State — the rumors that daily acquired new credit and addi
tional confirmation, and which, he believed, were well founded.
Shall we sit still; silent spectators, said he, and not endeavor to
prevent illegal steps being taken in this State ? Grant that the

28 LIFE AND TIMES
provisions of the bill, and all we can do, should prove to be unne
cessary, still we ought to act. By common report, we are told
that great talents, treasure and enterprise are engaged in ascheme
which threatens ruin to the country, and he wished to see a law,
such as the bill before the House, immediately passed, for it could
not be done too soon. Perhaps, while we are now debating, the
plan may be carrying into effect — a plan, the means for effecting
which, have no doubt been duly weighed by those at the head of
it. He could not doubt, for a moment, but that the officer to
whom the execution of the law was to be entrusted,' Would do his*
duty, and would riot improperly use the power vested in him.
His words not only evidenced wisdom, but his just regard for the
rights of a citizen, and carried conviction. The bill passed, and
became a law.
The promptness of the~legislature was seconded by the public.
The militia were called out by the governor, the boats seized, and
the enterprise broken up, so far as Ohio was concerned.
But Mr. Cass did not. stop here. In view of the reports daily
reaching that capital, of what was transpiring upon the confines
of the State bf Kentucky, and lower down on the Mississippi river,
he believed- it to be the duty of the legislature to solemnly an
nounce to the people of the United States the views of Ohio upon
this subject, and to assure the President of the steadfast attach
ment of the people to the general government. Hence, he drafted^
as briefly as was consistent, an address to the President, which
Was unanimously adopted by both houses of the General Assem
bly, and is here given, because it testifies, not only to the early
patriotism of Mr. Cass, but his sincere regard for the democratie
institutions of his native country and his fidelity to Mr. Jefferson.
It certainly can not be read by any American without gaining his
full approbation. He expressed the sentiments of a patriot and
a statesman, and worthy of the citizen of a democratic republic.
Chillicothe, December 26th, 1806.
On Thursday last, Mr. LewiB Cass introduced the following
resolution, which was agreed to, and passed both houses without
one dissenting voice :
Resohed, unanimously, by the General Assembly of the State
of Ohio, that the Governor be requested to transmit to the Presi
dent of the United States, the following address :

OF LEWIS QASS. 29
Tq, Thomas Jeffebsonj Esq., President of the United States:
Sin :: — At a time when the public mind, throughout the Union,
is agitated with alarming reports, respecting the existence and
design of a party hostile to the welfare and prosperity of the
country, we deem it a duty incumbent on us to express to the
Executive of the Union our attachment to the government of the
United States, and our confidence in its administration. What
ever may be the intention of desperate and abandoned men, re
specting the destruction of that constitution which has raised us
to our present elevated rank among the nations of the world, and
which' is our only security for the future, we trust they will find
very few advocates in the State of Ohio. We express the feelings
and opinions of our constituents, when we say, that no acts of
intriguing men — no real or visionary prospects of advantage —
will ever induce us to sever that bond of union, which is our only
security against domestic violence and foreigri invasion.
Believing that the fundamental maxims of rational liberty have
guided you in the administration of our government, we hesitate
not to express our full and entire confidence in your councils and
conduct. Enjoying every blessing' which, as men and as citizens,
we could desire, and in a country fertile in nature's choicest gifts,
we should deem it presumptuous indeed to hazard, by intestine
dissensions, these incalculable advantages. We trust that public
attention has magnified the danger; but should the design in
agitation be as destructive as represented, we have no doubt that
all fear will shortly be dissipated' before the^ indignation ofour
citizens. That you may live long to enjoy the confidence and
attachment of the American people, is -the sincere and unanimous
wish of the legislature of Ohio.
The handsome reply of Mr. Jefferson to the above address^
shows how highly that great statesman estimated the energy and
courage of Mr. Cass, and the fidelity of Ohio to the federal Union.
It was addressed to the governor, and read as follows :
Washington, February 2d, 1807.
Sie : — The pressing business, during a session of the legislature,
has rendered me more tardy in addressing you, than it was my
wish to have been. That our fellow-citizens- of the west would
only need' to be informed of criminal machinations against the

30 LIFE AND TIMES
public safety $ to crush them at once, I never entertained a doubt.
I have seen, with the greatest satisfaction, that among those
who have distinguished themselves by their fidelity to their
country, on the occasion of the enterprise of Mr. Burr, yourself
and the legislature of Ohio have been the most eminent. The
promptitude and energy displayed by your State, have been as
honorable to itself as salutary to its sister States ; and in declaring
that you deserve well of your eountry, I do but express the grate
ful sentiments of every . fellow-citizen in it. The hand of the
people has given a mortal blow to a conspiracy, which, in other
countries, would have called for an appeal to arms, and has proved
that government to be the strongest, of which every man feels him
self a part. It is a happy illustration, too, of preserving, to the
State authorities all the vigor which the constitution foresaw would
be necessary, not only for their own safety, but for that of the
whole. In making these .acknowledgments of the merits of having set
this illustrious example of exertion for the common safety, I pray
that they may be considered as addressed to yourself and the
legislature particularly, and generally to every citizen who has
availed himself of the opportunity given of proving his devotion
to his country.
Accept" my salutations, and assurances of great consideration
and esteem. (Signed,) Thomas Jefferson.
His Excellency, Gov. Tiffin.
Few transactions, in any country, ever excited a greater sens&- .
tion than this alledged conspiracy of Aaron Burr. The crime j
charged was of the deepest dye; and, if successful, of incalculable
consequences: The accused was a person of the highest eminence,
both for talents and political position. Conspicuous persons were
implicated in the supposed plot, and the party violence which
marked the period, mingled itself into conflicting opinions, which
these transactions naturally created. And when Mr. Burr was
arrested, and was arraigned for trial, the public scanned, with eager
curiosity, every step in its progress. At this day, it is difficult to
reconcile the efforts of Mr. Burr with the dictates even of common
sense. To judge by his projects and arrangements, he must have
been a very over-rated man. He never had the slightest chance

OF LEWIS CASS. 31
of success, and became a mere adventurer, whose designs were
unredeemed by great plans, or by corresponding intellectual power
to "carry them into effect. Mr. Jefferson supposed that his aim
was to separate the Western from the Eastern States ; one of the
most ridiculous projects that ever entered into the head of man.
Mr. Jefferson, like every body else, deceived by rumor, supposed
there was a very extensive conspiracy, whose ramifications were
artfully combined, and spread everywhere. His impressions may
be gathered from the authority he gave to Gov.Tiffiri, to remove
every postmaster west of the mountains who should be reason
ably suspected of being imfriendly to ihe wnity ofthe nation.
The President was not an inattentive spectator, or indifferent to
the result of Mr. Burr's trial. It resulted contrary :to his expecta
tions, and such was his chagrin, that he and Chief Justice Mar
shal, who occupied the bench on the trial, at Richmond, Virginia,
never spoke to each other afterwards. Of a far different charac
ter were his feelings towards those who had the. firmness and
lcivil courage to aid the government in exposing the conspiracy,
and baffling a project which was generally^ believed to lie of a
revolutionary character, having, for its ultimate object, the division
of the federal Union. His confidence in the integrity and patri
otism of Mr. Cass was such, that, in the'succeeding year of 1807,
he tendered the latter the office of United States marshal, for the
State of Ohio ; and his warm friendship to Mr. Cass continued
unabated to the end of his days.
Mr. Cass was somewhat reluctant to accept the appointment,
lest the discharge of its duties might interfere with his profes
sional business, Michael Baldwin had held the office for several
years,- but he became addicted to inebriety, and the President was
unwilling, to continue him any longer. Mr. Jefferson had such a
horror of this vice, that he upon one occasion remarked, that if he
was to serve his term of office over again, his first inquiry always
should be, whether the applicant for office was liable, from habit
and association, to become a drunkard.
More on account of the source from whence the office came, and
the kind manner in which it was offered, than for its limited
emoluments, Mr. Cass accepted it, and! qualified for the discharge
of its duties. He continued to practice his profession for several
years successfully at Zanesville, apd in consequence of holding an
office under the general government, he was not again returned

32 LIFE AND TIMES
to the legislature of Ohio. He was employed as an advocate in
many important cases. It was during this period of his life,-, a
question arose in Ohio, which was much discussed, and upojl
which public opinion was divided, and occasioned intense excite
ment among the people. The point at this day may.appear ridic
ulous, but it was then of vital interest. •
It seems now to be universally conceded, that the supreme
judicial tribunal in each state, has the right to determine in the
last resort, the constitutionality of a law. Such was not the doc
trine at the time of which we speak. Judge Todd, of. the Supreme
Court, and Judge Pease, president ofa circuit, were both impeached
for. deciding that an act ofthe legislature, giving certain jurisdic
tion to justices of the peace, without a trial by jury, was uncon
stitutional. Believing that the doctrine maintained by the legiBr
lature — that the judiciary have no right' to determine the uncon- '
stitutionality of a law — would be fatal to liberty, by rendering the"
law-making power an unlimited one, in common with some other '
members of the bar, Mr. Cass volunteered to. defend the judges^
They were acquitted, and this dangerous heresy,' of the omnipo
tence ofa legislature, soOn disappeared. But during the progress*
ofthe discussions arising out ofthe matter, there was great agitar*1
tion in the' State ; and, at one time, the prospects ,were alarming.
The trial .lasted many days. The legislature retained some of the
ablest and oldest lawyers in the State. Mr. Cass brought to
the case great legal research and industry. His argument was
unanswerable, and carried conviction to the minds of his hearers.
This effort, the cause for which he plead, and the triumphan|/
verdict, extended his professional reputation among the people all • •
over the State.

OF LEWIS oass: 33

^CHAPTER. H.
Indian Confederacy— Tocumseh and the Prophet— Kelations between the United States and Great
Britain — Governor Meigs' Proclamation — War of 1812 — Mr. Cass' Views — Volunteers his Services —
Commissioned' Colonel— His Speech to the Troops at Dayton— Its Effect— General HuU— Plan of
Campaign — Rendezvous at Urbana — March to the Maumee — Hardships and Trials — Declaration of
War— -Disaster on Lake Erie — Council of War — Colonel Cass advises Invasion of Canada — Disincli
nation of Hull — Advice of Colonel Cass adopted — Passage of Detroit River— Landing in Canada —
Hull's Proclamation — Colonel Cass urges Prompt Movement on Maiden — Hull's Belay — Colonel
Cass visits Maiden: with Flag of Truce — Return to Gamp — Leads a Detachment against the Enemy —
The Engagement at the Aux Canards — His Heroic Conduct — His Report to Hull— duolonel Cass'
Courage — Hull's Timidity. -
In the summer of 1811, the people of Ohio were alarmed at
the appearance of a hostile confederacy among the Indians on the
north-western frontier. Menacing preparations had been discov
ered, under the direction of the renowned chief, Tecumseh, and
bis twin brother, Elsk'wa|awa, Burnamed the Prophet. These two
remarkable savages belonged to the Shawanese nation, distin
guished for its warlike predilections. Tecumseh was the master
spirit, and took upon himself the departments o^ war and elo
quence, success in these being the direct • road to eminence and
chieftainship; but in order to hold enslaved the minds of his
countfyihen, by their strong bent to superstition, Elskwatawa
invested himself with' the attributes of a sacred character. Pre
tending to be favored with, direct and frequent communications
with the Great Spirit, by tricks, and austerities, he gained belief,
and drew around him the'awe-strupk Indians from great distances.
It was generally believed that secret agents of the British govern
ment were continually inflaming their passions and prejudices
against the .whites, representing that the latter were mere intru
ders, and picturing to the minds of Tecumseh and the Prophet,
the scheme of dividing between them, not only the.sovereignty
of the Shawanese, but that of all the border confederacies. Signs
of hostilities between the United States and Great Britain began
to loom up in the distant horizon, and were freely commented
upon, by the paid stipendiaries of the crown, around the council
fives. The brothers, watching these signs, and believing that an
opportunity would soon occur, were collecting their followers on
the Wabash, in the Territory' of Indiana. William H. Harrison,
then governor of that Territory, was directed to march against

34 LIFE AHD. TIMES
¦them with a military force, consisting of regulars, under the com
mand of Colonel Boyd, united with the militia of the Territory.
He met them at Tippecanoe, ^ and, defeated them.. This event
occurred on the 7th of November. Tecuniseh was absent, stirring
up the various tribes, and calling upon them to unite with him in
the great war dance against the settlers on the., frontier.
In the meantime, it became more and more evident that the
>peacef'ul relations between the United States and Great Britain
would soon terminate in open war. Congress, upon its assem
bling, authorized the President to call on the governors of the
States for detachments of militia, to an amount not exceeding one
hundred* thousand, and to accept the services of any number of
volunteers, not exceeding fifty thousand, As, it was* probable that
the frontiers, bordering on the British Provinces, would be the
principal theater of hostilities on land, the first attention of the
general government was directed to their defense. Ohio was
called upon for its quota of men for the service, and in April,
1812, Governor Meigs issued, his proclamation in answer to the
call, appealing to the patriotism of her citizens, and ordering the
tro.ops to rendezvous at Dayton. This military force was to he
raised, as well to act against the British in Canada, if, there
should be war, as to suppress hostilities from the Indians, in the
Territory of Michigan.
But as even in the purest atmosphere there, always will he,
found some noxious vapors, so among the people of America there
, were some, at this great epoch, of our courifry,.who questioned1 the
propriety or necessity of thus, early raising an armed force. They
were fain to. believe that wrong motives were ascribed to the.
Indians ; that the alledged interference, of secret emissaries,5 in the
pay of King George, was a bugbear, and a war between the
two countries a chimera. Not so thought Mr. Cass. But feeling?
keenly the insult meditated against the glorious standard of h\
country, and ardently attached to the democratic institutions ofa
republic, and haying no sympathy with those to whom a war with
England was an eye-sore, he was not to be deceived by their
clamor, or diverted from his duty by their hypocritical cry agains'|
the impiety of a resort to arms. He believed that a war Avith^
England was both just and necessary ; and closing his law offic|j
and his lucrative business, he hastened to volunteer his services
in the force which was called but. The appeal of the governtn^Jl

OF' LEW fS CASS. 35
to' the patriotism of Ohio, was successful. Twelve 'hundred men
were enrolled as 'volunteers, and, divided into three regiments,
were marched1 to Dayton,1 where Mr. Cass, with the united vpice
of his comrades, was assigned the command of the third regiment,
and commissioned as colonel.
Having formed his cbmriiand in a hollow square, arid planted
the American standard in the center, Colonel Cass opened his
military career with the following energetic words : s
" Fellow-citizens ! The standard of your country is displayed.
You have rallied around it to defend her rights and tb avenge her
injuries. May it wave protection to our friends and- defiance to
our enemies ! And should we ever meet them in the hostile field,
I doubt riot but that the eagle of America will be •found more
than a match for the British lion ! " "
The young volunteers received, with rapturous enthusiasm, this
brief but thrilling address of 'their 'youthful Colonel, and assured
him that they were eager to meet, under his command, their proud
enemy. The other two regiments were commanded by Colonels
Mc Arthur' and Findlaj7, and this volunteer force, ¦ marching to
Urbana, was there joined by three hundred regulars, under the
command bf Colonel Miller. The entire force was ' under the'
command of Brigadier General William Hull', a captain- during
the Revolution, and then governor ofthe Michigan Territory.
The plan of the campaign, as formed at Washington, had, for its
ultimate object, the conquest of the Canadas. The intention was
to invade, simultaneously, at Detroit and Niagara ; and the' armies
from these places were to be joined, on their way to Montreal, by
a strong force to be collected at Plattsburgh, and thus a combined-
attack to be made upon that capital.
In the fore part of June; the military forces at Urbana left that
place for the theater of war. Detroit was the point of destination,
and the distance to be traveled was more than two hundred miles.
Their march, the greater part of the way, lay through a wilder
ness,, and much 'of it without a road. The creeks and rivers were
not bridged, and in many places, iri fact,'most ofthe way;it Was
necessary to level the forest in order to make a way for their pro
visions and munitions of war. Swamps, filled with miasma, had
to be waded, and the command frequently halted to relieve the suf
ferings of the sick: Block houses were erected at intervals along
thb route, for the use and convenience of the army, and the better

36 ¦ LIF-E AND TIMES
protection- of the country. The privates suffered much, and it
became the imperative duty of the officers of the volunteers to
give good examples how to endure, with patience, privation and
fatigue, lest the men, unaccustomed to such hardships, should turn
back in discouragement. Colonel Cass showed, himself equal to
the duties and responsibilities of his new position, and enjoyed
the unreserved confidence of his men. He did not omit to enforce
the first rudiments of a military education, discipline and obedi
ence. And whilst actively and strictly discharging this branch
of his duties, he did not make for himself an austere and repulsive
character, but mingled freely with his force, as a companion and
friend, and thus possessed himself of all their wants, feelings and
desires. And whilst his command were daily becoming more and
more proficient in drill and movement, they at the same time
acquired the important lesson, that this knowledge, in the hour
of battle, would enure as mush to their own personal safety, as
the good of their country.
After traversing a region unbroken by a single settlement, the
army reached the rapids of the Maumee, on the thirtieth day 'of
June. The sensations of Colonel Cass, on reaching this point in
the march to Detroit, were penned by himself, thirty-one years
afterwards. " We were heartily tired of the march, and were
longing for its termination, when we attained the brow of the table
land, through which the Maumee has made a passage for itself
and a fertile region for those who have the good fortune to occupy
it. Like the mariner, we felt we had reached a port ; like the
wanderer, a home. I have since visited the three other quarters
of the globe, and passed over many lands and seas, but my
memory still clings to the prospect which burst upon us on a bright .
day of June, from the valley of the Maumee — to the river, winding
away beyond our View, to the rapids, presenting every form of the
most picturesque objects, to the banks, clothed with deep verdure,
and to the rich bottoms, denuded of timber, as though inviting
the labor and enterprise of the settler."
On the twenty-sixth, four days previous, General Hull had
received, by express, a letter from Mr. Eustis, Secretary of War,
written on the morning of the eighteenth, the day on which war
was declared. But this important fact was not announced in this .
letter, but it contained expressions indicating that the declaration |
would soon be made. Supposing that the British could not be in

OF LEWIS CASS. 37
possession of such important' intelligence earlier than himself,
General Hull, for the purpose of disencumbering his army, and
facilitating his march, chartered a sail vessel to convey to Detroit
his sick, his hospital stores, and a considerable part of his baggage.
This vessel sailed on the first day of July, and was captured by
the British off Maiden, who had been two or three days in posses
sion of the information that war was declared. With General
Hull's private baggage, had been placed on board the vessel, what
be should have better guarded, his trunk of papers, and by means
of which the enemy became possessed of his confidential corres
pondence with the government, and the returns of his officers,
showing the number and condition of his troops. The intelligence
of the declaration of war was received by General Hull on the
6econd day of July, in a second letter from Mr. Eustis, under date
of June eighteenth, not forwarded by express, but by mail. His
first despatch directed hiin to push on to Detroit with all possible
expedition.' There was an Indian village at Brownstown, on the American
side ofthe Detroit river, and as war was actually existing, it was
anticipated that the army would be attacked and annoyed by the
Indians, and by detachments from the British garrison on the
opposite side of tbe river. The army, however, resumed its march,
and on the fifth of July reached Detroit, without molestation from
the enemy.
On the ninth of July, General Hull received a letter from the
Secretary of War,' saying that, " should the force under your com
mand be equal to the enterprise, and consistent with the safety
of your own posts, you will take possession 0I" Maiden, and extend
your conquests as circumstances will allow."
Immediately upon the receipt of this despatch, General Hull
called a council of war, of which Colonel Cass was a member, and
the great question to be solved was, the propriety of invading Can
ada. Colonel Cass was in favOr of the invasion, and urged that
the army, leaving a suitable force for the protection of the post of
Detroit, should immediately cross over the river. General Hull
hesitated, contending that his force was not equal to the reduction
of Maiden, and that the savages were under the influence and
cominand of the enemy. Colonel Cass replied to the first point,
that their force was greater in number, if any credence was to be
given to the reports constantly reaching the post, and that their

38 LIFE AND TIMES
ardor and impetnositywould more than equal t|e. discipline, of, the
British.- As to the savages,, he doubted whether they were pre
pared to act on the offensive, else they would not have suffered
, the American troops to pass quietly up the river. General Hull
could interpose no rejoinder, with any-show of candor, and. finally
concluded to undertake the enterprise. t
The embarkation was made on the eleventh .-of July, from, a
point a little above Detroit, and the. advanced .force, animated
with the highest hopes, was composed of Colonel Cass and Lieu
tenant Colonel Miller. Colonel Cass occupied the bow of one of
the boats, and was the first man who landed in arms upon British
soil, after the 'declaration of war. General Hull followed on the
twelfth, with the remainder ofthe army ; and on landing in Can
ada,, he issued an energetic proclamation, written by Colonel Cass,
for distribution, among the inhabitants, which was much applauded
at the time by, the public press throughout the country. What
ever may have been entertained of the inglorious descent from
promise to fulfillment,, it was generally-regarded:- as,a. high-spirited,
manly, and patriotic document. It promised protection to all who
would join the American standard. Manjr of the inhabitants
accepted the. invitation, and others -. remained peacefully disposed
at home ; and the Indians were awed into a temporary neutrality.
The army took post at what is now called Windsor. Here, entrench
ments were thrown up, arid temporary defensive works were con
structed, and- the- army, remained inaetivej awaiting some heavy
artillery from Detroit. Hours, and, days passed, and uo order Jo
, march. The delay in receiving the desired ordnance was unusual,
and strange to the officers and men. They were anxious to, go
forward : they desired, to (attack Maiden, and measure swords, with
the enemy. News reached' camp of the. surrender of Marina,^.' '
This intelligence, instead of disheartening the troops, increasejll
their ardor. - Colonel Cass bad, time and again,, urged the import
ance of prompt movements, .and demonstrated to the commanding
general the feasibility of, capturing the fortress at the month, ofthe
river. Haying visited Maiden with, a flag of truce before the
army crossed over from, Detroit,., he believed it indefensible. But
General Hull all the .while appeared to labor under the delusion
that the enemy was in strong force, and the result problematical/:
And, in addition, the idea seemed to haunt him, that .the. woods
were alive with savages, ready to give the war-whoop, and brandi^J

OF LEWIS CASSi 39
the knife and the tomahawk^ as soon as he was out of sight of
Detroit. Small detachments occasionally scoured- the immediate
country, for forage and provisions, and returning to camp, uniformly
•reported every thing quiet, and no enemy in sight. Colonel St.
George commanded at Maiden,, with' a moderate force, as was
Supposed, and some of the heavy guns had finally made their
appearance. The carriages for the same having been constructed,
finally, at the suggestion of Colonel Cass, General Hull ordered him
and Lieutenant Colonel Miller, with a detachment of two hundred
and fifty men, to move towards the- British fort, and take posses
sion Of a bridge over the river Aux Caliards, which . commanded
the approach to it. This was- a wise precautionary measure, so
that there should be no delay in the movement of their ordnance,
after the main army was once in motiori.
• Accordingly, on the seventeenth of July, Colonel Cass led a
detachment towards the enemy. In the latter part of the day, he
reached the Canards, and by ascending the river some distance
above the bridge, on the main road, the stream was forded, and
the British party surprised and routed, and fled towards Maiden.
The American detachment remained in possession of the bridge,
and Colonel Cass immediately transmitted the following report to
his commanding officer. It is illustrative of the first action, and
the first blood shed, in the late war with England.
" Sandwich, Upper Canada, July 17th, 1812.
Sie — In conformity with your instructions, I proceeded with a,
detachment of two hundred and fifty men, to reconnoitre the ene
my's advanced posts. We found them at the bridge over the river
Canards, at the distance of four miles'frorri Maiden. After exam"
ining their position, I left one company of riflemen to conceal
themselves near the bridge, and upon our appearance bn ¦ the
opposite side of the river; to commence firing, in order to, divert
their attention, and to throwthem into confusion. I then proceeded
With the remainder of the .force, five miles, to a ford< over the
Canards, and. down on the southern bank of that river. About
sunset we arrived within sight of the enemy. Being entirely desti
tute of guides, we marched too near the bank: of the river$ and
found our progress checked by a' creek, which was then impass-.
able. We were compelled to march up a mile, in order tb effect
a passage over the creek. This gave the enemy time to make

40 LIFE AND TIMES
their arrangements, and prepare for their defense. On coming
down the creek, we found them formed ; they commenced a distant
fire of musketry. The riflemen of the detachment were formed
upon the wings, and the two companies of artillery in the center.
The men moved on with great spirit and alacrity. After the first
charge, the British retreated— -we continued advancing. Three
times they formed, and as often retreated; We drove them about
half a mile, when it became so dark that we were obliged to relin
quish the pursuit. Two privates of the British 4:1st regiment were
wounded, and taken prisoners. We learn from deserters that nine
or ten were wounded, and some killed. We could gain no precise
information of the number opposed to us. It consisted ofa consid
erable detachment of the 41st regiment, some militia, and a body
of Indians. The guard at the bridge consisted of fifty men. Our
riflemen stationed on this side ofthe Canards, discovered the enemy
reinforcing them during the whole afternoon. There is no doubt
but their number considerably exceeded us. Lieutenant Colonel
Miller conducted himself in the most spirited and able manner.
I have every reason to be satisfied with the conduct of the whole
detachment. Very respectfully, Sir, I have the honor to be
Tour obedient servant,
(Signed) Lewis Cass,
Colonel 3d Eegiment Ohio Volunteers.
Beigadiee Geneeal Hull."
By dislodging the enemy at this bridge, and retaining posses
sion of it, an important advantage was gained, and an easy access
secured to the British fortress. Quite unexpectedly to Colonef*
Cass, General Hull did not appreciate this victory, although it
created consternation at Maiden, and ordered the detachment to
return to camp. Colonel Cass and Lieutenant Colonel Miller remon
strated, in writing, against the inevitable injury which the execV '
tiori of this order would inflict upon the American cause, and
earnestly requested leave to remain in their position. But it was
of no avail. The General's views remained unshaken, and the
bridge abandoned, to the great relief and joy of Colonel St. George.

OF LEWIS CASS. 41

CHAPTER III. , ¦ i
Armistice on Niagara Frontier— HuU favors tluvre-crossing of Detroit River-r-Colpnel Cass Remonstrates
— Battle of Brownstown — Evacuation of Canada — Engagement in the Woods of Maguaga — Colonel
Cass Volunteers to lead a 'Detachment through the Wilderness to the River Raisin— General Brock's
Arrival at Sandwich — Summons the American Fort at Detroit — Bombardment — Hull's Surrenderr—
Indignation of Colonel Cass and the Troops — His- Return from the River Raisin — Disposition to
Fight — Breaks his Sword.
Intelligence reached Sandwich, that an armistice had been
agreed upon, at Washington or elsewhere, but that it did not
include the armies .upon this portion of the frontier ; and now,
instead of the promised diversion in his favor, on the line of the
Niagara, General Hull suspected that the entire British force
would be concentrated against him. He at once abandoned all
efforts for penetrating farther into the enemy's country, and enter
tained the idea of retracing his steps, and removing his command
to Detroit. Colonel Cass remonstrated against such imbecile and
inglorious conduct. He presented to the view of his General the.
injury it would inflict upon the spirit and courage of the volun
teers, now panting for action ; be adverted to the evidences which
the Canadians daily gave, of their disposition to join the Ameri
can cause ; and in warm, but modest terms, descanted upon the
facility with which he might capture the enemy, take possession
of Maiden, and thus secure the key which controlled all that fron
tier. The officers agreed in council, with Colonel Cass, and they
unitedly urged that the troops be led to action. But Lieutenr
ant Hanks, with a weak garrison at Macinac, had surrendered to
a party of one thousand British and Indians, with the honors of
war, and General Hull was more and more fearful that hordes of
savages, under the lead of the active and wily Tecumseh, would
come down upon him from the northern forests, and with resist
less and demoniac fury, massacTCTbwihabitants, lay in ashes the
-village of Detroit, and drive him and his. comrades into the waters
of Lake Erie. Charity, with filmed eyes, perhaps, would say^
"that the eyes of the patriot and soldier were closed, while those
of tbe father and the paternal governor saw, in fancied vision, his
beloved daughter and grandchildren already bleeding, the victims
of savage barbarity."

42 LIFE AND TIMES
An express came in from the vigilant Governor Meigs, announc
ing that Captain Brush had gone forward, by the way of the river
Raisin, with an ample stock of provisions for his brave volunteers.
Colonel Cass had also learned that a party of the enemy had left
Maiden, to intercept these supplies, and that the escort had reached
the Raisin. The General was persuaded to detach Major Van
Horn, with two hundred men, to hold this party in check. Te
cumseh, at the head of his Indians, ambushed his path at Browns
town creek, and fell upon the Americans with such ferocity that
eighteen were killed, twelve wounded, about seventy missing, and
the Major retreated in the direction of Detroit.
The news of this disaster settled the question of the evacuation
of Canada. The General, no longer doubting that the savages
were upon the war-path in force, and well stocked, by British
agents, with ammunition, and that his worst anticipations would
be fully realized, if he remained in his present position or marched
southerly, resolved to re-cross the river to Detroit, and issued his
orders accordingly. And on the eighth of August, with deep
¦chagrin and some mutinous dissatisfaction, his brave and lion-
hearted officers and soldiers received the peremptory order to
embark, and sullenly made this disgraceful retreat.
Colonel Cass again brought to the attention of his General, the
absolute necessity of communicating with Captain Brush, and the
propriety of detailing a guard sufficiently strong to ensure the
safe conduct of the supplies, which were now understood to con
sist principally of beef cattle. General Hull acceded to the pro
position, and on the same day of the re-crossing, detached Lieu
tenant Colonel Miller, with six hundred men, regulars and volun
teers, with orders to meet and escort Captain Brush, with the
supplies, to Detroit. After marching some twelve miles, along
the margin of the Detroit river, Captain Snelling, in command of
the advance guard, encountered a large body of Indians and
British, drawn up in line of battle, iri thickets of underbrush; in
the vicinity of Maguaga. Teciimseh was again in command, and
a severe fight ensued. The red coats fled — the red men still kept
the ground, but at length were routed, and both retreated towards
Brownstown, and succeeded in reaching Maiden, with the loss of
one hundred and thirty-four killed and wounded. The American
loss was seventeen men killed and sixty-four wounded. While
remaining in position at Maguaga, awaiting provisions, the men

,,,0F LEWIS C-AS.S. $3
having thrown away their knapsacks and rations upon- engaging
the enemy, the detachment was recalled,to Detroit.
The battle, of Maguaga following so i closely upon the skirmish
at Brownstown creek,, and the Indians being so active and earnest
in botb .instances, created additional agitation and alarm at, head
quarter^.. Rumor also, statedjthata large reinforcement of British
troops was on the march from Niagara, and thatithe Six Nations
of Indians .were backward in espousing the American cause.
General Hull was doubtful whether the: supplies would ever reach
his present headrquarters, and, gloomy and despondent, he called
his officers, around him, and proposed a retreat to some. place near
the rapids of the Manmee. But to this suggestion, Colonel Cass
and all his brother officers, already so much dissatisfied with his
iill-timed retreat from Canada as to be on the eve of mutiny, utterly
dissented, and proposed, instead, that another effort should be
rnade, regardless of personal consequences,, to open a, communica
tion with Captain Brush. The General once more yielded to the
patriotic counsel of his officers, and sent out another detachment
of three hundred and fifty men, under Colonels Cass and McAr-
thur, for this purpose. > Colonel McArtiiur, being senior in rank,
was in command of the expedition.
This detachment left, head-quarters towards sunset in the after
noon of August fourteenth.. It was an expedition, fullof antici
pated peril and labor, for, if the half of what was asserted was
true, tbe woods were alive with hostile savages, and, as their orders
were' to march by an unfrequented and circuitous route,- by the
way of an opening in the forest, where has grown up the thriving
village of Ypsilanti, with an Indian trail as they? only land mark,
leading, at intervals, through bogs and swamps and over deep
Creeks, it was evident that they. had no light service, to perform,
and that their path was full of, danger. But there was no fear,;
and so readily did these patriotic .men answer the call, and so
quickly were they on the march, that there was no time to lay in
a full supply of rations. They took such as happened to come, in
their way, and were at once ready for duty. They met with no
interruption from the enemy.
" It turned out, that, on the day before this- detachment left, De
troit, General Isaac Brock, the most active and intrepid comman
der in all the British Provinces, reached Maiden, from Fort
George, at the mouth of the Niagara river, and, on the next day,

44 LIFE AND TIMES
assumed the command of the forces. It was generally supposed
that he was still stationed at Fort George, and if a more accurate
knowledge of his whereabouts was possessed by any person' in the
American army of the north-west, it was kept in profound secrecy.
It was observable, that a party of the enemy, under Colonel Proc
tor, who had succeeded Colonel St. George, had taken post at
Sandwich, and were proceeding to fortify the bank of the river.
This was supposed to be a natural consequence of the evacuation,
the enemy moving up, in part, to extend his fortifications ; and
strengthened the view of Colonel Cass and his brother officers,
that the American policy was to get on the supplies, call for more
troops, and make a stand at Detroit. Besides, a week had not
elapsed since the first rumor of the armistice had reached the
American garrison ; and as it was rumored that General Brock
was one of* the high contracting parties to that transaction, the
idea was not dreamt of, that his presence was so early expected
on that frontier.
However, he was in fact in command on the fourteenth of
August, and being a man of uncommon energy and decision, he
entered forthwith upon active duty, and concentrated his forces
'at Sandwich. Accustomed to duty, and an accomplished soldier,
he looked upon the evacuation as conclusive evidence of weak
ness. The private papers, captured the month previous, gave him
full information of the number and character of the force against
which he had to contend. The un-officerlike conduct of the
American commander, since his arrival at Detroit, he attributed
to vacillation and infirmity of purpose; and fully aware that
supplies and a reinforcement were daily expected by General
Hull, he believed it to be his policy to bring on an immediate
engagement. Hence, on the fifteenth of August, he sent his two
aids, Lieut. Col. McDonald and Major Glegg, to demand in form
a surrender of Fort Detroit, intimating, as though he was sensible
of the prominent fear of his antagonist, that it was not his incli
nation to join in a war of extermination, but that he had a nu
merous body of Indians attached to his command, which would
be beyond his control the moment the contest commenced. The
current history of that day asserts that the answer to this very
unexpected and provoking summons, was tardily given. Perhajp;
the delay was to gain time. If so, the motive is praiseworthy.
Its form, nevertheless, is open to criticism. Hull announced that

OP LEWIS CASS. 45
he was ready to meet any force which might, be brought against
him, and abide the consequences. If he had stopped here,, it,
would have been commendable ; but, as if the British commander
was in position merely to redress some supposed grievance to his
own command, happening on that frontier, General Hull proceeded
to beg bis pardon, for certain acts of his own officers, committed
without his knowledge. He appeared to overlook the fact that
the extreme measure contemplated by the British General, was
for the purpose of advancing , the cause of his gracious master on
tbe other side ofthe Atlantic, and, if successful in his efforts, thus'
early acquiring an important advantage in the conduct of the war
on that frontier. The answer, undoubtedly, strengthened General
Brock in the belief that he was to meet a weak-hearted officer,
and that his true course was to attack him in close contest. At
any rate, he did not delay action, but opened his batteries on the
same day, and commenced, the bombardment of the towri._ The
fire was returned, with some effect. General Hull was greatly
alarmed, and sent out an express to reach the detachment under
Colonels Mcx\rthur and Cass, commanding them to return as
expeditiously as possible.
On the morning of the sixteenth of August, at an early hour,
General Brock crossed the river, and effected a landing of his
troops at a place called Spring Wells, three miles below the town
of Detroit. Heimmediately marched towards the fort. The exact
number can not be ascertained. General Brock reports his force
to Sir George Provost, to have been thirteen hundred — seven
hundred of whom were Indians. According to Captain Snelling,
who attempted a count as they entered the fort, "there were, in
advance, the troops of the 41st regiment, in platoons of fourteen
files, as well as tbe York militia volunteers, twenty-nine platoons,
two deep, in red coats ; that the militia platoons consisted of no
more than seven or eight files, and composed one third of the
whole force — probably seven hundred and fifty whites, of which
the remaining two thirds, were regulars and un-uniformed militia."
Cotemporary accounts represent that General Hull was per
plexed what to do, and greatly agitated. Believing that resist
ance was futile, and would lead to the barbarities of an Indian
imassacre, and not insensible to the disgrace of surrendering with
out an effort to defend the fort, he, even at this critical moment,,
.wavered in his operations. At first, his troops were drawn up in

461 LIFE AND TIMES
order of battle without the fort, his artillery advantageously;
planted, and his army, fall 'of the confidence of victory, awaiting
the approach of the proud enemy. When it had ^progressed within"
five hundred 'yards of the American lines, as- if suddenly, and, in
fact, unexpectedly, to all, General Hull gave that fatal and unac:"
countable order, to retire within the ramparts of the fortress. To
say that the officers and men, of all grades and conditions, raised^
an universal cry of indignation, but feebly expresses their outraged
fe'elings. They felt that British insolence had triumphed over'
American prowess at the ver^ moment when all were ready to'
pour out their heart's blood upon' the hallowed altar of their com
mon country; in the defense of its just rights. They. had been,
sensible, for many days', that their commander was unfit to be the
leader of patriots; and lacked the most essential of all qualified"
tions — true moral courage. And when they were flattering them
selves that they had underrated him, their high hopes were dashed'
to the ground, and all subordination ceased. They crowded in,
and, regardless of order and without any order from their General,
stacked their dishonored arms, many 'dashing them with violence
upon the ground. Some of those stalwart men wept like children,
while tbe spirit of the women, aroused at the indignity, was heard, '
above the din, declaring, in impotent" wrath, that the fort should*
not be surrendered. The student of history fails to- find a parallel
in all the records of the past. Hull, perceiving that his power*''
had gone from him, and that he no longer was in authority, evinced *
hot haste to put' the place under the protection of the British.
The white flag was run up, flapping on the walls of the dishonored ''
fortress; and, without consultation with his officers — with no
stipulation for the honors of war for an insulted army, nor any")
provision for the safety of his Canadian allies — he concluded a
capitulation with General Brock ; givirig up the public property,*'
surrendering the regular troops as prisoners of war, and 'permit
ting the militia • to return to their homes, on their parole, not to
serve again during the war, unless exchanged.
While this scene was being enacted, Colonels Cass and McAr-
thnr arrived' with their troops, eager for battle, having been over'1
taken, late the previous evening, by the messenger despatched to
recall them. They and their men had promptly obeyed the order,1
and had made all haste, keeping under march throughout most
of the night.

0F LEWIS CASS. 4fr
Along their precipitate march, they occasionally heard firing,
in the direction of Detroit. This only served to hasten their steps,
for as Hull sent word by the messenger that General Brock was
at Sandwich, and had demanded a surrender, they supposed that
probably the battle had cottimenced. When near Detroit, they
learned, from some of the citizens fieeirig from danger, that Hull
had surrendered. They could not credit this unwelcome news.
They halted, and sent forward scouts, Who soon returned with the
same intelligence. As'it was useless to advance, and determined
not to submit themselves, unconditionally, to the mercies of a
-liaughty foe, they fell back, and halted, for refreshment, at the river
Rouge. They took position near a bridge, which afforded some
advantages for defense^, if necessary. Here they slaughtered an
ox, roasted, and ate it, without bread or salt, this being their first,
warm mealsince they left Detroit, on the fourteenth, except some,
corn and pumpkins-, When, the meal was deliberately finished,
Captain Mansfield was sent forward, to learn from the- British
commander upon what terms they were surrendered,, and to give
notice that,, if it was unconditional, they should defend themselves.
Before the return of Captain Mansfield, a British officer, Captain
Elliott,, bearing a flag, and accompanied by some Indians, ap
proached the detachment, and, delivered to Colonel McArthur a
note from General' Hull, to the effect that; the detachment was
included in the capitulation, and ordering it, to return to- Detroit.
The detachment was compelled to comply with this distasteful
capitulation, however repugnant to their views and inclinations ;'
because, in this case, surrounded by a savage foe, and worn down
and exhausted by fatigue, it was alike impossible to retreat through
the woods to Ohio, or overpower the enemy, without provisions,
and a scanty supply of ammunition. They therefore- marched to
Detroit and surrendered up their, arms. But Colonel Cass, stung
with mortification, when ordered to deliver up his sword, indig
nantly declined to do so, and, breaking the blade, threw it aWay.

48 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER IV.
General Brock's surprise at his Success — His Report — Colonel Cass a Prisoner of War — On his Parole— f
Interview with General Brock at Maiden — General Hull ordered to Montreal — His Report — Effect
of the News — The Ohio Volunteers on Parole — -Reach Cleveland^- Colonel McArthur, Senior Officer,!
orders Colonel Cass to Washington— Colonel Cass departs — Sickness at McConnelstown — The War ,
Department Despatch a Messenger — Colonel Cass reaches Washington — His Official Letter — His re
turn to Zanesvilie — His Conduct— Opposition to his Report — Mr. Rush — Colonel Cass' Letter to the -
Editors of the National Intelligencer— Mr. Eustis— His Clerk— False Impressions.
The fort at Detroit had surrendered, and the flag of stars and"
stripes no longer floated above its battlements. The British had
taken possession without the firing of a gun, or losing of a drop
of blood. The British commander had performed a valuable ser
vice for his government, with unexpected ease and facility," and'
without cost of life or treasure. With the possession Of the fort,*
passed the government of the territory. It was now no longer'
American, but British, and General Brock at once proclaimed it,
and enjoined obedience, investing Colonel Proctor with the reins
of authority.
This success to the British arms, appears to have been unex
pected to General Brock, for, in announcing the fall of Detroit,*
in a despatch written in the hour of triumph, directed to Provost,
he says, " I hasten to apprise your .excellency of the capture of
this very important post. Twenty -five hundred troops have" this
day surrendered prisoners' of war, and about twenty-five pieces
of ordnance have been taken, without the sacrifice of a dropof
British blood. I had not more than six hundred troops, including
militia, and about six hundred Indians, to accomplish this service!
When I detail my good fortunes your excellency will be astonished"
A few days subsequent to the surrender, Colonel Cass, while
returning to Ohio, upon parole, was detained at Maiden by a
heavy wind, which prevented vessels from going out of the Detroit
river. While there, he met General Brock, to whom General'*
Hull had surrendered, and who was delayed by the same cause.
General Cass had much conversation with him, upon the even#
ofthe recent campaign, and found him free and frank in his com-'
munications. He said that when he left the Niagara frontier, he
had not the remotest expectation of capturing Detroit. He hur
ried up with the few troops he could withdraw from that frontier^

OF LEWIS CASS. 49
because he had ascertained the exposed condition of the western
part of Upper Canada, which had beeri invaded by the Ameri
cans. It had been reported to him, that unless some demonstra
tion was made, the Indians, upon whose co-operation much value
was placed, would abandon the British standard, and return to
their own country. That they were already discouraged by the
progress of General Hull's army, and the disaffection was fast
spreading among them. He could not well leave the scene of oper
ations below, but still the circumstances seemed imperative, and
he therefore hastened to the west, to take such measures as might
seem necessary. He added, that on his- arrival he found the Amer
ican troops had abandoned Canada, and re-crossed the Detroit
river. In this state of things, as he could not remain, it became
necessary that he should strike some stroke which should preserve
the confidence of the Indians, and to barrass the enemy, and with
these views, be passed the line, intending to take a position at the
Spring Wells, and intercept the communication of General Hull
with his own country. One of our mails had been taken, at Browns
town, by the Indians, and its contents had been'delivered to Gen
eral Brock. He found there the correspondence of General Hull
with the governors of some of the western states, and also with the
war department. In it he expressed himself in very desponding
terms, as to his position and prospects, and urged the necessity
of additional reinforcements of men, and supplies of provisions.
In fact, the destruction of Chicago seemed to destroy any little
vigor General Hull had left, and from that time his imagination
was -filled with hosts of Indian warriors, who were to, surround his.
unlucky command in numbers like the locusts of Egypt. General
Brock read the feelings of General Hull in his letters, and his
measures became tbe more efficient as his adversary became low
ered in his esteem. He supposed that both ammunition and pro
visions were much more reduced there than they were, and his
intention was to establish himself at the Spring Wells, and thus
reduce us to want, or to compel us to meet him in the field. When
he landed at the Spring Wells, he learned that there was a large de
tachment ofthe American army in his rear, being the one sent under
Colonel McArthur and Colonel Cass to the river Raisin, to escort
provisions which had been deposited there, and containing about
three hundred and fifty men, about equal to one half of General
Brock's force. An old chief came to him immediately after he
4

50 LIFE AND TIMES
landed, and told him that there were American troops on tbe other
side of him. He replied,' He did not believe a word he said ; to
which the chief answered, These old eyes saw the glistening of their
big knives, (bayonets,) which are fastened to their guns. This
information was soon corroborated by the statements of other per
sons, "and General Brock became satisfied that he was in a critical
position, for, though the result of accident, yet the detachment could
not have been placed in a better place to annoy the British. Noth
ing remained for General Brock, but to make a bold stroke upon the
fort, or to re-cross the river'. The latter movement would have
demoralized his force, and destroyed all confidence in his opera
tions, and the Indians would have left him. He chose the bolder,
but the wiser course, and moved up the river to the attack, still
placing his main hope in the character of his antagonist. He was
anxious to finish his work before the absent detachment should
return. The reliance he placed' upon the character of General
Hull, proved correct, though he under-estimated his means of
resistance. "Unfortunately for the credit of our country, resistance
there was none. An army, a fort, and a territory, were surren
dered without firing a gun, or spilling a drop of blood. It is the
only instance of such an unredeemed disgrace in our military
annals. There is little danger that there will be another.
The tidings of this untoward disaster traveled all over the Un
ion with great celerity. The opponents of the war took courage,
and were lavish with their censure, while its advocates and sup
porters were dumb with amazement. The facts were distorted,
and a reliable account of the transaction difficult to be obtained.
General Hull stood high in the confidence of his government, and
was reputed to be a man of valor and experience. It was known
that the army entrusted to his command consisted mostly of volun
teers from Ohio, and to this circumstance, more than any other,
did the public mind, in the first utterance of its uncontrollable
indignation, attribute the calamity. The brave officers, who had
left their homes and families for the fatigues and privations of the
soldier, came in for an inordinate share of derision, and upon
their heads was profusely showered the wrath and scorn of all
parties. But in due time, as we shall presently see,- truth rose above.
these clouds of obloquy and censure, and wrung from the most
prejudiced foe, an expression of his conviction that it was the

OF LEWIS CASS. 51
General, and not his subordinates, who had cowered in disgrace
before the growl of the British lion.
General Hull was ordered to Montreal, and it was a long time
before bis official report reached the Secretary of War. But it
finally reached the department, bearing unqualified testimony to
the gallant spirit which pervaded his officers and men. " A large
portion of the brave and gallant officers and men I commanded,"
says he, " would cheerfully have contested until the last cartridge
bad been expended and their bayonets worn to the sockets. It is
a duty I owe my associates in command, Colonels McArthur,
Findlay,' Cass, and Lieutenant Colonel Miller, to express my obli
gations to them for the prompt and judicious manner they have
performed their respective duties. If aught has taken place during
the campaign which is honorable to the' army, these officers are
entitled to a large share of it. If the last act should be disap
proved, no part of the censure belongs to them."
The Ohio volunteers repaired to their homes, on their parole
not to serve again during the war, unless exchanged, way-worn
and dejected. To a man, they felt that the result of the unfortu
nate expedition, under Hull, would fill a sad page in the history
of their country. Conscious of having performed their whole duty
with a hearty will, they lingered on the way, almost ashamed to
meet the faces of their friends and fellow-citizens. Censure, un
merited though it was, did not escape their ears. Sensitive of
their wounded honor, they were anxious that their government
and the whole country should be fully apprised of the facts as
they had occurred. With this view, and in compliance with their
earnest request, as soon as they reached Cleveland, in their own
State, Colonel McArthur, their senior officer, ordered Colonel
Cass to proceed to Washington, to render an account of the catas
trophe. Colonel Cass, with sorrow, exchanged salutations with his com
panions in arms, and immediately set out for the seat of govern
ment. He traveled on, without delay, as rapidly as his convey
ance and his health would admit of, until he reached McConnels-
town, in the State of Pennsylvania. Here, worn down by anxiety,
exposure, and fatigue, and his system filled with the noxious
miasma of swamps and marshes, he was attacked with a severe
fever, which raged at its hight for several days. In the mean
time, Colonel McArthur had informed the War Department, by

52 LIFE AND TIMES
post, that Colonel Cass was on his way, and would make a full
and reliable report, as soon as he reached the capital. As no
despatch was received from Hull, and none, with much confidence,
expected, for some time to come at least, the government awaited,
Colonel Cass' arrival with great solicitude. Learning of his ill
ness, and impatient for his communication, a messenger, with a
carriage, was sent on to McConnelstown, and measures taken for
his safe conveyance to Washington. Upon his arrival there, he
forthwith submitted the following report to the government :
Washington, September 12th, 1812.
Sik :.— -^ Having been ordered on to this place by Colonel Mcr
Arthur, for the purpose of communicating to the government such
particulars respecting the expedition lately commanded by Brig
adier General Hull, and its disastrous result, as might enable
them correctly to appreciate the conduct of the officers and men,.
and to develope the causes which produced so foul a stain upon
the national character, I have the honor to submit,, for your con
sideration, the following statement :
When the forces landed in Canada, they landed with an ardent
zeal, and stimulated with the hope of conquest. No enemy ap
peared in view of us, and had an immediate and vigorous attac^,
been made upon. Maiden, it would doubtless have fallen an easy
victory. I know General Hull afterwards, declared he regrettec|
this attack had not been made, and be had every reason to believe
success would have crowned his efforts. The reason given for
delaying our operation was, to mount our heavy cannon, and to
afford to the Canadian militia time and opportunity to quit an
obnoxious service. In the course of two weeks, the number of
their militia, who were embodied, had decreased, by desertion,,
from six hundred to one hundred men ; and, in the course of three
weeks,, the cannon were mounted, the ammunition fixed,, and every
preparation made for an immediate investment of the fort. At a
council, at which were present all the field officers, and which was
held before our preparations were completed, it w^s unanimouslSj
agreed to make an immediate attempt to accomplish the object.
of the expedition. If, by Waiting two days, we could have the
service of our heavy artillery, it was agreed to wait ; if not,' it,
was determined to go without it, and attempt the place by stornw
This opinion appeared to correspond with the views ofthe General,. ¦

OF LEWIS CASS, 53
and the day was appointed *for commencing our march. He de
clared to me that he considered himself pledged to lead the army
to Maiden. The ammunition was placed in the wagons ; the
cannons were embarked on board the floating batteries, and every
requisite was prepared. The spirit and zeal, the ardor and' ani
mation displayed by the officers and men, on learning the near
accomplishment of their wishes, was a sure and sacred pledge that,
in the hour of trial, they Would not be found wanting in duty to
their country and themselves. But a change of measures, in op
position to the wishes and opinions of all the officers, was adopted
by the General. The plan of attacking Maiden was abandoned,
and, instead of acting offensively, we broke up oUr camp, evac
uated Canada, and re-crossed the river in, the night, without even
the shadow of an enemy to injure us. We left-, to the tender
mercies of the enemy, the miserable Canadians who had joined
us, and tbe protection we afforded them was but a passport to
vengeance. This fatal and unaccountable step dispirited the troops',
and destroyed the little confidence which a series of timid, irreso
lute, and indecisive measures had left in tbe commanding officer.
About the 10th of August, the enemy received a reinforcement
of four hundred men. On the 12th, the commanding officers of
three of the regiments, (the fourth was absent,) were informed,
through a medium which admitted of no doubt, that the General
had stated that a capitulation would be necessary. They, on the
same day, addressed to Governor , Meigs, of Ohio, a letter, of
Which the following is an extract :
' Believe all the bearer will tell yoti; Believe it, however
it may astonish you, as much as if told by one of us. Even a
c —  is talked of by the  ¦. The bearer will fill the
vacancy.' The doubtful fate of this letter, rendered it necessary to use
circumspection in its details, arid therefore the blanks were left.
The word ' capitulation ' would fill the first, and ' commanding
general ' the other. As no enemy was near us, and as the supe
riority of our force was manifest, we could, see no necessity for
capitulating, nor«any propriety in alluding to it. We then deter
mined, in the last resort, to incur the responsibility of divesting
the General of his command. This plan was eventually prevented
by two of the commanding officers of regiments being ordered
upon detachments.

54 LIFE AND TIMES
On the 13th, the British took a position opposite Detroit, and
began to throw. up works. During that and the two following
days, they pursued their object without interruption, and estab
lished a battery for two eighteen pounders and an eight inch how
itzer. About sunset on the '14th, a detachment of three hundred
and fifty men, from the regiments commanded by Colonel McAr
thur and myself, was ordered to march to the river Raisin, to
escort the provisions, which had some time remained there, -pro
tected by a party under the command of Captain Brush.
On Saturday, the 15tb, about one o'clock, a flag of truce arrived
from Sandwich, bearing a summons, from General Brock, for the
surrender of the town and fort of Detroit, stating he could no
longer . restrain the fury of the savages. To this, an immediate
and spirited refusal was returned. About four o'clock, their bat-
' teries began to play upon the town. The fire was returned,- and
continued, without interruption, and with little effect, till dark.
Their shells were thrown till eleven o'clock.
At daylight, the firing on both sides re-commenced; at the
same time, the enemy began to land troops at the Spring Wells,
three miles below Detroit, protected by two of their armed vessels,
Between six and seven o'clock, they bad effected their landing,
and immediately took up their line of march. They moved in a
close column of platoons, twelve in front, upon the bank of the
river. The fourth regiment was stationed in the fort ; the Ohio volun
teers and a part of the Michigan militia, behind some pickets, in
a situation in which the whole flank of the enemy would have
been exposed. , The residue of the Michigan militia were in the
upper part of the town, to resist the incursions of the savages.
Two twenty-four pounders, loaded with grape shot, were posted
on a commanding eminence, ready to sweep the advancing column.
In this situation, the superiority of our position was apparent, and
our troops, in the eager expectation of victory, awaited the ap
proach of the enemy. Not a sigh of discontent broke upon the
ear ; not a look of cowardice met the eye. Every man expected
a proud day for his country, and each was anxious that his indi
vidual exertion should Contribute to the general result.
When the head of their column arrived within about five hun
dred yards of the head of our line, orders were received from
General Hull for the whole to retreat to the fort, and for the

OF LEWIS CASS. 55
twenty-four pounders not to open upon the enemy. One univer
sal burst of indignation was apparent upon the receipt of this
order. Thbse, whose conviction was the deliberate result of a
dispassionate examination of passing events, saw the folly and
impropriety of crowding eleven hundred men into a little work
which three hundred men could fully man, and into which the
shots and shells of the enemy were falling. The fort was, in this
manner, filled ; the men were directed to stack their arms, and
scarcely was an opportunity afforded of moving. Shortly after, a
white flag was bung out upon the walls. A British officer rode up
to- inquire the cause. A communication passed between the com
manding generals, which ended in the capitulation submitted to you.
In entering into this capitulation, the General took counsel from his
own feelings only. Not an officer was consulted. Not one antici
pated a surrender, till he saw this white flag displayed. ' Even the
women were indignant at so shameful a degradation of the Amer
ican character, and all felt but he who held in his hands the reins
of authority.
Our morning report had that morning made our effective force
present, fit for duty, one thousand and sixty, without including the
detachment before alluded to, and without including three hundred
of tbe Michigan militia on duty. About dark, on Saturday evening,
the detachment sent to escort the provisions received orders from
General Hull to return with as much expedition as possible. About
ten o'clock the next day, they arrived within sight of Detroit. Had
a firing been heard, or any resistance visible, they would have
immediately advanced and attacked the rear of the enemy. The
situation in which this detachment was placed, although the result
of accident, was the best for annoying the enemy and cutting off
his retreat, that could have been selected. With his raw troops,
enclosed between two fires, and no hope of succor, it is hazarding
little to say, that very few would have escaped.
I have been informed by Colonel Eindlay, who saw the return
of the quartermaster general the day after the surrender, that their
whole force, of every description, white, red, and black, was one
thousand and thirty. They had seventy-nine platoons, twelve in
a platoon, of men dressed in uniform; many of these were evideritly
Canadian militia. The rest of their militia increased their whole
force to about seven hundred men. The number of Indians could
not be ascertained with any degree of precision ; not rriany were

56 LIFE AND TIMES
visible, and in the event of an attack, could afford no materiaj
advantage to the enemy.
In endeavoring to appreciate the motives, and to investigate the
causes which led to an event so unexpected and dishonorable, it
is impossible to find any solution in the relative strength of the
contending partieg, or in the measures of resistance in our power.
That Tve were far superior to the enemy ; that upon any ordinary
principle of calculation, we would have defeated them, the wounded
and indignant feelings of every man there will testify.
A few days before the surrender, I was informed by General
Hull, we had four hundred rounds of twenty-four pound shot fixed,
and about one hundred thousand cartridges made. We surren
dered with the fort, forty barrels of powder and twenty-five hun
dred stand of arms.
The state ofour provisions has not been generally understood,
On the day of the surrender, we had fifteen days' provisions of
every kind on hand — of meat, there was plenty in the country,
and arrangements had been onade for purchasing and grinding
the flour. It was calculated we could readily procure three months'
provisions, independent of one hundred and fifty barrels of flour.
and thirteen hundred head of cattle, which .had been forwarder
from the State of Ohio, which remained at the river Raisin, under '
Captain Brush, within reach of the army.
But had we been totally destitute of provisions, our duty and
our interest undoubtedly was to fight. The enemy invited us to
meet him in the field.
By defeating him, the whole country would have been open to *
us, and the object of the expedition gloriously and successfully;
obtained. If we had been defeated, we had nothing to do but to
retreat to the fort, and make the best defense which circumstances!
and our situation rendered practicable. But basely to surren
der, without firing a gun — tamely to submit, without raising a
bayonet— disgracefully to pass in review before an enemy, as infe- ,<
rior in quality as in the number of his forces, were circumstances
which excited feelings of indignation, more easily felt than des
cribed. To see the whole of our men flushed with the hopenf
victory, eagerly awaiting the approaching contest, to see them
afterwards dispirited, hopeless, and desponding, at least five huni
dred shedding tears because they were not allowed to meet theiusi
country's foes, and fight their country's battles, excited sensationjp

OF LEWIS CASS. 57
which no American has ever before had cause to feel, and which,
I trust in God, will never again be felt, while one man remains
to defend the standard of the Union.
I am expressly authorized to state, that Colonel McArthur and
Colonel Findlay, and Lieutenant Colonel Miller, viewed this trans
action in the light which I do. They know, and feel, that no cir
cumstances in our situation, none in that of the enemy, can excuse a
capitulation so dishonorable and unjustifiable. This, too, is the
universal sentiment among the troops ; and I shall be surprised to
learn that there is one man who thinks it was necessary to sheathe
his sword or lay down his musket.
I was informed by General Hull, the morning after the capitu
lation, that the British forces consisted of one thousand eight hun
dred regulars, and that he surrendered to prevent the effusion of
human blood. That he magnified their regular force near five
fold, there can be no doubt. Whether the philanthropic reason
assigned by him is a justification for surrendering a fortified town,
an army, and a territory, is for the government to determine.
Confident I am, that had the courage and conduct ofthe General
been equal to the spirit and zeal of the troops, the event would
have been brilliant and successful, as it now is disastrous and
dishonorable. Yery respectfully, sir,
I have the honor to be
, Tour most obedient servant,
Lewis Cass,
Colonel 3d Regiment Ohio Volunteers.
The Honorable William Eustis,
Secretary of War.
The appearance of this report created a profound sensation in
the public mind, and was published and commented upon in all
the leading newspapers throughout the country. The political
party known as the Federal party, was violently opposed to the
war, and the surrender of -Detroit, while carrying dismay among^
the friends of the national administration, appeared to madden
its enemies with a species of joy, bordering upon ferocity. The
intervening month had been industriously improved by the Fede
ralists, to prostrate it under that disaster. The good name of Mr.
Madison did not shield him from malevolence^ and the effort now

58 LIFE AND TIMES
was, to shake public confidence in the authenticity of Colonel
Cass' statements ; and they sought to demolish him and his report
by the most fiery denunciations and incessant vituperation. They
arraigned him before the bar of public opinion, relying upon the
apologetical report of Hull to sustain their accusations. The doc-
uments in his possession, however, triumphantly sustained the
young and gallant colonel, and when driven to the wall, his dis
comfited assailants contented themselves with criticising his lan
guage and style, and finally rested upon the position that, after
all, he was not the author of the report, but had made his bow to
the people in borrowed plumage, kindly furnished for the occasion
by Richard Rush-, then the Comptroller of the Treasury.
No person can fail to perceive that this distinguished report
contains a clear and full narrative of the surrender. It was well
received by the government, and by alarge majority of the people.
Although " a fortified post, ari army, and a territory" had been
lost, at the very commencement of hostilities, yet it was apparent
to every candid mind, that the disaster was attributable to the
weakness and incompetency of the commanding general, and not
to the want of bravery or discipline on the part of his officers and
men. Colonel Cass, soon after submitting his report to the Secretary
of War — his health being sufficiently recruited to enable him to
travel — left the capital, and journeyed homeward, and joined his
family near Zanesville, in the early part of October. Notwith
standing he was now a prisoner of war, at large on his parole, yet
he had.no occasion to be ashamed of his military career, thus far.
Whenever the opportunity was offered him, he had conducted
himself with honor and courage. No man did more to keep up
the drooping ardor of his General. Of all the command, he was
first to step on the enemy's soil — of all the officers, he was first in
battle. The first victory, and the first laurel, in the long train so
gallantly won by his countrymen on land and sea, was his. Nor
did he avail himself of the present occasion to drowse in domestic
repose, but, with his voice and pen, -was constantly calling upon
his fellow-citizens, undismayed by the misfortune of the past, to
rally around the patriot Madison, and sustain his administration
at every cost and hazard. An intense hatred of monarchy, and
all its aristocratic institutions, was a part of his very nature, and
it had full scope in the contest now waged with England.

OF LEWIS CASS. 59
The opponents of the war measures omitted, no occasion to cast
odium and contempt upon Mr. Madison and his cabinet, and were
unceasing in their efforts to disparage and throw discredit upon all,
especially upon those whose testimony might serve to show that
the administration was able and patriotic ; and hence the rumors,
forged to order, of the incapacity of Colonel Cass. But the patri
otism and talents of the young warrior were too brilliant to be
tarnished by such means, and the people too intelligent not to
understand that these rumors were the offspring of an envious and
hostile faction.
So much was said at Washington about the authorship of " the
report," and had been reiterated elsewhere, that Mr. Rush, of his
own accord, transmitted to Colonel Cass, at his residence in Ohio,
a letter in denial, with a copy of the Intelligencer containing the
statement. Although Colonel Cass, of course, was aware that the
accusation was traveling the rounds ofthe Federal press, yet hith
erto be had not deemed it of sufficient importance to merit any
notice. But as it was now announced, in unmeasured terms, in
an influential paper at Washington,, at the door of the War De
partment, he could do no less than forward to the editor's of the
National Intelligencer, for publication, the following note :
* ' To the Editors of the National Tntelli-gencer r
Gentlemen : — I transmit to you, for publication, the enclosed
letter, politely, and without solicitation, addressed to me by Mr.
Rush. So far as respects myself, the tale it refutes merits no consider
ation, and would meet no attention. Whether I am competent to
the task of relating plain facts, many of which I saw, and on all
of which I have had the feelings and information of hundreds to
guide me, is a question of no importance to the public, and of no
interest to those editors who have asserted or insinuated it. But
it is deeply interesting to their passions and pursuits, that every
account which tends to exonerate the government from all partici
pation in the event of an expedition feebly conducted, and in a
capitulation dishonorably concluded, should be assailed openly
and covertly. I was aware that every man who should attempt
by a disclosure of the truth, to give correct information, must
expect to have his motives impugned and his character assailed,
with all the rancor of malignity and eagerness of party. As I felt

60 LIFE AND TIMES
•
no disposition to covet, so I trust there was no necessity for avoid
ing, an investigation like that. I had witnessed the irritation of
feeling, and the latitude of observation, in many papers of the
country. The terms ' conscripts,' a ' little still-born army,1 and every
injurious and opprobrious epithet which party zeal could lavish
upon western patriotism and enterprise, I have observed with
regret, but without surprise. But I had to learn that the editor
of a newspaper, upon his own responsibility, would propagate a
tale so false and unqualified as that iu the United States Gazette!
of  October last. The letter transmitted will show what credit
is due to the assertions of men who can discover little to condemn
in an enemy's government, and none to approve in their own.
I can not resist the present bpportunity of placing in a propel
point.of view, a transaction misrepresented with all the virulence
of faction. The capitulation for the surrender of Detroit, contained
no stipulations allowing the commanding officer to forward to his
government an account of the causes which produced, and of the
circumstances which attended, so unexpected an event. The
• commanding officer himself became an unconditional prisoner of
war. His liberation, or the intelligence he might communicate to
his own government, depended on the interest or caprice of the
enemy. In this situation, on the arrival of Colonel McArthur
within the jurisdiction of the United States, he became the senior
officer of those troops which, by the capitulation, were permitted
to return home ; and as such, it became a matter of duty to report
himself to the government, and of propriety,, to communicate to
them all the intelligence in his power. For this purpose, the
second officer in command present, was ordered to repair to the
seat of government. On his arrival, he found the rumor of the
disaster had preceded him, and that information was anxiously
and impatiently expected. Public report had informed the gov
ernment that they had lost a fort, an army, and a territory, but
of the remote or direct causes which occasioned it, of the situation
of their own troops, or of the designs of the enemy, they were
profoundly ignorant. Were they, in this situation, fastidiously to
reject proffered information, and continue willfully ignorant of a
transaction so striking in its features, and so important in its con»;<
sequences to the peace and character of a nation? or were they
not compelled, by duty, to seek every means of information, in

OF LEWIS CASS. 61
order with promptitude to repair the evjl,and with vigilance pre
vent the repetition of a similar one. ? Their duty surely can not be
mistaken by the most bigoted zealot of party:. The act, then, of
Communicating intelligence, and of receiving it, was not merely
natural, but commendable. It was a duty over which the govern
ment had no control. As the officer gave it, they must receive
it, neither accountable for the manner nor the accuracy of his
relations,. The question which has been so ably discussed, whether this
statement is official, in itself a very clear one, will become impor
tant and interesting when disputes about words shall again agitate
the feelings and divide- the opinions of the world. Until then, it
is cheerfully relinquished to- those who have so learnedly investi
gated, it.
- That an officer in his report must confine himself to those facts
which passed within hi3 own observation, and to which he could
testify in a court of justice, is among the moral and extraordinary
pretensions to which this communication has given birth. Mea
gre, indeed, would be every similar statement, were such a prin
ciple correct in theory, or supported by practice. In a compli
cated- transaction, it would present but a skeleton of a report,
omitting many interesting details essential to a correct view of the
subject, and necessary in the succession of facts which connect
causes with their consequences. It would require almost as many
reports as there were actions, and instead of a faithful sketch by a
single band, a motley and discordant group of objects would meet
the eye, exciting little interest, and conveying little information. '
But independently of any speculative views which may be taken
ofthe Bubject, it isi sufficient to refer every candid and dispassion
ate observer, to the report of military transactions which daily
appear in our and in other countries. The futility of the objection
will at once be exposed,, for it will be found that a report is sel
dom, if ever, made without violating this rule, for the first time-
applied as the standard to the statement of an officer of the most
important military event which has occurred for many years in
the history of his country.
The propriety of publishing such a report, remains duly to be
investigated. In a government, formed on the power and sup
ported by the confidence of the people, the right of the public to
receive information on all national transactions, is too clear to

62 LIFE AND TIMES
require support or to fear denial. Whether a battle be won or
lost — whether the event be brilliant or disastrous — the duty of
communicating, and the right of claiming information, is the same.
For weeks after the surrender of an important post, while the
public mind is agitated and public expectation is alive, the govern
ment receives from an officer, despatched by a senior officer within
their jurisdiction and' subject to their control, a statement of the
circumstances which preceded and accompanied the transaction.
Two weeks would have been' sufficient for the commanding officer
to have forwarded his despatches, had the capitulation conferred
on him the right, or the enemy the favor of doing it immediately
subsequent to the surrender. The , government had a right to
conclude the privilege was refused him, or the duty omitted by
him. That portion of the troops which, by the capitulation, were
to be. conveyed- to the United States, afforded a secure opportu
nity for this .purpose. This having failed, it became uncertain at
what period his communication would be received. Was the
government then to withhold tbe information they possessed he- ,
cause the information attributed the failing of the expedition to
» the commanding officer? The character of the nation, the repu
tation of the government and of every individual embarked in that
expedition, were involved in its issue. Was it of any importance,
by a correct disclosure of facts, to redeem the public character and
feelings ? Was it of no importance, by placing, in a proper point
of view, the features of the transactiori, to show that the boasts of
the enemy were as vain as their conquest was bloodless ? To
prove to our country that her sons might yet be led on to battle,
and perhaps to victory ? The government, too, had a reputation
to lose. That reputation was eagerly assailed. The failure of
the expedition was attributed to the want of preparation, and the
measures respecting it were characterized as imbecile and igno
rant. The forbearance demanded was far from being granted.
So far as respects the commanding officer, the details of an unfor
tunate expedition must be shrouded in Delphic obscurity, and the
public await, in dubious suspense, the tedious process of military
investigation. But every little nameless paper is at liberty to
display its brilliant wit and sarcastic remarks at the expense pf
those who planned and ordered the expedition. Their reputatisPl1
awaits the result of no trial. They must be offered up, an expia-
¦ tory sacrifice, upon the altar of public indignation. The contem-

OF LEWIS CASS. 63
plated investigation, wbicb is ultimately to determine the respect
ive measure of merit and of blame, here becomes unnecessary.
Its result is anticipated with that confidence which, ought only to
be inspired by an accurate knowledge of the attendant circum
stances. To require, in such a situation, a studious concealment
of those facts which would enable the public correctly to appre
ciate the conduct of all, is to require a species of forbearance as
little suited to tbe practice as the duties of life. I am aware that
nothing which can be said upon this subject, will, with many,
carry conviction or produce acknowledgment. The most obvious
considerations of reason and of justice will be overlooked. Such,
in the conflicts of opinion and the collision of party, has always
-been the case. But truth will ultimately prevail, and the public
will evidently be enabled correctly to estimate the conduct of all
who have had any agency in a transaction so deeply interesting
to their character and feelings.
November 20th, 1812. (Signed,) Lewis Cass."
The enclosure referred to, reads as follows :
" Washington, November 3d, 1812.
Deab Sir :— It was not until after I had had the pleasure to
see you, and for some time after you left Washington, that the
foolish insinuation, which has appeared in some of the newspapers,
of my having been concerned in writing the letter you addressed
to the Secretary of War, first came to my ears ; nor have I, to
this day, seen the insinuation in print.
I would have contradicted it at once, but that it seemed to me
quite superfluous, and that it would be to confer a notice upon it
which its idle character did not deserve. In what so strange an
untruth could have originated, I am siire I know not ; neither
can I divest myself of embarrassment in thus troubling you with
a line about it. I have not yet heard it said that I wrote the
address you delivered to the volunteers of Ohio in the spring,
before I had the pleasure to see or to know you ; and yet it is
,: certain that I wrote as much of that as I did of your letter to the
Secretary of War.
** I sincerely hope your health has been re-established since you
left Washington, and that, to other causes of regret, connected

64 LIFE AND TIMES
with your march to Detroit, there will not be added that of any
permanent injury to your constitution.
Believe me, dear sir, with great respect and esteem, i
Your obedient servant,
(Signed,) Richard Rush."
This unanswerable rejoinder of Colonel Cass, silenced, for the
time being, the batteries of the opposition, and many of the con
ductors of the public press had the magnanimity to insert it in
their columns. " In what so strange an untruth could have origi
nated," remained a profound mystery for some time. But it
turned out to be the fact, that one of the clerks in the bureau of
Mr. Rush happened into his office when Colonel Cass was read
ing the report to him, prior to its presentation to Mr. Eustis, the
Secretary of War, and this clerk took it for granted, but untruly,
that Colonel Cass had drawn up the report agreeably to some
previous understanding with Mr. Rush, and was then submitting
it to him for revision and correction. Not content with simply
stating what be saw and heard, (and which, indeed, would have
been a violation of the confidential relations existing between the
bead of a bureau and his clerk, especially at that critical juncture
of public affairs,) he had the effrontery to intimate to the enemies
of the government, that Colonel Cass was a mere puppet in the
hands of the Comptroller of the Treasury. The circumstance,
that this person was so near to Mr. Rush in the public employ
ment, gave color to the truth of his intimation, (which, in the
end, he admitted was the mere coinage of his own brain,) and
was seized upon with avidity to annoy the administration.
The report, as subsequent proofs attested, told the truth and the
whole truth. As Mr. Madison was a member of Mr. Jefferson's
cabinet in 1800, he had occasion to know the character of Colonel
Cass, and unhesitatingly placed implicit reliance in his state
ments, as coming from a man of truth and of steadfast attach
ment to the measures of the government.
Mr. Rush stood deservedly high in the confidence of the Presi
dent, and his patriotism was unquestioned by both friend and foe.
He and Colonel Cass were known to each other, by reputation, as^
leading members of the same political party, in their respective*
States ; both were ardent advocates of the necessity of the warj|j
and unwavering supporters of all the measures brought forward

OF LEWIS OASS. g5
to carry it on to success ; both appreciated each other's feelings
at Hull's disgraceful surrender, and were alike sensitive to the
inflammatory appeals, daily made by the friends of England, to
excite the prejudices of the people of the country. It was but
natural, therefore, that Mr. Rush should make Colonel Cass'
acquaintance, upon his reaching the seat of government, and
evince an intense anxiety to be made acquainted with the posture
of affairs at the north-west ; and it was equally natural that Col
onel Cass should be perfectly willing to gratify his friend, occu
pying a confidential position under the administration, and, as the
most satisfactory mode of doing so, should read to him his report
to the Department of War. He did so, and Mr. Rush, unlike his
silly clerk, had tbe good sense not to precede that department in
its promulgation to tbe world.
5

66 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER y.
Action of War Department— Of Congress — General Assembly'of Ohio— Confidence iri Colonel Cass — Col
onel in XT. S. Army — Raises a Kegiment — Elected Major General of tne Militia. — Appointed Brigadier
General in V. S, . Army — Joins the Army under General Harrison at Senecatovra — Ardor of his
Command — General Harrison's Confidence in him — The Enemy at Lower Sandusky— Major Crog
han — His Gallant Defense — Artifice of the British Officers — General Harrison marches to Sandusky
— Perry's Victory— Embarkation on Lake Erie — Harrison assigns Command of Debarkation to Gen
eral Cass — Arrival at Maiden — Proctor's Hetreat— Council of War — Pursuit of Proctor — Battle of the
Thames— Defeat and Might of Proctor— Pursued by General Cass — Harrison's Testimony to Gene
ral Cass' Personal Exertions — His Bravery.
The administration, acting upon the report of Colonel Cass,
verified by the unanimous approbation of all his fellow soldiers,
no longer doubted that the disastrous result at Detroit was attrib
utable to the incapacity and cowardice of Hull, and took vigorous
steps to retrieve the honor of the American arms. Congress
assembled on the fourth of November, after an unusually short
recess, and the President immediately invited its attention to the
state of affairs at the north-west. An increase of 'the army was
recommended. The surrender of Detroit, instead of repressing, stimulated the
ardor and patriotism of the hardy settlers of the western country,
and Ohio had put on foot by the time Congress assembled, some
three thousand additional volunteers. In December, Colonel Cass
was appointed a Major-General ofthe Ohio militia, but being yet
on his parole, unexchanged, he could not then take an active part in
the war. The General Assembly of Ohio also, in the same month,
adopted resolutions complimentary to their volunteers, and tender
ing the thanks of the State to the officers and soldiers for their
patriotism, bravery, and general good conduct during the late
campaign. On the fourteenth day of January, 1813, Congress authorized
the military force to be increased by such a number of regiments
of infantry, not exceeding twenty, as the good of the service
might require, and repealed, at a subsequent day of the same ses
sion, the law authorizing the further acceptance of volunteers. As
the patriotism of Ohio was unquestioned, and her citizens had_
manifested a readiness on so many trying occasions to answejj
call of their country, the President resolved to raise two regr
of regular troops in that State, to wit, the twenty-sixth ane

OF LEWIS CASS. 67
twenty-seventh. Tbe raising and organization of the last was
committed to Colonel Cass. He was exchanged and released
from his parole about tbe middle of January, 1813, and was, there
fore, again in a situation to report for duty. He accepted the
appointment ofthe President, and was commissioned a colonel iu
the regular service. And so great was the confidence of the gov
ernment in his ability and judgment, that he was clothed with
authority to select his own officers (except the field' officers,) for
the regiment to be placed under his command.
Colonel Cass received his new commission in person at Wash
ington, and soon afterwards repaired to Ohio, to fill Up his com-
marid. Without difficulty, he succeeded beyond his most sanguine
anticipations. It was stirring times there. Mortified beyond
measure of expression at the cheap victory of the British, the men
of Ohio meant it should be a barren one. And, as they did not
now permit themselves to doubt that the Indians, controlled bythe
arts and eloquence of Tecumseh, were firmly attached to the cause
of Great Britain, they came forward and offered their services.
The ranks of the twenty-seventh regiment, as well as those of the
twenty-sixth, were filled up by the ensuing month of March, and
reported ready for duty. The rank of Brigadier General in the
Army" of the Hnited States was now conferred upon Colonel Cass,
as a reward for bis meritorious services and unflinching fidelity,
and because the government desired to avail itself of the benefit
of his invaluable judgment and bravery in the cariipaign of the
ensuing year. The United States, in April, was divided irito nine
military districts, and Brigadier General Cass was assigned for
duty in the eighth, under the command of Major General William
H. Harrison, comprising the States of Ohio and Kentucky, and
the Territories of Indiana and Michigan.
In conformity to his orders, General Cass left the seat of gov
ernment early in the spring, and proceeded to the west, to place
himself at the head of his brigade. He joined General Harrison
at Senecatown in the month of July, with an effective cotnmand ;
and with enthusiastic ardor he looked forward to the hour when,
by the blessing of Providence, he should have the unspeakable
pleasure of again beholding the glorious stars and stripes floating
in triumph from the flag-staff of Fort Detroit.
dwi^The object of the present expedition was, the capture of the
British army, and re-possession of the lost Territory of Michigan.

68 LIFE AND TIMES
The plan of the campaign was to invade Canada by Maiden, and
having reduced that stronghold of the enemy,, to march upon
Detroit. Aside from the unfeasiblcness of the route by land, at
the head of Lake Erie, Tecumseh's trained bands roamed, in too
great numbers along the edges of the swamps, and over the bound
less forests, ready to harass the troops on the march, to justify
a movement in that direction. The enemy's war vessels, ready
for a hostile engagement, were also ready to intercept, if an effort
was. made to cross by water; and as General Harrison was directed
to act in conjunction with Commodore Perry, then fitting out a
fleet at Erie, lower down the lake, it was determined to remain
at Senecatown until that flotilla arrived to transport the army
to Canada. Here the army remained, employed in drilling and
other necessary duties, until the junction of the Kentucky militia,
under Governor Shelby, and the victory of Perry, upon Lake
Erie, enabled General Harrison to commence offensive operations.
Subsequent events proved the wisdom of this determination. It
is to be borne in mind, likewise, by the candid inquirer after
truth, that the forces, prior to the arrival of the Kentucky troops,
were comparatively few, and had been hastily collected : that the
advices to head-quarters were to the effect that the proper author
ities were making arrangements to furnish the army with rein
forcements from all parts of the west ; that magazines were form
ing, and supplies preparing for the. accomplishment of the ultimate
object of this campaign, as soon as the state of the arrangements
and the anticipated command of the lake, should enable the army
to move forward with a reasonable prospect of success ; that the
strength of the enemy, in regular troops, militia, or Indians, was
wholly unknown to the commanding, officer, and that upon that
army rested the last hope of safety for the frontier. It was the
point of concentration, and if destroyed, the country would have
been laid waste, far into the interior, and the prosecution of another
offensive campaign during that year, would have been rendered
impossible. Such interests were too great to be put to hazard by
a false movement, and General Harrison, aided by the constant
advice and presence of General Cass, with whom he consulted
more than any other officer, resolved to await the result at Seneca
town and there to defend himself, if attacked, to the last extremity.
The course adopted was approved by all the superior officers whp
were with him.

of Lewis cass. 69
On tbe first of August, one of the scouting parties sent out by
General Harrison, returned from the lake shore to camp, and
reported that they had discovered, the day before, the enemy in
force near the mouth of the Sandusky bay, nine miles to the north
ward. In the course of the next day, listening with anxiety in the
environs of his camp, General Harrison, having beard the report
bf cannon in the direction of the lake, made several attempts to
ascertain the force and situation ofthe enemy. His scouts Were
unable to get near the fort at Lower Sandusky, because the Indi
ans surrounded it. Finding, however, that the enemy had only
light artillery, and being well convinced that it could make little
impression upon the works, and that any attempt to storm would
be resisted with effect byMajor Croghan, in command of the post
with one hundred and sixty men, he waited for the arrival of two
hundred and fifty mounted volunteers, who had, the evening
before, left Upper Sandusky, and were momentarily expected. A
scout sobn came in, and gave information that the enemy were
retreating, and General Harrison, with the dragoons that had now
arrived, forthwith set out to endeavor to overtake them, at the
same time ordering Generals Cass and McArthur to follow rapidly
on with all the infantry, (then about seven hundred,) that could
be spared from the protection of the stores and sick. He found it
impossible to overhaul the enemy. Upon his arrival at Sandus
ky, it appeared that an unsuccessful attempt to storm the fort had
been made by the enemy, consisting of four hundred and ninety
regular troops, and five hundred Indians, commanded by General
Proctor in person, and that Tecumseh, with some two thousand
warriors, was somewhere in the sWamps between Senecatown
and Fort Meigs, awaitirig his advance, or a convoy of provisions.
With no prospect of doing anything in front, and apprehensive
that Tecumseh might destroy the stores and small detachments in
his rear, he sent orders to General Cass, who commanded the
infantry, to fall back to1 Senecatown. Scouting parties were sent out
in every direction, who reported that not an enemy was to be
seen. On the third of August, General Harrison returned to his
head-quarters, and on the fifth received from Major Croghan his
official report, from which it appeared that on Sunday evening,
the first of August, the enemy made his appearance, and as soon
as General Proctor had made such a deposition of his troops as
to cut off retreat, should Major Croghan be disposed to make one,

70 LIFE AND TIMES
he sent two of his officers with a flag, to demand the sun-ender of
the fort. Maj or Croghan returned for reply, that he should defend
the place to the last extremity, and that no force, however large?
would induce him to capitulate.
Major Chambers, one of the officers who had waited on the
commandant of the fort with the summons to surrender, resorted
to an unworthy artifice, as he was retiring. Meeting Ensign
Shipp, the major observed, that his general bad a number of can
non, a large body of regular troops, and so many Indians, whom
it was impossible to control, that, if the fort was taken, as it must
be, the whole of the garrison would be massacred. Ensign Shipp,
nothing daunted by the impertinence, promptly remarked, that it
was the united resolve of Major Croghan, his officers and men,
to defend the garrison or be buried in it, and that Major Cham
bers' general, and all his force, might do their best. Colonel El
liott, the other British officer, then observed to Ensign Shipp, that
he was a fine,young man. "I pity," said he, "your situation;
for God's sake surrender, and prevent the dreadful slaughter that
must follow resistance." Shipp turned from him with indigna
tion, and was immediately taken hold of by an Indian, who at
tempted to wrest his sword from him. Elliott pretended to exert
himself to release Shipp from the Indian, and expressed great
anxiety to get him safe into the fort.
So soon as the flag had returned to the enemy's head-quarters,
a brisk fire was opened upon the fort from gUn boats in the river,
and from a five and one half inch howitzer on shore, which was
kept up, with little intermission, throughout the night. At an
early hour the next morning, three six pounders, at the distance
of within two hundred and fifty yards of the pickets, whither they
bad been placed during the night, began to play upon the Amer
icans, but with little effect. About four o'clock in the afternoon,
discovering that the fire from all the enemy's guns was concen
trated against the north-west angle of the fort, Major Croghan
became confident that the object was to make a breach, and
attempt to storm the works at that point. He therefore ordered
out as many men as could be employed, for the purpose of
strengthening that part, and it was so effectively secured, by means
of bags of flour, sand, etc., that the picketing suffered little or no
injury. But the enemy having formed in close column, advanced
to the assault at the expected point, at the same time making two

OF LEWIS CASS'. 71
feints in another direction. The column which advanced against
the north-west angle, consisted of about three hundred and. fifty
men, and was so enveloped in smoke as not to be discovered until
it bad approached within eighteen or twenty paces of the lines.
Yet the Americans, being all at their posts and ready to receive
it, commenced so heavy and galling a fire as to throw the column
a little into confusion. Being quickly rallied, it advanced to the
outer works, and began to leap into the ditch. Just at that mo
ment, a fire of grape was opened from a six pounder, previously
arranged by Major Croghan so as to rake in that direction, which,
together with the musketry, threw the enemy into such confusion
that they were compelled to retire precipitately to the woods.
This noble six pounder did the work effectually. It was the only
piece of artillery in the fort, and poured destruction, with its half
load of powder and double charge of leaden slugs, at the distance
of thirty feet, killing or wounding nearly every man who had
entered the ditch.
During the assault, which lasted about half an hour, an inces
sant fire was kept up byjtbe enemy's a^til^ery. consisting of five
six pounders and a howitzer, but without -effect. The -entire loss
to the Americans was one killed and seven wounded slightly,
whilst that of the enemy, in killed, wounded-and prisoners, reached
one hundred and fifty. Seventy stand of arms, and several braces
of pistols, belonging to the British, were collected near the works ;
and about three o'clock in the morning, the enemy sailed down
the river, leaving behind them, in their haste, a boat containing
clothing and considerable military stores. This attack and the
successful defense, gave fresh courage to the troops, and inspirited
the whole army with renewed animation. The bold and energetic
answer to the summons to surrender, together with the decisive
bravery exhibited by the Americans, Unquestionably had the
effect to dispirit General Proctor in making further efforts to
penetrate the country, and be retired to Amherstburgh.
During the investment of the fort, Major Croghan wrote a
, letter, directed to General Harrison, which, after he was called
to an account for it at Senecatown, he most satisfactorily explained
to the commanding general, by the circumstances of his position,
and by his wish to deceive the enemy, should the letter fall into
their hands. It was a letter, not designed for the American, but
the British General. The, propriety of Major Croghan remaining

72 LIFE AND TIMES
at the fort was questioned, in some quarters, at the time, but
General Cass always thought, and so did General HaiTison, that
he did right to remain, because a retreat, under the circumstances,
was more dangerous than a defense. In speaking of this matter,
twenty-seven years afterwards, General Cass remarks : " I am well
aware, too well aware, that Colonel Croghan has not always felt
satisfied at the course adopted by General Harrison towards him
self. But he was in error. I was tbe common friend of both, and
knew their sentiments towards each other. General Harrison
was strongly attached to Croghan, and was proud of him, looking
upon him as his military el&ve. And, indeed, he was a noble
young man, with high qualities, and well he proved it by his
repulse of the enemy from his post. General Harrison was inca
pable of jealousy, and he rejoiced, ' with exceeding great joy,' (for
I saw it,) at the success which his young friend had obtained."
The attack upon Sandusky had a good effect upon the Indians.
Some of them soon began to show symptoms of a disposition tp
side with the Americans ; and, before the month of August had
elapsed, the chiefs Black Hoof, the Crane, and the#Snake, with
two hundred and fifty-nine of their warriors, joined General Har
rison, and declared that they intended to fight in defense of the
United States. General Harrison, ably seconded by General Cass
and General McArthur, -throughout the month continued the
most effective measures to fill up his command with regular troopst
to the number of seven thousand, as contemplated by the War
Department. It was this number which the government intended
for the invasion of Canada. It was much easier to find men than
equipments and supplies ; and then some little time was required
to accustom them to discipline and put them in condition to war
rant their commander to lead them against the veteran troops,
supposed to be under Proctor.
With the coming in of the month of September, however, Gen
eral Harrison considered himself ready to act on the offensive, and
it would be invidious not to add, that his entire command was
anxious to be on the move, and to see the enemy. Commodore
Perry moved from Erie, and stood towards the head of the lake,
with a well manned fleet. He found the British fleet under Com
modore Barclay, a veteran officer, on the tenth of the month, and
ere the sun, on that ever to be remembered day, went down
in the west, he despatched to General Harrison the important

OF LEWIS CASS, 73
intelligence, immortalized on the pages of American history, " We
have met the enemy, and they are ours."
This anxiously looked for success opened a passage to tbe Ter
ritory, wbicb had been so basely surrendered by Hull, and Gen
eral Harrison lost no time in transferring the war thither. He
had already, a few days previous, broke up his camp at Seneca
town, and most of bis forces bad reached Sandusky. On the
twentieth of September, his army, consisting of two thousand
regulars and three thousand militia, embarked upon Lake Erie,
from the mouth of the Sandusky river. It reached the Canada
shore on the twenty-seventh, and the superintendence of the
debarkation was committed to General Cass. He formed the
troops into lines, and arranged their march. The troops were
landed near Maiden. No enemy was in sight, and as they
marched towards the town,, instead of meeting an "armed force to
arrest their progress, to their surprise the maids and matrons, in
their best attire, had come forth to solicit their protection.- The
general order to the soldiers was, " Kentuckians, remember the
river Raisin ! but, remember it only when the victory is suspended.
The revenge of a soldier can not be gratified upon a fallen enemy."
The American force took possession of the town without harm to
its inhabitants.
General Proctor, in command of the British army, despite the
spirited remonstrance of Tecumseh, an abler man than himself,
and a general in the British army, had burned the fort, barracks,
and public store-houses, evacuated Maiden, and retreated up the
Detroit river. The Americans, on the twenty-ninth, went in pur
suit, and moving up to Sandwich, General Harrison crossed over
the river, entered Detroit, and took possession of the town and
territory. Warmly welcomed by the citizens, he issued his pro
clamation reinstating the civil goyernment which had been inter
cepted by Hull's surrender. The officers who had been supplanted
by the capitulation, now resumed their functions ; the citizens1
were restored to their former rights and privileges, and the laws
at that time were again put in force. And thus, after the lapse
of little more than a year, did General Cass have the pleasure of
again seeing the standard of his country waving over the disgraced
fortress. A council of war was held at Sandwich. Proctor had retreated
by the way of Lake St. Clair, and his pursuit was the question

74 LIFE AND TIMES
brought before the council. The American army now had posses
sion of Detroit, and commanded the river.. No member of the
council doubted the propriety of following, and endeavoring to
destroy the retreating, army. But, unfortunately, they could not
put the forces promptly in movement, and it was reduced to a
question of time. The means of transportation were so limited
that their supplies were on the lowest scale,, and they found them
selves in an exhausted country, incapable of administering, to their
wants. They had landed upon tbe Canadian shore without a
horse or a tent, and with a very slender stock of provisions;.
What was more embarrassing, the. baggage and even blankets of
the brigade Commanded by General Cass, were necessarily, for
want of transports, left on a little island in Lake Erie, called the
Middle Sister, and officers and men, without distinction, found
themselves in the beginning of October, at the commencement of
active operations in Upper Canada, without any other protection
from the weather, during the night or day, than the clothes upon
their backs. Under these circumstances, they were unwillingly
compelled to await the' arrival of supplies, as well as horses, and
the mounted regiment commanded by Colonel Johnson, which
had necessarily taken the route by land, around the head of Lake
Erie. This delay gave the British General the fairest opportunity to
escape, and if he had not been utterly incompetent to his task, he
would have placed himself beyond the reach of the American
army. He was several days in advance, and was marching
through a friendly country. But instead of divesting himself of
his superfluous baggage, and leaving his invalids and non-com
batants to our mercy, and thus gaining, by a rapid march, $e
head of Lake Ontario, where he would have been in safety, he
moved slowly, encumbered with an immense train of baggage,
public and private, and with a large number of women and chil
dren. While awaiting at Sandwich the arrival of supplies, the
probability of overtaking the retiring enemy was frequently the
subject of conversation ; and General Cass never heard General
Harrison express an opinion or fear that Proctor would escape.
But if he did so to others, this circumstance would explain the
otherwise inexplicable assertion, since often repeated, that he was
opposed to the movement he adopted. General Cass never hesi
tated respecting the immediate pursuit, but was not at all s.anguine

OF LEWIS CASS. 75
as to itfli result. He believed the British General was sufficiently
master of his art to elude an attack, and that with five days' ad
vance, and after destroying and abandoning the only two fortified
positions he held in. the country, he would not suffer himself to be
overtaken within seventy miles of his point of departure, and stake
his existence upon the chance of a battle. This was the appre
hension of others.
On the thirtieth of September, Colonel Richard M. Johnson
arrived with his mounted regiment of Kentuckians, and with this
reinforcement, General Harrison commenced the pursuit of Proc
tor, leaving a portion of General Cass' brigade, who had not yet
received their baggage and blankets, at Sandwich.
. General Proctor had retreated by the river Thames, which falls
into Lake St. Clair above Detroit, and along which was the prin
cipal communication with the head of Lake Ontario, which the
British sought to gain. The Americans followed them, pursuing
the usual route on the left bank of ihe river, to a considerable
distance from its mouth, when, reaching a deep ford, the horsemen
crossed upon their horses, and the infantry in canoes, and contin
ued their pursuit on the opposite bank. The cultivated country
here ceased, and they entered a beecb. forest, having the river
upon their right, and a swamp upon their left, and in. the inter
mediate distance a road, such as is found in new settlements, and
which was little more than a path, with some of the larger trees
cut down. In a short time they found themselves in the presence
of the British army. ,
When the advanced party which preceded the main army fell
back, and reported that they had seen the enemy drawn up across
the line of march, General Harrison pushed forward to reconnoi-
ter their position and the nature of the ground, in order to adapt
his dispositions to these circumstances. He had often inculcated
upon his officers as a cardinal principle in Indian warfare, that the
flanks should be so secured as to prevent their being turned ,by
an enemy, who become so terrible, especially to raw troops, when
they can assail their rear. With this caution in view, the proper
arrangement of his force was soon indicated to the commanding
general by a rapid survey ofthe ground.
'"¦ At the battle of the Thames, a small portion only of Gene
ral Cass' command was present, and this was stationed at the
right of the American line, with orders to charge and capture the

76 LIFE AND TIMES
British artillery, which was opposed to its position. The colo
nel of the Tegiinent, Paul, an able officer, being present, General
Cass left to him the immediate direction of this detachment, and,
in company with Commodore Perry, performed the functions of
aid-de^camp, assisting in the arrangement of the troops and the
measures preparatory to the attack. He was without a definite
command, and ready to act as the exigency of the moment might
demand. The disposition, adopted by General Proctor, was as
simple as it could have been in the earliest ages of the art of war.
His regular troops were drawn up in two lines in open order, their
left resting upon the river, and their right extending towards the-
swamp. From this point, the Indians were in position, stretch
ing into the woods in their irregular manner, ready to seize any
circumstances which might occur, favorable to their mode of war
fare. Near the road, the left of the line was strengthened by
three pieces of artillery.
The disposition adopted by General Harrison was instantly
deterriiined upon. He placed his right upon the river, and, ex
tending his line to the swamp, he there formed it, as it is techni
cally called, enpotence; that is, he turned it at right angles, and
thus presented two fronts to the enemy. The field of battle
offered no peculiar advantage to the British, and it is difficult to
account for the selection of that particular spot. There is but
little change in the character of the country for some miles, and
its features are distinctly marked. It is possible, that this is the
point where the swamp and the river approach each other the
nearest, leaving the narrowest .space of firm ground to be defended.
But why the British General stopped at all, is a problem still
more difficult to be solved ; and if it were not, as report said at
the time, that he was compelled tp take this step by the menaces
of Tecumseh, his conduct may be cited as an example of military
infatuation rarely to be found in the annals of war.
With reference to this battle and the scenes through which he
passed, General Cass states: "Our troops were all new, sent
from their homes by that ardent patriotism which, in seasons of
trial, makes part of our national character, and much time was
necessary to place them in their proper positions. While this
operation was in progress, Major Wood, an officer of the greatest
merit and promise, too early lost to his country, had advanced
near the enemy's lines, and ascertained their exact position. He

OF LEWIS CABS. 77
came up to me and told me what be had done, and invited me to
accompany him in another reconnoissance. I immediately dis
mounted from my horse and followed him. The ground was cov
ered with beech woods, and every western man knows that the
under-brush is never very thick where this timber abounds. While,
therefore, we were enabled, in some measure, to secure ourselves,
by going from tree to tree,, we were also enabled to extend our
observations to a considerable distance. In this manner, we passed
along the front of the British line, almost from its extreme left to
its right— tbe point of junction with the Indians — and ascertained
its position, and saw that it was unprotected by a single field-
work, not even a tree having been felled to impede the advance
of our troops. Major Wood proceeded to report the result to
General Harrison, while I returned and resumed the duty I was
engaged in, of aiding in the formation of our line of battle. I do
not recollect that I ever conversed with General Harrison upon
this branch of the subject, but I have always supposed that the
precise information, communicated to him by Major Wood, in
duced the change which be made in the attack- Until he knew
the loose order of the British formation; and the strange neglect
of their General to make use of the efficient means within his reach
of impeding our approach, and, particularly, the advance of our
mounted force, he, had intended to attack the British troops by his
line of infantry, and to throw his horsemen further into the woods,
with orders to turn the flank of the Indians. This, however, is
but my impressipn. What I know I will briefly state. Shortly
before the commencement of the action, General Harrison rode up
to me and remarked that he thought of changing his disposition
for the attack, and of ordering the mounted regiment of Colonel
Johnson to advance upon the British line, and to endeavor to pass
through it. I observed that the maneuver, if successful, would
be decisive, but tfiat there were objections to it, which had, no
doubt,, occurred to him, and which would render the effort a haz
ardous one. We briefly discussed these, and he terminated by
remarking :, 'Colonel Johnson thinks he can succeed, and I believe
be will ; I shall direct him; to make the attack.'
" Having communicated his final orders,^ General Harrison
placed himself in front of the line of infantry, and immediately
in the rear of the mounted regiment. It was his proper position,
where he could best observe, and direct the projected operations.

78 LIFE AND TIMES
Colonel Richard M. Johnson, with what gallantry it needs not
that I should say, led the left division of his regiment, which was
opposed partly, I believe, to the regular troops and partly to the
Indians, and which was out of the sphere of my personal observa
tion. His brother, Colonel James Johnson, led the right, which
was destined exclusively to attack the British line, and all his
operations passed directly before and around me, for I accompa
nied, as a spectator, his command in their charge.
" Such was the relative position of the hostile forces when the
si°nal for attack was given. The mounted regiment, placed be
tween our line of infantry and the enemy, put itself in motion,
breaking into columns of companies, and thus advancing upon the
British regular troops. When they had approached sufficiently
near, they received a fire, which occasioned a hesitation and some
confusion in their ranks, but, soon recovering, they precipitated
their movements, and, encountering a second and a third dis
charge with great gallantry, they found themselves upon the enemy.
But then the contest was over. We passed through the British
line, the soldiers, throwing down their guns and separating into
small groups, thought only of a prompt surrender. In the mean
time, the line of infantry was advancing, but it had little more to
do than to secure the prisoners, except, indeed, towards the swamp,
where the resistance of the Indians was much more vigorous, and
where the contest was much longer maintained.
" During the rapidity and excitement of the movement, I lost
sight of the commanding general ; but he passed through the
British line and, I believe, between the direction which I took
' and 'the edge of the swamp, for I encountered him immediately
after, riding over the field and giving the necessary orders. He
directed me to take a party of mounted men and pursue the fugi
tives, and, particularly, to endeavor to overtake the British Gene
ral, who was said to have commenced his flight at the commence
ment of the action. The fact is scarcely credible, but it was as
serted by the British officers. I was upon the point of obeying
General Harrison's orders, when the fire augmented upon our left,
indicating that the Indians were making a formidable resistance.
The General then directed me to wait a few minutes to ascertain
the result of the action, and immediately rode towards the. point
of contest, to take such measures as might be necessary. After a
short time, the firing diminished, and gradually died away* till

OF LEWIS CASS. 79
nothing was heard but chance shots. I then set out with a small
detachment in pursuit of the fugitives, and passed through the
Moravian towns, continuing my route till dark, when we were
compelled to return, not having succeeded in our principal object,
and having picked up only a few soldiers, who had escaped from
the field of battle."
Such was tbe battle and victory, fought and obtained on the
banks of the Thames river, on the fifth day of October, 1813. It
was glorious to the. American arms. It accomplished the great
object of the campaign. It dispersed the British army. It drove
the flying British General from that part of the country,' and with
such hot haste, that he left his baggage and private papers behind
him, exposing the plans of the enemy. Tecumseh — the most
subtle and active of all the northern Indians in the warfare —
was killed, and his followers were dismayed with fear. They
were ready to give in their adhesion to the cause of the Ameri
cans, and with them take hold of the tomahawk. The American
loss was comparatively trifling.
' ; It inspired the awe-struck inhabitants of the north-west with
courage and hope. It removed from their cabins and cottages,
the torch and scalping-knife of the hostile savages, and enabled
them to lie down at night with an immeasurably increased sense
of security, that they should see the light of the coming day,
unmolested by the terrible war-whoop. In fine, the people flat
tered themselves that the war would soon be brought to a ter
mination. Although General Cass was not the , commanding officer, he
rendered valuable aid both in council and action. He was as
brave a man as ever went into battle. No one, who served with
him, could mistake this point in his character. His coolness and-
self-possession never forsook him for a moment. In the pursuit of
Proctor, before the battle, the American army reached one of the
deep tributary streams of the Thames, and found that the bridge
had been destroyed by the enemy to impede their march, and a
large body of Indians was stationed in the surrounding woods to
prevent the army from repairing it. The work was commenced
and finished in the presence of General Cass, who sat calmly upon
his horse, overlooking the operations, and prominently exposed to
tbe bullets of the Indians. Appreciating the value of his life, one
of the subordinate staff entreated him to retire. But he did not

80 LIFE AND TIMES
listen to the request. The army was new, most of the officers and
soldiers had been suddenly collected from various parts of the
country, and he considered the example of more importance than
any risk he may have felt he was encountering.
General Harrison, in his official report to the Secretary of War,
spoke of General Cass as an officer of the highest merit, cheering
and animating every breast. He put him in the same class of
merit with Perry ; and none, surely, could ever be higher. And
an eye-witness, writing some years afterwards, says, " I well recol
lect General Cass, of the north-western army. He was conspic
uous at the landing of the troops on the Canada shore, below
Maiden, on the 27th of September, and conspicuous at the battle
of the Thames, as the volunteer aid of the commanding general.
I saw him in the midst of the battle, in the deep woods, upon the
banks of the Thames, during the roar and clangor of fire-arms and
savage yells of the enemy. Then I was a green youth of seven
teen, and a volunteer from Kentucky."
General Cass, although but then just entering upon the thirty-
second year of his life, and bred to the peaceful profession of the
law — having, as we have seen, devoted most of his time before
the war to books and the cultivation of his mind — evinced all the
courage and steadiness of a veteran. His sterling patriotism,
strong intellect, and extended popularity as a civilian, contributed
to give him prominence at the commencement of hostilities, and
he had the integrity and good sense not to abuse the confidence
of his companions, or prove recreant in his duty to the government.

OF LEWIS CASS. 81'

CHAPTER YI.
General Cass in Command of North-western Frontier— Detroit his Head-quarters — Letter from Governor
Meigs — Surprise of General Cass — Appointed Governor of Territory of Michigan — Acceptance — Re
signs the Office of Marshal— Summoned to Albany as a Witness on Hull's Trial — His Journey —
Cuts open the Mail Bags — Reports the Burning of Buffalo from Cold Spring — Incident at the Gene
see River, near Rochester — Arrival at Albany — His Testimony — The Charges — Sentence of Court-
martial — President's Action— An Examination of the Trial, itB Proceedings, and Hull's Defense —
His imbecility.
The signal success of the American arms, so gloriously achieved
on the Thames, restored to the United States all the posts which
bad been surrendered by General Hull. Six hundred British
surrendered as prisoners of war. The slaughter among the Indians
was great. A number of field-pieces, and several thousand stand of
small arms were among the trophies, and all the standards except
one, acquired by tbe enemy during the previous campaign, were
recaptured. General Harrison having now accomplished the object of the
expedition, and being without orders from the War Department
for his subsequent operations, left General Cass, with a part of his
troops, in command of the north-western frontier, including tbe
subjugated western district of Upper Canada, and proceeded down
Lake Erie, to operate against the enemy on the Niagara frontier.
General Cass fixed his head-quarters at Detroit. Here he remained
employed in the arduous and responsible duties of such an exten
sive command, in, a country surrounded by Indians and desti
tute of resources, with the whole hostile population of that portion
of the British province to hold in submission. Tbe destitution of
the country was such that pen can hardly describe it, but it may,
iii some measure, be comprehended by the fact that even some
of the troops were compelled, at one time, to resort to tbe precari
ous resource of fishing, as a means of subsistence.
While thus employed, one day in the month of October, 1813,
sitting in his office opening and reading his mail, which had just
arrived, and which came at such long intervals that its arrival was
regarded as an important event, General Cass opened a letter
from Governor Meigs, then in Washington, congratulating him
6

82 LIFE AND TIMES
upon his new 'appointment, without mentioning what it was. He
completed the reading of his mail without being further enlight
ened upon this point. Naturally anxious to know to what honor
able position his government had assigned him, be awaited further
information with a considerable degree of solicitude. But the post
was so irregular in those times, that some two long weeks elapsed
before its next arrival. When it came, as it finally did, however,
it contained the unsolicited appointment of Governor of the Terri
tory of Michigan. Gratified with this high mark of confidence
in his capacity and integrity, and especially with the manner in
which it was conferred by the government, General Cass accepted
it. ' But he did so with much reluctance. He had settled, as he
supposed, permanently in Ohio, a rapidly growing state, standing
in the front rank of his profession, at variance with no person in
private intercourse, and his family contented with their happy
home. He had left it to give bis country the benefit of his services
in the hour of need, expecting at the end of the war to return to
the pursuits of peace in the valley of the Muskingum. The idea
that he should be killed, at no time occurred to his mind, and as
to being taken and held as a prisoner or hostage, that thought was
wholly inadmissible. He was averse, therefore, to remaining at
Detroit, and making that his family abode. Nor did he decide
to do so for some time afterwards. His soldierly frankness, his,
bravery and promptitude in the dark hour of emergency, and his
courtesy and pleasing manners, bad won the attachment and
respect of all who became acquainted with him. And surrounded,
as the people of the Territory were, by merciless savages, whose
undeviating friendship could not be relied upon, however fair the
promise, located on a distant frontier, and in constant, fear of an
attack from the inhuman marauders, they felt that General Cass,
of all others, was just the man to be at the helm of state, and
direct its course. Laying aside his own personal predilections,
and over-ruling the wishes of his family, he yielded to the persua
sions of his friends in Michigan, and entered upon his new duties.
The civil organization of the Territory, and its military defense,
devolved upon him.
These multiplied duties he continued to exercise until ordered
by the government, in December, to repair to x\lbany, in the State
of New York, to attend, as a witness, the trial of General Hull,
before a court-martial.

OF LEWIS CASS. 83
In the meantime, now no longer intending to make Ohio his
residence, he resigned the office of marshal of that State, which
had been bestowed on him in 1807, by President Jefferson.
In the course of a few days, General Cass, in company with
others ordered on the same duty, started from Detroit to proceed
to Albany, The journey was long and tedious, and performed on
horseback, each person carrying his own provisions, until they
reached Cleveland. At Brownstown, they met the post, and
General Cass, for the first and only time in his life, cut the mail
bags and examined the contents, so far as to learn whether there
were any despatches for himself. The road, from that point to the
river Raisin, a mere Indian path, was, for one third of the dis
tance, a continuous swamp. Slightly frozen, horse and rider would
frequently become mired, and both wet and chilled with the water
and wintry cold of that northern latitude. On the third day, at
evening, they were so fortunate as to reach Fort Meigs, and the
condition of tbe country through which they were traveling was
such that, on proceeding forward from thence, they would only
make ten or a dozen miles distance between sun and sun, for seve
ral days. Sometimes, at night, they could not find a spot of dry
ground large enough to accommodate their encampment. Each
would be compelled to seek out a place for himself; and General
Cass having become pretty well accustomed to the bap-hazard life
of the frontier, and its exhaustless expedients to hold body and
soul together, under such circumstances, would spread his saddle
blanket at the root of some tree, where the prospect was the most
promising, and take up his lodgings for the night. As to kind
ling a fire, that, on several occasions, was impossible. The only
comfortable night's rest they had before they reached Cleveland,
was under the roof of an humble log dwelling, at Sandusky Bay.
At Cleveland, the party were so fortunate as to procure a sleigh
and driver, and hastened on with more rapid pace and accom
modations to Erie, far-famed as the port from whence Perry em
barked his gallant fleet to meet Barclay. Proceeding on their
journey along the southern coast of Lake Erie, they arrived in
Buffalo, and found it in ruins, the next day after the British incen
diaries had applied thb torch to the wooden buildings which com
posed the village.' Only one tenement bad been spared by the
vindictive and relentless foe. General Cass and his party halted
at Cold Spring, some three miles easterlyfrom the conflagration,

84 LIFE AND TIMES
and there found many of the citizens of Buffalo, with their fami
lies, suddenly driven from their homes in the dead bf winter, and
destitute, in many instances, of provisions and ordinary wearing
apparel. By special request, he cheerfully communicated to the
Secretary of* War the condition of the town and vicinity. It was
a scene of destruction and distress, he said, such as he never before
witnessed. After passing a day amid this scene of distress- and
desolation, General Cass resumed his journey. He traveled by
the way of Batavia and Canandaigua. Tears afterwards, he
crossed the Genesee river at Rochester, the bridge constructed
over this stream of Water at Carthage having fallen a few days
before. What was more remarkable and equally fortunate to its
builder, was that he warranted the bridge to stand for one year,
as it was said, and that year had expired a day or two before it
fell. Passing on, the party proceeded over Seneca lake and
Onondaga hill to Utica, and thence to Albany, which place they
reached soon after the commencement of the court-martial. Gen
eral Cass was examined as a witness.
The court convened January 3d, 1814, with a full board, and
General Dearborn was the president. No objection was taken to
tbe constitution of this court, by the accused. All were officers in
the regular service, attached to their country, and, to this day, no
evidence has appeared, neither has it been intimated publicly, in
any quarter, that any of them, save tbe presiding officer, could
have had any motive to judge General Hull harshly, or be betrayed
into passion from their relations with the war. It has been al-
ledged that some of them were violent partizans of the national
administration, and that -this constituted their only qualification
to sit as members ; and, at the same time, it has been admitted
that others of the members, particularly General Bloomfield, of
revolutionary memory, and Colonel Fenwick and Colonel House,
were competent members, both on the score of competency and
impartiality. But, whether any of the judges entertained politi
cal views in harmony with those of Jefferson and Madison, and
felt it to be the duty of every citizen of the republic, whether in
or out of commission, to do his duty and whole duty to the coun
try, at that critical period of its existence, it does not appear from
the public records; nor has it been intimated publicly, in any
quarter, that the court divided on any subject that came before it.
On the contrary, it is a well conceded fact, insomuch that itdif

OF LEWIS CASS. 85
now a part of tbe history of the time, that a cordial unanimity of
sentiment existed.
The session of the court wa,s protracted, and every facility af
forded to the accused to present his defense. The judge advo
cate, Mr. Van Buren, laying aside all partizanship or prejudice,
and conducting the examination of the witnesses with the single
purpose of eliciting the truth, took no objections that had the most
remote appearance of eaptiousness, but, possessing himself of his
wonted coolness and patience, equally with the court, acceded to
all tbe reasonable requests of the accused.
The charges were three in number— treason, cowardice, and
neglect of duty. The first, a crime of the highest moral turpitude
known to the laws of man ; the second, the basest ; and the third,
deeply involving military character, but the degree of turpitude
to be measured accordingly, as it riiay have emanated either from
carelessness, accident, or design.
The specifications, under the charge of treason, were :
First. — Hiring the vessel to transport his sick men and baggage
from the Miami to Detroit.
Seeond. — Not attacking the enemy's fort at Maiden, and retreat
ing to Detroit.
Third. — Not strengthening the fort of Detroit, and surrendering.
The specifications, under the charge of cowardice, were :
, First. — Not attacking Maiden, and retreating to Detroit,
Second. — Appearances of alarm during the cannonade.
Third. — Appearances of alarm on the day of the surrender.
Fourth. — Surrendering Detroit.
The specifications, under the charge of neglect of duty, were
much the same as the others.
The court acquitted the accused of the high crime of treason,
because it was perfectly apparent, undoubtedly, to the court :
First. — That General Hull hired the vessel to transport his sick
and baggage from Miami to Detroit, before he was aware that war
was declared, and it was the dictate of humanity to relieve the
inmates of his hospital from the fatigue and inclemency of a fur
ther march through the bogs and swamps of a trackless wilderness.
Second. — That, by not attacking the fort at Maiden, and retreat
ing to Detroit, it did not follow, as an inevitable sequence, that
the accused then intended to betray his government into the
hands of the enemy.

86 LIFE AND TIMES
Third. — That not strengthening the fort at Detroit, and finally'
surrendering, did not appear, from the testimony, to have pro^J
ceeded from any previous settled design, but was to be attributed
to other causes.
As to the other charges, the court, upon mature deliberation,'
arrived at different conclusions, found the accused guilty, and
seritenced him to be shot, but, by reason of his services iri the War
of the Revolution, and his advanced age, earnestly recommended
him to the mercy of the President.
The President, entertaining not the slightest feeling of hostility
or unkindness towards General Hull, approved of the finding of
the court, but, remitting the execution of the sentence, dismissed
him from tbe service: If he had been guilty of treason, and so
declared by the court, his revolutionary services, even, could not
have availed to shield him from the execution of the sentence, for
Washington, in the case of General Arnold, in the previous war,
overlooking his valuable patriotic services, in raising armies and
leading them to duty, ariiid the roar and carnage of battle, had
established a far different precedent for his successors to follow.
The testimony before the court forces the irresistible conclusion
upon the mind ofthe reader, that its finding resulted from a sense
of duty to their country. It is uncharitable to suppose that the
members were mere automatons, set up in Albany, to be moved
by a secret cord in the hands of some master spirit at Washington
or elsewhere. The current history of that day precludes the sup
position that the administration was tottering on the brink of dis
grace and ruin, and destined to fall into the bottomless abyss unless
it was so fortunate as to find a scapegoat for its unpardonable
iniquities. The disasters of 1812 had been triumphantly and glo
riously repaired by the victories, brilliant and decisive, of 1813.
If the shbulders bf the < administration had been compelled to
sustain alone the public indignation of the former, without sharing
it with Congress, and staggered beneath the crushing weight, most
certainly, before this court convened, the clouds had cleared away
from the horizon, and the plaudits of approbation now sounded in
spirit-stirring peals from Maine to Georgia, and were echoed back
from the remotest verge of civilization beyond the Alleghanies.
There was no occasion, therefore, for Mr. Madison to feel particu
larly uneasy, or to consider the necessities of state so urgent as to
require the sacrifice of any officer, either civil or military, on the

OF LEWIS CASS. 87,
score of political expediency, or for the gratification of animosity.
General Cass was one of the witnesses, as has already been
premised, and his testimony, in conjunction with that of other
witnesses, was important, or he would not bavebeen summoned,
at so long a distance from Albany, to attend the sitting of the
court. To the judge advocate was committed his examination,
and he answered all the interrogatories propounded, both by the
government and the accused. No exceptions were taken at the
time to the form of either question or answer. His opinions, on
some points, were also asked and frankly given ; and if these
opinions, coming from so distinguished a source, (for the fame of
his high position in the western country had preceded him,) had
undue or controlling influence, it is difficult to perceive why he is
worthy of censure for that. His duty was to tell the truth, and
this duty be fearlessly discharged. The report, under date of
September 10th, 1812, to the Secretary of War, which he had the
honor to make, and already given in these pages at length, with
the reasons why it, was made, was read to the court. This was
highly proper, because it was a part of the public archives of the
government, and, although assailed in almost every conceivable
form, it had stood the test of the most malignant and uncalled for
scrutiny, and still remained in the public estimation. as the faith
ful record of the events to which it alluded. That part of it wliich
referred to the quantity of provisions on band at the time of the
surrender of the fort of Detroit, was the most offensive to General
Hull and the enemies of the war. For, if it was true, or had any
approach to the truth, it seemed to be a self-evident proposition,
that the duty of the accused lay only in one direction, and that
was to fight, and endeavor to' hold out until the three hundred
and fifty men, under Colonels Cass and McArthur, were heard
from. And, in this connection, it may be asked with propriety,
why the duty of the commanding officer was not the same, even
if the last ration had been issued, when the enemy opened the
bombardment, on the evening of the fifteenth of August ? Had
famine already commenced in the garrison, and were the citizens
of Detroit destitute of provisions ? Fool-hardy would be the per
son who should persist in giving these practical questions an affir
mative answer. It has never been pretended, by any one who
then resided at Detroit, or had any information on the subject,
but that there were provisions enough on hand, in that town, to

g8 LIFE AND TIMES
sustain every soul in it, including the soldiers, for a month, at
least. And the amount of supplies at the river Raisin, or on the
way thither to Detroit, was well known to all. But, as if to com
promise the candor of General Cass, two letters, written by him'
on the subject of supplies, are canvassed ; one to Governor Meigs,,
under date of August twelfth, four days before the surrender^ in
which be says : " The letter of the Secretary of War to you, a
copy of which I have seen, authorizes you to preserve and keep
open the communication from the State of Ohio to Detroit. It is
"all important that it should be kept open. Our very existence
depends upon it. Our supplies must come from our State ; this
country does not furnish them. In this existing state, nothing but
a large force, of two thousand men, at least, will effect the object;"
and another letter of the same date, to his brother-in-law, Willis
Silliman, saying : " Our situation is become critical. If things
get worse, you will have a letter from me, giving a particular
statement of this business. Bad as you may think of our situa
tion, it is still worse than you believe. I can not descend into
particulars, lest this should fall into the bands of the enemy."
These letters were brought forward to raise the presumption
that General Cass was uncandid in reporting to the government,
after the surrender, that there were fifteen days' provisions on
hand at the time ofthe surrender, and that he believed Michigan!*
in case of an extreme emergency, might furnish three months'
provisions. And for whom, or by whom, does the reader suppose
General Cass intended the provisions to be supplied and used ?
The army then in garrison at Detroit ; and not, in addition, the
voyageurs from the north, and the two thousand increased force
from Ohio. The letters were written under tbe eye and direction
of General Hull. He wished to retreat to the Miami. His three
militia Colonels, Cass, McArthur, and Findlay, would not consent,
and determined that they would take tbe responsibility of depriv
ing him of his command, if he attempted to do so, regardless of
the personal consequences to themselves. Lieutenant Colonel Mil
ler coincided. General Hull reluctantly and despondingly yielded
to their views. The words in Cass' letter to his brother-in-law, above
italicized, had reference to the imbecility and vacillation of his com
manding officer, and were so guardedly written, and for the same
reason, as the blank letter sent about the same time to Governor
Meigs, and referred to in his report to the Secretary of War.

OF LEWIS CASS. 89
' General Hull called upon the Governors of Ohio and Kentucky
for reinforcements. How well and promptly the call was an
swered, appears from the fact, that in tbe course of a month, Ken
tucky had on foot seven thousand volunteers, and Ohio nearly
half that number, and were on their mareh for Detroit when the
news ofthe surrender first reached them. This call for reinforce
ment was made with the advice and approbation of General Cass,
and as General Hull had yielded to the proposition to remain at
Detroit until the reinforcements arrived, and defend himself if
attacked by the enemy, General Cass felt a still greater degree of
Bolicitude that supplies for this augmented force should be abun
dantly furnished. And that it was expected that Ohio and Ken
tucky should, in a great measure, furnish these supplies, was
known to all. His report and testimony had reference .to what
supplies were actually on hand at the time of the surrender, and
bow long the garrison was provisioned, especially if the convoy
under Captain Brush should reach its destination iri safety. The
question was not where these provisions originally came from, or
where the cattle were raised and the flour was made.
General Cass stated in his examination before the court, that
" the situation ofthe army in respect to provisions, was a subject
of frequent conversation between General Hull and the officers—
that he never knew or understood that the army was in want, or
likely to want." And no other officer has , stated differently. If
the subject of provisions was not frequently, talked about, and if
the army was in want or likely to be, it is natural to suppose that
some one belonging to the garrison could have been found to cor
roborate the assertion. The officers and soldiers on duty thought
more of meeting the enemy, and driving him from the country,
than they did of hunger. So long as game or nuts were found in
the woods — and they bad not far to go to find them — they felt no
alarm in that respect. If the country could subsist the enemy,
they had no concern but what it would also subsist them. Besides^
they believed if they could once get a fair chance at the British,
they would not remain in that region to divide these supplies.
General Hull, in his defense, complained of the dilatoriness of
General Dearborn. But it appeared that Dearborn did not receive
his instructions until the twenty-sixth day of June, at Washington,
and that his first business was to make the necessary arrange
ments for the defense of the seaboard. By the eighth day of

90 LIFE AND TIMES
August, he had taken effective steps towards maintaining an army
on the northern frontier, and was then at Greenbush, opposite
Albany. He received from SirGeorge Provost a letter, enclosing,
for information, the tenor of the despatches by him received from
England, referring to a declaration of Ministers in Parliamentj
relative to a proposed repeal of " the orders in council," provided
that the United States would return to relations of amity, and
proposing to General Dearborn an armistice, as a preliminary to
negotiations for peace. On the eighth day of August, he signed
the armistice, with liberty to General Hull to accede to it, and
immediately apprised General Van Rensselaer at Lewiston, who
received it on the seventeenth, and this officer communicated the
intelligence to Lieutenant Colonel Myers, at Fort George, and
which was the first intimation that the enemy on that frontier had
of it. This was the next day after the surrender of Detroit ; so that
General Brock, on the sixteenth of August, was as much in igno-
ranee of this important event as Geperal Hull. Indeed, General
Brock has stated in writing, under date of the twenty-fifth day of
August, that he did not hear that a cessation of hostilities had
been agreed upon, until his return from Detroit to Fort Erie. It
is quite apparent that the armistice concluded by General Dear
born with Sir George Provost, could not have been injurious to
General Hull.
As to the absence of General Dearborn from the Niagara fron
tier, it would seem that he was pushing his arrangements as
rapidly as the means at command would admit of, and enter
tained the belief that General Hull was fully aware it was
expected by the War Department, that he would act offensively.
However this may be, it is not easy to perceive in this complaint,
any apology for the surrender.
In recurring to the testimony introduced before the court-mar
tial, some of the Witnesses observed that General Hull appeared
agitated on the morning of the sixteenth, whilst others observed
that they thought he appeared cool and collected. But Robert
Wallace, an aid-de-camp of General Hull, in a letter published in
the Licking Valley Register, at Covington, Kentucky, May 28th,
1842, says, " Until the morning of the fatal 16th of August, I saw
no flinching in the countenance of General Hull. I had been
with him both in and out of the fort ; his only apparent concern
was to save our ammunition, for our long twenty-four poundeis

OF LEWIS CASS. 91
were consuming it very fast, and I was sent repeatedly tb the bat
teries with orders to fire with more deliberation.
" About nine o'clock in the morning, Captain Hull found some
straggling soldiers in the town. He ordered them immediately
to their post, and seeing them disposed to hesitate, he pursued
them on horseback, sword in hand, to their regiment. Their
colonel having given them leave of absence, was exasperated,
and made his way to the General, demanding the arrest of his
son. The captain soon made his appearance, and challenged the
colonel to fight him on the spot. This circumstance produced the
first agitation that I discovered in General Hull. He begged me
to take care of his imprudent son, and he was confined to a room
in the officers' quarters.
" Soon after, a more serious disaster occurred, which increased
the General's agitation. 'A number of ladies and children, the
families of officers on duty, occupied a room in the fort. General
Hull's daughter and children were among them. A ball entered
the house, killing two officers who had gone in to encourage their
families. The ladies and children, many of them senseless, were
hurried across the parade to a bomb-proof vault, which had been
cleared out for them. The General saw this affair at a distance,
but knew not whom or how many were destroyed, for several of
i the ladies were bespattered with blood. Other incidents followed.
Several men were cut down in the fort, and two other officers
received a ball through the gate. ¦ At this time the general was
walking back and forth on the parade, evidently in a very anxious
state of mind. Several propositions were made to him, all of
which, I believe, he rejected. For instance, Brigade Major Jes
sup proposed to cross the river, and spike the enemy's guns. I
think he replied, it was a desperate experiment, and that as the
enemy was advancing, he could not spare the men from their
posts. Captain Snelling proposed to haul down one of our heavy
guns, to annoy the enemy, then three miles below the fort. He
replied that the slender bridge below the town would not support
its weight, and the gun would surely fall into their hands, and be
turned against us ; that the men were posted to the best advan
tage, and he did not wish to move them. The gun alluded to
weighed, with its carriage, about seven thousand pounds.
" Gerieral Hull was then at least sixty-five years of age, (fifty-
nine ?) and no doubt felt incapable of the bold exertion that his

92 LIFE AND TIMES
situation required. He appeared absorbed in anxious thought,
and disposed to avoid all conversation. My duty required me to
remain near the General, but seeing that fie appeared to have no
commands for me, I stepped across the parade to assist in the
amputation of an officer's limb. Whilst occupied in this unpleas
ant task, Captain Burton, of the 4th regiment, passed me with a
table-cloth suspended to a pike. I inquired what that was for.
He hastily replied, ' It is the General's order,' and mounting one
of the bastions, began to wave it in the air. I ran immediately
to the General, and inquired the meaning of the white flag. 'I
ordered it, sir,' was the reply, and facing about, he continued his
walk. The firing soon ceased, and mounting the breast-work^ I
saw two British officers with an American officer, all on horseback,
approaching the gate. Thinking their entrance improper, I
informed the General, and he directed me to keep them out of the
fort. I met and conducted them to the General's marquee, which
was still in the open camp. General Hull, with Colonel Miller,
of the U. S. Army, and Colonel Brush, of the Michigan militia,
made their appearance. The articles of stipulation were then
drawn up and signed by Miller and Brush on our part, and by the
two British officers on theirs. It was reported to General Brock,
who shortly entered the fort, escorted by his advanced guard.
Brock was shown into a room in the officers' quarters, where Hull
was waiting, and after settling some details, the capitulation was
ratified by their signatures. While these matters were progress
ing, Captain Hull, awaking from a sound sleep, discovered the
British grenadiers in the fort. Breaking through a- window, he
ran, unarmed and without a hat, to the commanding officer, and
demanded his business there ' with his red-coat rascals.' The offi
cer raised his sword to cut him down, but I reached them in time
to stay the blow, by informing the officer that the gentleman was
partially deranged. He instantly dropped his arm, and thanked me
for the timely interference. This same Captain Hull afterwards
fought a duel in defense of his father's reputation, and was at last
killed at the head of his company, in a gallant charge at the bat
tie of ' Lundy's Lane.' I mention these particulars in connection
with a remark since made to me by Commodore Hull, ' that he
knew his uticle was neither traitor nor coward, for there was no
such blood in the family.' General Hull, discovering that the
British had been permitted to enter the fort before the surrender

OF LEWIS CASS. 93
was completed, remonstrated with General Brock, who apologized
for the indecorum, and ordered his troops to retire. Our troops
were then marched out, in gloomy silence, and stacked their arms
on the esplanade. When the British flag was raised,; the Indians
rushed in from the woods, a countless number, yelling, firing,
seizing our horses, and scampering through the town like so
many fiends. In addition to Tecumseh's band, and the Wyandots,
they had gathered in from all the regions of the northern lakes.
The British regulars and Canadians were about three thousand
men ; but the number of Indians could not have been known by
General Brock himself. Our effective force was probably fifteen
hundred — about four hundred regulars, and the remainder volun
teers and drafted militia. Most of them would have fought with
desperation, for there was no possible chance of escape.
" We had every reason to suppose that the detachment under
Cass and McArthur was at the river Raisin, but to our surprise
and mortification, they had returned of their own accord, having
heard the cannonade at the distance of forty miles. They were
close in the rear of the enemy at the time of the surrender, but
without any possible means of communicating their position to
us. This detachment, and the cornpany under Captain Brush,
were included in the surrender, for their preservation, as. they
might have been surprised and cut off by the Indians, of which
we had no way to apprise them. As it happened, two or thrbe
• British subjects, who had gone out with us", unwilling to fall- into
the hands of their former masters, made a desperate escape
through the woods, informed Captain Brush of our disaster, and
his party made a rapid retreat to the settlements. Cass and McAr
thur were soon apprised of their condition, and marched to De>
troit. Our meeting with them was truly distressing. Cheeks
that never blanched in danger, were wet with tears of agony and
disappointment. Yet I saw no ranting or raving, such as I have
since heard described. I heard but one officer abuse the General
indecorously, and he bad been extremely quiet and useless through
out the campaign.
" A circumstance which has often been cited as a proof of treach
ery on the part of General Hull, took place on the river bank,
just before the surrender. Lieutenant Anderson, of the U. S. Ar
tillery, had drawn his guns from behind our lower battery, charged
them with grape shot, and pointed them down the road on which

94 LIFE AND TIMES
the enemy were approaching. When the first platoon of their
column appeared, his men were eager to fire. Anderson forbid
them, at the peril of their lives, to touch a gun without his orders,
wishing to get the enemy in a fair raking position before they
should discover their danger ; but the officer at the head of the
column perceiving the snare, gave notice to General Brock, who
immediately changed the position of his troops, and advanced
under cover of the thick orchards which stood between them and
the fort. Anderson was said to have reserved his fire by the
special order of General Hull, which I know to be false, for I had
just delivered a different order, and was waiting by his side to see
the effect of his intended explosion. When the white flag was
raised, this same lieutenant broke his sword over one ofthe guns,
and burst into tears.
"After the surrender, General Hull retired to his own house,
where he had lived while Governor of Michigan. It was occupied
by his son-in-law, Mr. Hickman, and his family. One of General
Brock's aids suggested to me the propriety of a British guard, to
protect the General's house from the Indians, to which I assented,
without consulting General Hull, as they bad already seized onr
baggage in the street. This British guard was considered another
strong ground of suspicion, but General Hull supposed it was to
prevent his escape.
" General Brock took up his quarters at a vacant house on the
main street ; Tecumsejj occupied a part of the same building, to
whom I had the honor of an introduction. He was a tall, straight,
and noble looking Indian, dressed in a suit of tanned buckskin,
with a morocco sword-belt round his waist. On being announced
to him, he said through his interpreter, ' Well, you are a prisoner,
but it is the fortune of war, and you are in very good hands.'
"General Hull was a man of tender feelings and accomplished
manners ; his hair was white with age, his person rather corpu
lent, but his appearance was dignified and commanding.
" Hull might have defended the fort while his provisions held out,
but whether the inhabitants of Detroit would not have been butch
ered, on the night of the sixteenth, is a question I can not answer.
Perhaps the more immediate cause of the surrender was the
absence of Cass and McArthur. He had the utmost confidence
in Colonel McArthur as a brave executive officer, and in Colonel
Cass as an intelligent and able adviser. Had they been present,

OF LEWIS CASS. 95
with their men, or had we even known their position, there would
probably have been no surrender at that time."
Now that all excitement, unfavorable to dispassionate judgment,
has passed away, some of the early impressions, which attributed
the conduct of General Hull to money, the price of treason, have
been removed, and tbe unfortunate termination of his campaign
is, by general consent, attributed to cowardice and to imbecility.
He was utterly unequal, to bis command, and was oppressed by
its duties and responsibilities, and, at the last moment, was the
victim of personal fear. Feeble efforts have, at times, been made
to rescue his name from obloquy, but they have been utter fail
ures. 'A military court, composed of officers of high rank and
character, after an impartial and laborious investigation, pro
nounced him guilty of cowardice, and sentenced him to be shot.
Mr. Madison, in consideration of his age and revolutionary services,
remitted the penalty of death, but struck his name ignominiously
from the roll of the army, which he had dishonored.
It is enough to know that he surrendered his command to an
^attacking force of about one third his own strength. An Ameri
can needs no other fact to guide him in his judgment of this catas
trophe. General Hull, among other excuses, alledges the want of
ammunition and provisions as motives for surrender. Not that
be was destitute ; that he did not alledge, and it is known that his
supplies of both were adequate to his circumstances, but that he
apprehended these essential supplies would fail before the final
issue. But the less he had of either, the stroriger was the reason
why his course should have been prompt and energetic. The
worst disaster that could happen to him, after the most severe loss,
would have been an unconditional surrender.
General Hull was instructed by the War Department to protect
Detroit. The invasion of Canada was left to his discretion. In
effect, he did neither. He crossed the river only to make an in
glorious retreat — disheartening to his troops, many of whom were
volunteers, burning with patriotism. When followed by the enemy
and summoned to surrender, he complied with the request. He
held out just long enough to increase tbe pompous vanity of the
summoner, and provoke the resentment of his command. He
commenced the retreat from the bridge of the Canards, and termi
nated it on the esplanade of the American fortress. Strange infat
uation ! A captain, in the forlorn hope of Wayne, under the walls

96 LIFE AND TIMES
of Stony Point, in bis elevated position of brigadier genera],
capitulates, without the crossing of a single bayonet, or the firing
of a single shot ! But yesterday, as it were, in council with the
government, at 'the capital bf his country, and fully aware of its
plans and objects, posts away to his army, only to lead it into the
hands of the enemy ! Conduct most unaccountable ! Problem
unsolvable ! In memory of other prouder days and gallant deeds
in the life of this white-haired veteran, let the veil of oblivion, in
mercy, be drawn over his campaign of 1812, and ascribe all his
errors, for the sake of himself and country, to the imbecility of age.

OF LEWIS CASS. , 97

CHAPTER VII.
General Cass returns to Detroit — Situation ofthe Frontier — Pa-signs the Command of Brigadier. General
— Superintendent of Indian Affairs — His Policy — Appointed Commissioner to treat "with the Indians
— Holds a Treaty at GreenvUle--Surrounded by Five Thousand Indians — Their Threats — His Inti-e- •
pidity— The Treaty — Sends Reinforcements to General Brown — The Inroads of Hostile Indians-
He Disperses Them — His Pet Indians — Colonel James— Correspondence — General Cass' Rejection
of British Interference in the Civil AffairB of Michigan— Treaty of Peace— Removal of his Family to
Detroit— British Arrogance — Boarding of American Vessels— General Cass Remonstrates— Its Effect.
Having discharged the duty which called him to Albany, Gen
eral Cass returned to Detroit. There were too many duties there
to perform for him to be absent from his post any longer than
absolute necessity required. Although >the British garrisons were
then broken up, and Tecumseh was in his grave, yet the reader
must not' imagine that " order reigned in Warsaw," or that the
people of that Territory were now free from the calamities of war.
The ill temper, and hostile propensities of the Indians to plunder,
rob, and murder, were- yet to be subdued. The upper country
was not free. The British' flag waved at Mackinaw, and the in
termediate country was filled with fur traders, who believed their
interests Were antagonistic to the United States. American citi
zens, who had fled from their firesides and homes during the
previous eighteen months, were now returning to behold the. devas
tations of their property, without business, and with scanty means
of support. All of tbe province of Canada which had been held
in submission by the presence of the British soldiery, was now
subject to the order of the Governor of Michigan, and to him was
entrusted the enforcement of law and the protection of their rights
in*!cgtaml8fi' Vith citizens on the west side of the river.
'General Cass fully appreciated the responsibility of his position,
and, with the wisdom of a statesman, set himself to work. How
long hostilities would continue, or how they would end, or whether
the Canadas, or any portion thereof, would become part and par- <
eel of Michigan, were questions not easily answered. It was
sufficiently obvious, however, to his active and cultivated mind,
that the end of the war would find the Stars and Stripes waving
over the peninsula of Michigan, at least, if not over all the lands
7

98 LIFE AND TIMES
west to the Mississippi. But to accomplish this it was necessary
to quell public fear and restore public confidence; to induce the
citizens to feel that their houses were safe from the tomahawk and
knife of the savage, their lives free of jeopardy from the assassin
and- the incendiary, and their business pursuits protected by the
sleepless vigilance of the law. As in all his previous undertak
ings, so in this, he calmly surveyed the ground, and determined
what the exigencies ofthe times required him to do.
Impressed with the conviction that such extensive military and
civil powers should not be vested in the same person, General
Cass now tendered to the President his resignation of the commis
sion of brigadier general in the army. This was accepted, but
the acceptance was accompanied with the express requirement,
by the President, that be should take charge of the defense, of the
Territory, in his capacity as Governor.
The seat ofthe war, on the north-west frontier, was, about this
period, transferred to the eastern part of Upper Canada, and the
line of Niagara river, between the two lakes, Erie and Ontario,
became the theater of operations. General Brown took the com
mand, and the principal portion of the military forces at or near
Detroit were ordered to march thither. Michigan was left with
only one company of regular soldiers for her defense, consisting
of twenty-seven men. With such an inadequate force, and the
local militia, General Cass, the Governor, was left to defend the
Territory against the hostile Indians, who were constantly hovering
around Detroit.
While Detroit was in this defenseless condition, a war party of
Indians issued from the forest which skirted the town, and marked
their irruption by one of those deeds of blood which have made
the history of that frontier a record of trials and sufferings with
out a parallel in the progress of society. As the strength of the
war party was unknown, it is difficult to find"fwbrds«to"de§a^be
the alarm which prevailed among the inhabitants. But Geneifil
Cass was not to be dismayed by Indian whoops or the discharge
of Indian rifles. His ears were familiar to such sounds. Although
destitute of disciplined troops, enough of the inhabitants responded
to his call, and, supplying the place of numbers and experience
with their energy, he drove the foe from the settlement to his
native haunts in the forest, after a short but sharp conflict. Ho
well recollects the terror inspired by his return, as the scalp hallo

OF LEWIS CASS. 99
was raised by some of his friendly Indian hunters to indicate the
success of the party, and broke the silence of the twilight with
that terrific sound, which, once heard, is never forgotten, and
which tells the tale of blood before the bleeding trophies and the
victors present themselves. Whether this signal was from friend
or foe, the helpless women and children, whose husbands and
fathers bad gone out to defend them, had no means of knowing ;
and many of them, in the terrible uncertainty, took to their canoes
and fled for safety to the Canadian shore. Happily, the return
of their friends removed all apprehension, and secured their safety.
Such incidents are characteristic of frontier life, and when they
shall have been hallowed by time and traditional associations,
they will constitute the romance of Indian history.
As Governor of the Territory, General; Cass was, ex-officio, Su- '
perintendent of Indian Affairs, and it became his prerogative and
duty to advise with the government on this subject.. He early
had an impression that it was the policy of the government, as a
means of pacification, to purchase the possessory rights of the In
dians in those extensive tracts of land over which they were con
tinually roaming ; to limit their hunting grounds to a narrower
compass; to teach them agriculture and mechanics, and give
them school-houses and churches. This, to his mind, appeared to
be the only feasible mode of acquiring their friendship, and, -by
circumscribing their field of operations, controlling their warlike
movements, and putting an end to their manifold and constant
depredations. At the same time, emigration and settlement, by
the whites, would be encouraged back from tbe frontier posts, and
communities of settlements planted that would ultimately ripen
into states. The French and the English had hitherto pursued a
different policy. All that they sought to obtain was a sufficient
foothold for the mere purpose of temporary traffic, relying upon
whiskey and tawdry presents for the preservation of amity ; and
if the voyageur s and traders extended the time of their residence,
it was because thrift and a supply of the necessaries of life fol
lowed their otherwise aimless occupation. The great pecuniary
advantages flowing from this traffic was enjoyed by the individ
uals or companies, as the case might be, in whose employment
these agents were, at their homes in other lands. This, to the
far-seeing mind of General Cass, was not the policy for the United
States to adopt. He would have his government treat with these

100 LIFE AND TIMES
men of the forest as mere occupants, and not owners, and that, in
its' intercourse with them, an effort should be made, at the outset,
to impress them with the idea, that the President was their Great
Father, having a watchful care over their interests, and, if possi
ble, estrange them from British gold and whiskey.
These enlightened and humane views received the warm appro
bation of President Madison. Efforts had been made, for some
time, to bring about an amicable arrangement with the various
tribes of Indians on the Miami and Wabash ; and such progress
had been made, by agents appointed for that purpose, that, in
July, the War Department1 associated General Cass with General
Harrison, and clothed them with power to treat, at Greenville,
Ohio, with the Indians who bad taken part against the United
States during the war.
General Cass joined General Harrison at Greenville, about the
twentieth of July, 1814. Here, to their perfect amazement, they
found some five thousand Indians in council. They had not ex
pected to find one quarter of that number. Immediately entering
upon the business they came there to transact, the commissioners
freely and boldly made known their views to this large and impos
ing council. For the first time, as it appeared, did they hear the
important announcement, that the United States claimed to own
all the lands, and that a peaceful occupancy by them of a portion,
was all that the commissioners were empowered, by their Great
Father towards the rising sun, to treat for. This open and sweep
ing declaration produced great commotion in the council. The
tomahawk was freely brandished, and the glistening knives drawn
from their belts and held up for terror. The commissioners re
mained unterrified, and repeated the declaration more emphatic
ally than before ; and they were further told by the authority of
the government, " we have always desired you to sit still, but you
would not ; to remain quiet, but you will go to war ; and now, if
you don't join us, it is evident that you will pass over to our ene
mies. Here is our tomahawk, we invite you to take hold of it
with us ;" and ere long, the commissioners found themselves, with
their few attendants, in the midst of this numerous band of sava
ges who were wild with rage, and whirling, and twisting, and
yelling like bo many demons in their war dance. Some of their
chiefs and warriors were, nevertheless, for peace, and so declared.
They held a council among themselves, danced a great war dance,

OF LEWIS CASS. 101
and each chief, after recapitulating his acts of bravery, advanced
to the commissioners, and taking hold of the tomahawk, flourished
it, and said he would consider it bis own. The tumult finally
subsided, and in a day or two such progress was made in the ne
gotiations, that on the twenty-second day of July, a treaty of pa
cification was formed and signed, restoring comparative tranquil
lity to the frontiers, and a large body of Indians accompanied
General Cass to Detroit, as auxiliaries. The tribes represented'
at Greenville, were tbe Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees, Senecas'
and Miamis, and this was the first council called, in the north
west, to explain their condition, and invite them to join us.
As has been already stated, the government, during the spring
and summer, were solicitous to strengthen General Brown, on the
Niagara ; and General Brown wrote to Gerieral Cass and desired
him to dispatch all the troops he could spare ; and so anxious was
General Cass to promote the object in view, that he ordered his
whole force down : the lake, reserving, in fact, but thirty men to
hold possession of the fort at Maiden. " It is known," says a
writer on this subject, " that General Brown, who was as just to
others as he was brave and able, never forgot this proof of zeal, but
mentioned it as a rare instance of devotion to the public good, by
which local interest was risked for general interest," and he often
afterwards made bis acknowledgments to General Cass. But
during this very defenseless state, tbe Indians who yet remained
hostile, became bolder. Their war parties traversed the country?
and caused much alarm. General Cass found his duties and respon
sibility as governor, constantly increasing. He called the whole
adult male population to arms, and many skirmishes occurred be
tween the hostile Indians and the scouting parties. The governor
sometimes himself headed these expeditions, and the nature of the
service, as well as its personal hazard, may be judged by the fact,
that on one occasion the servant of the governor, who rode imme
diately behind him, was attacked by a, powerful savage, whom he
killed in a personal rencounter. The inhabitants would sometimes
assemble en masse, and led bythe governor, armed with such wea
pons as they might happen to have, attempt to overhaul their
tormentors, who endeavored to avoid a combat. Finally, on one
occasion — their outrages became so frequent and daring — a party
was formed, with the governor at the head, with a fixed determi
nation of driving away or capturing them, without reference to

102 LIFE AND TIMES
time or, peril. The party marched to the Indian camp, but found
it deserted. After searching the forest, they discovered the Indi
ans retreating. The governor and his party being on horses, were
impeded in their pursuit by the trees. The Indians were chased
from place to place, until finally they retreated to Saginaw.
The Indians who accompanied General Cass as auxiliaries from
Greenville, became strongly attached to him, and soon acquired
the sobriquet of " pet Indians." The detachment behaved with
fidelity and bravery, and rendered good service, both on our side
of the river and in Canada, where they were sent. The exposed
state of this frontier, in consequence ofthe want of force, and the
vicinity ofthe hostile Indians, can hardly be appreciated. In Oc
tober, 1814, a party of them left Detroit for the purpose of making
excursions on the river Thames. After remaining in that vicinity
several days, they collected and took prisoners forty-five of the
British militia, among whom was a colonel. Having kept them
a short time, the Indians, to show their humanity, permitted their
prisoners to return to their homes on their parole of honor not to
appear in arms against the United States or their allies, until
legally exchanged, at the same time taking good care to detain the
colonel as a hostage for the faithful performance of the contract
on the part ofthe enemy. _On the fourth of this same month, one
ofthe Kickapoo Indians was shot near Cross Island, by an Amer
ican soldier, while in the act of presenting his gun at one of the
^American party.
Colonel James, commander of a small British post now estab
lished at Sandwich, notified Governor Ca.ss that a murder had'
been committed by some American soldiers, on a poor and unof
fending Indian, and stating that it was needless for him to point
out the line of conduct necessary on this occasion, or direct atten
tion to the custom of savages, when one of their number had been
murdered. Governor Cass, in reply, said that he would cause
an inquiry to be made into the circumstances of the murder, and
the perpetrators, if detected, would suffer the punishment which
the laws of all civilized nations provide for such an offense, and
added that it was unnecessary to allude to the Indian custom of
retaliating upon innocent individuals ; that the laws of this coun
try operate impartially upon all offenders, and he was confident
that no dread of the consequences would ever induce the courts
of justice to punish the innocent or screen the guilty.

OF LEWIS CASS. 103
Governor Cass having thoroughly examined into all the facts
bearing upon the transaction, subsequently wrote to the British
officer, that the Indian alluded to was killed while in the attempt
to shoot an American soldier ; that the act was committed within
the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, and a British offi
cer bad, consequently, no right to require, nor ought an Amer
ican officer to give, any explanation on the subject ; that this
country did not acknowledge in principle, nor would it ever admit
, in practice, the right of any foreign authorities to interfere in, any
arrangement or discussion between us and tfie Indians living
within our territory ; that if an Indian is injured in his person or
property within the territory, our laws amply provided for the
punishment of the offender, and the redress of the party injured.
The British authorities of the western district of Upper Canada,
chagrined at the manly firmness and decision of Governor Cass,
forthwith issued a proclamation offering a reward of five hundred
dollars for the apprehension of the murderer.
As soon as this fact became known to Governor Cass, he issued
a counter proclamation, requiring all persons, citizens of the Ter
ritory of Michigan or residing therein, to repel by force all attempts
which might be made to apprehend any persons within the limits
of the Territory, or waters under the jurisdiction of the United
States, by virtue of the proclamation of the British authorities, or
of any process which might issue from any authority other than
that of the United States or Michigan. ,
The American soldier wiio shot the Indian was not apprehended.
The principle put forth by the British authorities, of taking cog
nizance of offenses committed within the jurisdiction of the Uni
ted States, was too palpably absurd to admit of question. It was
a direct attack at our national sovereignty. The interference of
his majesty's officers in behalf of his old allies, in a matter which
did not concern them, was designed for effect on the minds of the
savages, and to impress them with exalted ideas of the continued
friendship and power of the British government ; to make that
government appear as the voluntary avenger of their wrongs,
whether real or fancied. Governor Cass was at home on the
question, and possessed the courage and ability to meet the appli
cation with proper dignity and spirit. He would suffer no inter
ference of a foreign power with questions arising within the
American jurisdiction, and he would permit no American citizen

104 LIFE AND TIMES
to be transported to his majesty's dominions to be tried for alledged
crimes committed within the American territory under his guar?
dianship. In July of this year an attempt was made to recover Mackinaw,
and a force was detailed, under the command of Colonel Croghan,
for this purpose, with the co-operation of a part of the American
fleet on Lake Erie. The works of the British, with the aid of the
sayages in that vicinity,, were too strong, and the attempt was
unsuccessful; but the establishments at St. Joseph's and at Sault
Ste. Marie were destroyed.
In the winter of 1815, the treaty of peace was ratified by the
President and Senate, providing that all the places which had
been taken by tbe English or Americans during the war, should
be restored ; and, on the first day of July, Maiden was surren
dered to the British.
In June, 1815,, General Cass removed to the Territory, with his
family, and established himself in Detroit, which has been his
residence ever since, except when absent ip the service of the
United States. At that time, the population of the Territory was
probably five or six thousand, spread over an immense extent, and
in a state of great destitution, owing to the terrible calamities
which had marked the progress of the war upon this whole fron
tier. The social and political state of the country bad to be built
up. There was not a road, a real road, in the Territory, nor a
* bridge, nor a church, nor a school-house, nor a court-house, nor a
jail. Not a foot of land had ever been sold by the United States,
for, of course, there was no. encouragement for emigrants. The
jurisprudence had to be constructed, ana, in fact, almost every
thing to be made anew.
But British arrogance did not stop with the war. Forgetting,
apparently, that upon the inland seas of the western country
there were no belligerents and no neutrals, and therefore no rights
for the one party to exercise, nor wrongs for the other to suffer, in
consequence of those relations, parties of men from the schooner
Tecumseh, an armed vessel of His Britannic Majesty, in June,
1816, boarded the brigs Union and Hunter, and the schoonerf
Champion and General Wayne, for the purpose of seeing the crew
and lading. This encroachment on the rights of individuals', as
well as a violation of the rights of the nation, was brought to the
attention of Governor Cass, who immediately addressed a decided

OF LEWIS CASS. 105
note, under date of the sixth of that month, to the commanding
officer of the Tecumseh, saying :
t "It has been officially represented to me that, in several instan
ces, within a few days, vessels, bound from ports of the United
States, upon Lake Erie, to this place, have been boarded by parties
of men from an armed vessel of His Britannic Majesty, lying off
Amherstburgh. " These parties have entered the vessels while passing through
the usual channel of communication between lakes Erie and Huron ;
in one instance, with the avowed object of taking therefrom two
men, under the pretense of their being British deserters, arid, in all
instances, with objects, so far as they could be ascertained from
tbe questions and conduct of the boarding officer, which furnish
no justification for a British officer in forcibly entering a vessel of
the United States.
" The manner in which this service has been performed, has
had no tendency to diminish the effect which the character of
such transactions is calculated to produce. The conduct of the
boarding officer has been arrogant and imperious.
"In an aggression like this, the government of tbe United
States can alone determine what course the honor and interest of
the nation requires should be taken. But, until their decision
shall be made known upon the subject, it becomes^my duty to.
remonstrate agairist a practice for which the laws of nations afford
no pretense; which is inconsistent with the relations existing
between our respective governments ; and the continuance of
which must be attended with serious and important consequences."
This note to the British commander had the desired effect, and
no further complaints were made to the governor of any interrup
tion to American commerce or American vessels, while peacefully
pursuing their legitimate business in those waters. It was satis
factory to the British officials that if vessels, bearing the flag of the
United States, should be stopped and forcibly entered, with the
avowed purpose of taking from them persons on board, and within
sight of tbe spot consecrated by the victory of Perry, the whole
nation would fly to arms, and that, notwithstanding the right of
visitation and search was not mentioned or qualified by the treaty
of Ghent, the United States would not, in any event, secede from
their high and impregnable position upon this subject.

106 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER YHI.
The North-west Territory — Civil Government of Michigan — Land Titles — Condition of Michigan at
Close of the War — Currency — Extent of the Territory — General Cass feels the Responsibility of his
Position — Imputed Frauds on the Indians— How he Performed his Duties — Appointed to Treat with
Ohio Tribes of Indians — Treaty of Fort Meigs — Aversion of tb,e Chiefs to Remove — Wisdom of Com
missioners—Large Cession— Military Road— The Detroit Gazette — The People Against a Change of
Government — Public Surveys — Emigration into the Territory — The Six Nations — General Cass'
Views of the Duties of an Indian Commissioner — Negotiates a Treaty at St. Mary's — Council at
Saginaw — His Popularity with the Indians — Election of Delegate to Congress — Its Benefits.
The Territory of Michigan, from 1796, when possession was
obtained from the British government, up to 1805, was a part of
the . organization known as "the territeuy of the United States
north-west of the Ohio river," and was subject to the provisions
of the ordinance of 1787. It occupied the first grade of territorial
government, as prescribed by that ordinance — a governor, three
judges, and secretary, constituting the civil power. To the
governor and judges, or a majority, was confided the trust of
selecting and adopting such laws of the original thirteen States,
civil and criminal, as they might deem necessary and proper, and
suitable for the district. Congress alone had the power to revise.
In 1798, the North-western Territory entered upon the second
grade of territorial government. This grade added a legislature
to the civil authority, aud, to entitle a district to representation in
this body, it was provided that the district must have a population
of five thousand free male inhabitants of full age, and for every
five hundred of such inhabitants, one representative was allowed.
The general assembly, in that year, convened at Chillicothe, and
Michigan appeared by one representative: In 1805, Indiana was
organized as a separate government, and Illinois and Michigan
comprised the residue of the North-west Territory. In July of
this year, Michigan was organized as a separate territorial govern
ment, by General Hull, who was appointed governor. At this
period, the quantity of land within the Territory, at" the disposal
of the government, was small, and, for the most part, embraced
east of a line running north from the river Raisin to Lake St.
Clair, at a remove of six miles from the Detroit river and the

OF LEWIS CASS. 107
shore of Lake Erie. Upon examination, it was evident that the
claimants held their lands by a precarious tenure ; in many
instances, deriving title from subordinate French and English
officers. The settlers, fortunately for themselves, however, had
made more or less improvements, and these were subsequently
confirmed by legal grant from the United States, under the advice
of the territorial government.
The only further cession of title to the lands, prior to the acces
sion of General Cass to the governorship, was obtained from the
Indians, under a treaty held by General Hull, at Brownstown, in
1807. The southern boundary of this cession was the Maumee
bay and river, and embracing all the lands lying east of a line
running north, from the mouth of the Au Glaire, a tributary of
the Miami, until it should intersect the parallel of the outlet of
Lake Huron ; thence extending, in a north-easterly direction, to
White Rock, on Lake Huron, this northerly line being afterwards
adopted as the principal meridian line for the public surveys of
the Territory.
Thus stood the Territory at the close of the war, commenced
with Great Britain in June, 1812, and concluded in the winter of
1815. During this war, Michigan had suffered greatly. Scarcely
a family, when it resumed its domestic establishment, found more
than the remnants of former wealth and comforts. Entire families
had been broken up and dispersed by this furious god ; parents
had been torn from children, and children from each other ; some
had expired on the field of battle, and others had been slain with
ruthless barbarity by the Indians. Laws were powerless, and
morals had suffered in the general wreck. Agriculture and com
merce had languished. Provisions, and all the necessaries of life,
were Scarce, and high prices ruled in all transactions. Money, it
was difficult to get ; and the bank paper of Ohio constituted the
general currency among the people. This, in New York city,
was twenty and twenty-five per cent, below par, and precluded
commercial transactions, except at a ruinous figure to the specu
lator and merchant.
In such a gloomy and unpromising condition did General Cass
find Michigan, when he assumed the rbins of its government. He
saw, at a glance, .that a civil government was to be established,
and laws devised, enacted, and to be carried into effect, ere he
could flatter himself that he possessed more than a mere selvedge

108 LIFE AND TIMES
of government. Constituting a part of tbe legislative power, it
rendered it a delicate task to aid in the enactment of laws which
were to be enforced by tbe same will., How well be performed,
with decision and enlightened discrimination, these herculean
labors, the condition of Michigan, when he laid down' the scepter,
abundantly demonstrates.
The war had ruptured or weakened every tie which had pre
viously connected the Indian tribes with the United States. The
general direction of our intercourse with the Indians was one of
the most important duties then devolving upon the Governor of
Michigan. He was, by law, Superintendent of Indian Affairs
within the Territory ; and, in addition, he had, by tbe direction
of the government, the same authority over all the Indian tribes
east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio, an extensive region,
and inhabited by many bands of fierce and warlike Indians. This
large and dangerous population was exposed to hostile impulses,
as well by their contact with our frontier settlers as by the excited
feelings which had been called into action by the events of the
war ; and to prevent collisions, and to protect and preserve the
Indians in their relations of peace, required great" firmness. and
judgment. General Cass was called, by these duties of inter
course, repeatedly to visit the Indians through this vast country,
and as far north and west as the heads of the Mississippi. Councils
were, from time to time, held with the various tribes, treaties to
be formed, annuities to be paid, and dangers and difficulties to
be averted. In repairing to 'the council fires of the respective
tribes, (for each has its own, where business is done,) the mode
of traveling was on horseback or in birch canoes, — in the former
mode, where the Indians were in the interior, removed from
navigable water-courses; and in the latter, where they could be
reached by water conveyances. By land, the journey was slow
and laborious. A day's travel did not average over thirty miles;
and at night, the horses were turned out to pick such herbage as
they could find, being first spanoeled, that is, having their two
fore legs tied together by a band, to prevent escape, and the
party lay down^ with a blanket around them and their heads
upon their saddles for pillows. The precarious supplies furnished
by hunting, together with such provisions, as could be packed,
were their resources for food. No roads, no bridges, no houses,—
this state of things portrays the obstacles to be encountered.

OF LEWIS CASS. ' 109
In canoes, there was much more comfort. An Indian canoe,
made of birch bark fastened to thin cedar ribs, is a very fragile
boat; but it rides the waves well and ,safely, and is easily pro
pelled. When the traveling party approached a rapid, the canoe
and its contents were taken from the water, and carried across
the portage upon the shoulders of the crew, and replaced in the
water above the obstruction, and then the voyage was renewed.
In a country intersected by water courses, this is a very inde^
pendent mode of traveling for the Indians. General Cass once
met a squaw, who had all her worldly possessions, everything
necessary for her existence, upon her back. Her load consisted
of a little birch canoe, her kettle, her mat house, her blanket, and
one or two other articles ; and she seemed to travel along in good
spirits, across the portage, self-possessed and self-defended. The
Indians and the Canadian voyageurs — the latter a peculiar class
which has nearly disappeared, strong, muscular and indefati
gable — managed these slender machines with great skill and
judgment, laboring with much exertion, and resting every
pipe, at once the measure of distance and the great solace of
labor. Many thousands of miles has General Cass traveled 'in
these little . barks, attended by the Indians, who presented an
animated scene upon tbe waves, in their light cockle shells,
always in good spirits, and making the shores re-echo to their
songs. General Cass found the number of Indians within his juris
diction, wheri he assumed the Superintendency of Indian Affairs,
to be all of forty thousand, and that they could furnish, on most
occasions, at least nine thousand warriors. They claimed to
be the rightful owners of eleven millions of acres of land in
Michigan, alone, and, tracing their title to the Great Spirit in
the clouds above and around them, they were disposed to adhere
to it with the most superstitious bigotry. He fully appreciated
the magnitude of this additional responsibility ; he was also fully
aware of the multiplicity of personal interests, with which. he
must necessarily come in contact, in the discharge of his official
functions in this quarter; but, despite this, be determined to
discharge his duty to his country, and to all interested, with
efficiency and undeviating fidelity. These duties commenced,
too at a time when, to the natural difficulties of their perform
ance, was added imminent personal danger to the officer. Many

110 . LIFE AND TIMES ,
were the stories in circulation, impugning the motives of nego
tiators of treaties with the Indians, and great were the pecuniary
advantages said to have been derived by them. But General
Cass, inheriting, in a large degree, the integrity of his ancestors,
— as" solid as the granite hills among which he was cradled, —
resolved to show to the world, that honesty could exist in the
care and control of the fierce sons of the forest. With such
views, be commenced his work ; and with abiding assiduity did
this pioneer commissioner do the bidding of his government, in
winter or summer, day or night, — traveling through the wilder
ness on foot or horseback, and traversing its Takes and rivers in
the birchen canoe. Hundreds of thousands of dollars did he
disburse, transported at his own risk and under his own ever
watchful eye; and not unfrequently procuring the means, on
his private credit, of fulfilling treaty stipulations, when the
government delayed to provide them.
In the month of April, 1817, General Cass was selected bythe
President to ascertain, by a personal interview with the chiefs
and head men of the several tribes claiming lands within the
limits of Ohio, whether it was then practicable to extinguish
their title. Discretionary powers were conferred upon him:—
if he should find it impolitic or impracticable to obtain all the
country claimed, he was directed to learn whether there would
be any reasonable prospect of obtaining the relinquishment of a
portion. He immediately proceeded to Lower Sandusky, and
was satisfied that the Indians might be induced to consent to
cede their rights to a part, if not all, of the desired land. So
he reported to the War Department; and the following May
he was commissioned, in conjunction with General McArthur,
to enter upon negotiations at his earliest convenience. The
Commissioners received no definite instructions in reference to
the provisions of the treaty which they might make, excepting
that they should keep in view the policy of the government, to
effect, ultimately, the peaceable removal of the Indians to the
country west of the Mississippi river.
The Commissioners accepted the power conferred; and the
sachems, chiefs, and warriors of the Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware,
Shawnee, Pottawatomie, Ottawa and Chippewa tribes assembled
to meet them at Fort Meigs, in Ohio, upon the Maumee, where is-
now the town of that name, in the month of September following.

OF LEWIS CASS. Ill

Much talk was had ; and General Cass soon discovered, in the
progress of the negotiation, that he was dealing with minds,
some of Whom would compare favorably, in point of reason and
comprehension, with the most enlightened in civilized life. The
Indians, in view of the new home suggested to their consideration
beyond the far-off Mississippi, were in a feverish state of excite
ment. They did not contemplate it with any degree of pleasure.
During the war of 1812, a considerable portion of the north
western Indians were in the British interests, and they became
highly excited against the American government and people.
This state of feeling occasionally broke out1 into acts of treachery
and violence, and it was fostered and encouraged by the British
Indian agent upon the frontier, who desired to "preserve an influ
ence to be exerted as subsequent circumstances might require.
At this council this feeling strongly displayed itself, and in open
council there was a demonstration which threatened serious conse
quences, but which was averted by the firm and prompt interfer
ence of the commissioners, who immediately- left their seats and
placed themselves in tbe midst of tbe Indians, overawing them by
their personal conduct. In those days the Indians were numer
ous, and many of them disaffected, and every treaty was attended
by thousands eager to take part in the proceedings, and to secure
for themselves the largest portion of its favors, and thus individual
cupidity operated in aid of the other causes of excitement.
To surmount these obstacles, it was necessary for the Commis
sioners to put in requisition all their sagacity, tact and experience,
and be patient under every difficulty. They were fully sensible
of the incalculable importance of the desired acquisition, and
General Cass was equally aware that if the negotiation terminated
successfully, it would serve as a precedent, and be the entering
wedge towards the final accomplishment of the policy which he
had already shadowed forth to his government, of circumscribing
the boundaries of savage life. Finally, owing to the great, good
sense and wisdom of the commissioners — for they had no presents
to buy their good will, and the use of whiskey was interdicted at
the commencement of the council — a treaty was concluded and
signed on the twenty-ninth of the month, by which those tribes
represented at the council, ceded to the United States nearly all
the land to which they laid claim within the limits of Ohio, a part
in the State of Indiana, and a portion in the Territory of Michigan.

112 LIFE AND TIMES
This treaty was at once transmitted to Washington, and General
Cass, well satisfied with the result of his mission, returned to
Detroit. This was the most valuable treaty which the United States had,
up to that time, made with the Indians. It attached the isolated
population of Michigan to the five hundred thousand inhabitants
of Ohio ; it made the territorial government, in a fuller sense, an
integral part of the American Union, and removed forever all
apprehensions of an inimical confederacy among the Indian tribes
bordering on the large lakes of this frontierj and their many trib
utary streams. The Indian title to four millions of acres of land,
as fertile, well watered and beautiful as the sun ever shone upon,
was extinguished, and the policy of removal at last fairly adopted.
The President and the Secretary of War fully appreciated the
importance of the acquisition. In acknowledging the receipt of,
the treaty, the Secretary (Mr. Calhoun,) did the commissioners
the honor to say, " The extent of the cession far exceeds my most
sanguine expectations, and there can be no real or well founded
objections to tbe amount of compensation given for it, except
that it is not an adequate one. This treaty may be considered, in
its fiscal, political arid moral effects, as the most important of any
that we have hitherto made with the Indians."
General Cass followed up this cession — now that the Indian
settlements and lands could not be interposed as a barrier to the
undertaking — by urging upon tbe attention of the government
the necessity, both politically and pecuniarily, for the immediate
construction of a military road from Sandusky to Detroit. Its
advantages- to the government were so clearly pointed out, and
the argument so convincing, that its necessity could not be over
looked, if there had been a disposition to do so. But so thor
oughly convinced were the national authorities of its propriety.
and importance, that they cheerfully acceded to the application.
and commenced constructing the road over the route indicated by
General Cass, taking in its course the Black Swamp, hitherto an
impassable morass for teams and wagons.
In the summer of 1817, General Cass feeling the necessityof a
newspaper at the capital of the Territory, suggested the propriety
of establishing one to Messrs. Sheldon & Reed, and those young
and enterprising men, believing that there was spirit enough
among . the people to justify the undertaking, perfected their

OF LEWIS CASS. fl.13
arrangements and issued it under the name .of "The Detroit Ga
zette." This was the first newspaper press established in Michi
gan, and continued for many years in the hands of the original
proprietors. . ,
¦ Continuing to enact and enforce such laws as he considered for
the good of the inhabitants, endeavoring to ascertain the truth or
falsity of the allegation which was frequently made, that the lands
of the, Territory were for the most part worthless and swampy, and
by actual surveys satisfied that there was a wrong impression on
this subject, -and finding that prosperity began to abound, and
population to increase by emigration and settlement/ General
Cass'called for1 the views of the inhabitants in March, 1818, upon
the question of changing the civil authority by entering upon the
second grade of territorial government. ¦ A vote was taken, and a
majority Were against it. They were content with the goverriment
as it was— a most flattering compliment to the competency and
faithfulness of their Governor — and the wheels of the government
moved on as usual. But for the purpose of facilitating emigra
tion and settlement, Governor Cass, in April following, upon the
petition of many citizens, circulated and signed at his suggestion,
recommended to the Secretary of the Treasury, that the lands in
the district of Detroit be at once surveyed and brought into mar
ket. The department acted upon this recommendation promptly,
and sales were made in September and October following. This
movement gave a new impetus to agriculture,- and added to the
permanent prosperity of the country.
In August, 1818, the attention of General Cass was again
called, by Mr. Calhoun, the Secretary df War, to Indian affairs,
and particularly to the policy of their effecting the removal of tbe
Six Nations of Indians of the State of New York, west of the
Mississippi." He was instructed to ascertain whether the Indians
residing on'Fox river, or any of the tribes residirig north of Indi
ana and Illinois, would ad mit -the Six Nations among them. This
measure of the government, then in its infancy, from its peculiar
nature, required the most delicate and politic management. The
Indians who were represented at Fort Meigs the year before, were
reluctant to leave their lands, and the Six Nations not only
expressed their unqualified disapprobation of the proposition, but
an absolute determination to resist. To urge it upon them at this
time would have been prejudicial to its final success, and defeated
8

Hi LIFE AND TIMES
a most necessary step towards securing the safety and peace of
the early settlers upon the lands recently acquired. General
Cass, although favorable, of course, to tbe project of removing
the Six Nations, was opposed to its forcible adoption then, and
recommended that the time be postponed. In order to retain
their confidence and friendship, he was 'in favor of acting Upon
principles Of strict right and justice, and pursuing a fair and
friendly negotiation. In all his transactions with the Indians, he
carefully kept in view the honor of his country, and tbe condition
of the unfortunate parties with whom be negotiated.
In his report of the treaty with the Chippewas, dated Sep
tember 30th,' 1818, to the Secretary of War, he remarks: "The
negotiator of an Indian treaty is not sent upon such negotiation
to ascertain the lowest possible sum for which the miserable
remnant of those who once occupied our country are willing to
treat, and to seize with avidity the occasion to purchase. Certain
T am, that both you and the President would censure me, and
justly too, were I governed, in any intercourse with the Indians,
by such principles. The great moral debt which we owe them,
can only be discharged by patient forbearance, and a rigid adher
ence to that system of improvement which we have adopted, and
the effects of which are already felt in this quarter. Although I
am thoroughly persuaded that it would be better for us, and for.
these Indians, that they should emigrate to the country west of
the Mississippi, or, at any rate, west of Lake Michigan,, yet it was
impossible to give effect to that part of the instructions which
relates to this subject, without hazarding the success of the
negotiation. An indisposition to abandon the country so long
occupied by their tribes, an hereditary enmity to many of the
Western Indians, and a suspicion of our motives, are the promi
nent causes which, for the present, defeat this plan. When they
are surrounded by our settlements, and brought in contact with
our people, they will be more disposed to emigrate."
Continuing to carry out the instructions of the War Depart
ment, General Cass, during the following month of October, suc
cessfully negotiated, at St. Mary's, treaties to carry into effect,
with certain modifications, the treaty of Fort Meigs, and for the
acquisition of further cessions of lands in the State of Indiana*
He made treaties with the Delawares, Pottawatomies, and Miamifi,
— three in all. J(

OF LEWIS CASS. 115
In the following year, be solicited permission to negotiate for
a cession of the Indian title to lands in the northern part of
Michigan. Clad with his usual ample discretionary powers from
the government, he met the Chippewas in council, at Saginaw ; and
on the twenty-fourth bf September concluded a treaty, by which
large relinquishments to lands in Michigan were obtained, cover
ing and embracing about 6ix millions of acres. After the treaty
was concluded, and he had left Saginaw for Detroit, the Indians
deputed Washmenondeguet, their chief and orator, to overtake
him, and express to him their entire satisfaction with tbe arrange
ment and their thankfulness for his kindness. His intercourse
with these people was always of a character to command respect,
and ensure confidence and friendship.
Nor was this friendship ephemeral. Several years afterwards, - —
when many and many a sun had risen and set, — the Chippewas,
the Ottawas, the Pottawatomies, of Michigan, were again repre
sented in council at the citj^ of Detroit. It was on the twenty- .
fifth of July, 1855. Mr. George W. Manypenny, United States
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, was present. Upwards of one
hundred chiefs were in attendance. They had considered the
points relative to the treaty of 1836, under which large amounts
of money were claimed as due to their tribes from the general
government. As a body, they were grave, sensible,, and well
behaved, and exhibiting a promptness, intelligence, and advance
iri civilization, unexpected to every observer. They had entered
upon the consideration of the permanent location of their reserva
tions within the State, when General Cass, entirely unexpected to
them, entered the council hall. At sight of him, the chiefs
forgot their business and all the solemnities of the occasion, i?i
their joy at beholding their old and distinguished friend, and
thronged around him, grasping his hands, and testifying their
grateful remembrance of their former intercourse with him.
After this spontaneous gush of enthusiastic regard had partially
subsided, General Cass was formally addressed by the chiefs,
and made a reply to them, replete with wise advice.
During the year 1819, the privilege of electing a delegate to
Congress was granted to the people of Michigan, and further
sales of public lands were ordered and made. These events
were great advances in the hopes and prosperity of Michigan.
By the first, a new channel of communication was opened,

11.6 LIFE AND TIMES
through wihich her Chief Magistrate could convey to Congress
and the national government, her wants and situation ; and, by
the latter, settlements would be made further into the interior of
the peninsula, and land, now studded, at long intervals, on the
banks of her lakes and rivers, by the Frenchman's hut, or the
solitary post of the fur-trader, would soon become tbe sites of
towns and villages, teeming with business and civilization. ,. No
one exerted himself with more zeal to effect these improvements
in her condition than the Governor, convinced as he was that the
introduction of the elective franchise among the people would
elevate, their political character; and that, by the sale of the
public lands, the population and prosperity of the country would
be more rapidly advanced. These sales, as yet, were confined to,
the district of Detroit; but by the -extinguishment of the Indian
titles, new surveys were ordered to be made, and those vast tracts
of land, which hitherto had been mere ranges for the wild beasts
and savages, were soon to resound with the echo of the woodman's
ax, and the log houses of the hardy pioneers would stud the
wilderness.

OF LEWIS CASS. 117

CHAPTER IX.
General Cass' Indian Superintendency extended — ms Views of Governmental Policy — He recommends
Peaceful Expeditions into the Superior Country — His Letter to the Secretary of War— The Secre
tary's Reply — Expedition — Plaster of Paris discovered — His Letter upon the Subject — Ordered
to procure Cessions of Land at Sault Ste. Marie — Departure of the Expedition— Arrival at the
Sault — Indian Council — General Cass' Fearlessness — His Success— Journey to the Sources of the
Mississippi — Return— Report to the Department.
By additional orders from the government, the superintend
ency of General Cass over the Indians gradually extended. As
the country over which they spread could not be used for the
purposes of civilization until savage occupancy was terminated,
it had been, and continued to be, his first duty to cultivate amity,
and, by treaty, extinguish their rights. He had now negotiated
for the Peninsula of Michigan, Northern' Ohio, and Indiana. The
Fox and Sac Indians annually made their appearance, to receive
thousands of dollars of presents from the British agent at Maiden.
It was no unfrequent occurrence for them, as they passed along,
to commit depredations upon the property of the whites ; and by
this constant tribute, a feeling of attachment was growing up and
strengthening towards the British government. It required but
little sagacity to foresee the injurious effect of this to the United
States, if allowed to continue, even in time of peace; and, in
the event of war, apprehensions of still worse consequences were
entertained by those conversant with Indian character. , General
Cass witnessed and dreaded tbe influence which this practice,
now in full operation for a quarter of a century, produced upon
their minds. He was too often in contact with them, not to
fully appreciate it. He, on several occasions, had endeavored
to dissuade them from repeating these annual visits, but to no
purpose. To him it was evident that there was but one course
for the government to pursue, and that was to go into their
country, and employ the same line of policy with them as hatiy
already been successfully adopted with their red brethren this
side of tbe Lakes. Besides, the function and characteristics of
their country, were in fact but little known, beyond the general

118 LIFE AND TIMES
observations of indifferent explorers and casual travelers. Im
pressed with the profound importance of these views, he took
the liberty, in the fall of 1819, of presenting them, in form and
at length, to the War Department, in the following communica
tion, dated Detroit, November 18th, and addressed to John C.
Calhoun, Secretary of War :
" Sir : — The country upon the southern shore of Lake Superior,
and upon the water communication between that lake and the
Mississippi, has been but little explored, and its natural features
are imperfectly known. We have no correct topographical deline
ation of it, and the little information we possess relating to it, has
been derived from the reports of the Indian traders.
"It has occurred to me, that a tour through that country,
with a view to examine the productions of its animal, vegetable
and mineral kingdoms^ to explore its facilities for water com
munication, to delineate its natural objects, and to ascertain its
present and future probable value, would not be uninteresting
in itself, nor useless to the government. Such an expedition
would not be wholly unimportant in the public opinion, and
would well accord with that zeal' for inquiries of thiSj nature
which has recently so marked tbe. administration of the War
Department. " But, however interesting such a tour might be in itself, or
however important in its result, either in a political or geo
graphical point of view, I should not have ventured to suggest
the subject, nor to solicit your permission to carry it into effect,
were it not, in other respects, intimately connected with the
discharge of my official duties.
"Mr. Woodbridge, the delegate from this Territory, at my
request, takes charge of this letter; and he is so intimately
acquainted with the subject, and every way so competent to
enter into any explanations you may require, that I shall not he
compelled to go as much into detail as, under other circumstances,
might be necessary.
" The route which I propose to take, is from here to Michili-
mackinac, and from thence, by the Straits of St. Mary's, to the
river which contains the body of copper ore, (specimens of which
have been transmitted to the government,) and to the extremity
of Lake Superior.

OF LEWIS CASS. 119
"From that point, up the river which forms the water- commu-
lication between that lake and the Mississippi, to the latter river,
and, by way of Prairie du Chien and Green Bay, to Lake
Michigan. " The political objects, which require attention upon this route,
are: " 1. A personal examination of the different Indian tribes who
occupy the country ; of their moral and social condition ; of their
feelings towards the United States ; of their numerical strength ;
and of tbe various objects connected with tberii, of which human
ity and sound policy require that the government should possess
¦an intimate knowledge. We are very little acquainted with these
Indians, and I indulge the expectation that such a visit would be
productive of beneficial effects.
" The extract from the letter of Colonel Leavenworth, herewith
enclosed, and the speech of the Winnebago Indians, transmitted
to the War department by Mr. Graham, from Rock Island, Feb
ruary 24th, 1819, will show how much we have yet to learn
respecting these tribes, which are comparatively near to us.
" 2. Another important object is, to procure the extinction of
Indian titles to the land iri the vicinity of the Straits of St. Mary's,
Prairie du Chien, Green Bay, and upon the communication
between the two latter places.
"I will not trouble you with any observations respecting the
necessity of procuring these cessions. They are the prominent
points of tbe country — the avenues of communication by which
alone it can be approached.
" Two of them, Prairie du Chien and Green Bay, are occupied
by a considerable population, and the Straits of St. Mary's by a
few families. The undefined nature of their rights and duties,
and the uncertain tenure by which they hold their lands, render
it important that some step should be taken by the government
to relieve them. I think, too, that a cession of territory, with a
view to immediate sale and settlement, would be highly important
in the event of any difficulties with the Indians.
" My experience at Indian treaties convinces me that reasonable
cessions, upon proper terms, may, at any time, be procured. At
the treaty recently concluded at Saginaw, the Indians were willing
to cede the country in the vicinity of Michilimackinac, but I did
not feel authorized to treat with them for it.

120 LIFE AND TIMES
" Upon this subject, I transmit extracts from, the letters of Mr,
Boyd and Colonel Bowyer, by- which it will be seen that these
gentlemen anticipate no difficulty in ; procuring these cessions. -,
" 3. Another important object is, the examination of the body
of copper irilthe vicinity of Lake Superior. As early as the. year
1800, Mr. Tracy, then a senator from Connecticut, was dispatched
to make a similar examination. He, however, proceeded no further
than Michilimackinac. ¦ Since then, several attempts, have been
made, which have proved abortive. The specimens of virginvcopper
which have been sent to, the seat of government, have been procured
by the Indians, or by the half-breeds, from a large mass, represented
to weigh many tons, which has fallen from the brow of a hill.
" I antiQipatevno difficulty in reaching the spot, and it may be
highly important to the government to divide this mass, and to.
transport it to the seaboard for naval purposes.
"It is also important to examine, the neighboring country,
which is said to be rich in its mineral productions.
"I should propose that the land in the vicinity of this river be
purchased of the Indians. It could doubtless be done upon reason
able terms, and the United States could then cause a complete
examination of it to be made. Such a cession is not unimportant,
in another point of view. Some persons have already begun to
indulge in speculations upon this subject. The place is remote,
and the means of communication with it are few. By timely pres
ents to the Indians, illegal possessions might be gained, and much
injury might be done, much time elapse, and much difficulty be
experienced, before such trespassers could be removed.
"4. To ascertain the views of the Indians, in the vicinity of
Chicago, respecting the removal of the Six Nations to that district
of country : an extract from the letter of Mr. Kenzie, sub-agent at
Chicago, upon this subject, will show the situation in which this
business stands.
" 5. To explain to the Indians the views of the government
respecting their intercourse with the British authorities at Maiden,
and distinctly, to announce to them that their visits must be
discontinued. " It is probable that the annunciation of the new system, which
you have directed to be pursued upon this subject, and the expla
nations connected with it, can be made with more effect by me
than by ordinary messengers.

.OF LEWIS CASS. ,121
" 6. To ascertain the state of the British fur trade within that
part ofour jurisdiction. Our information, upon this subject is very
limited^ while its importance requires that it should be fully
known. " In addition to these objects, I think it very important to carry
the flag of the United States into' those remote regions where it
has never been borne by any person in a public station.
" The means by which I propose to accomplish this tour, are
simple and economical. All that will be required is an ordinary
birch canoe, and permission to employ a competent number of
Canadian boatmen. The whole expense will be confined within
narrow limits, and no appropriation will be necessary to defray it.
I only request permission to assign to this object a small part of
-the sum apportioned for Indian expenditures at this place, say
from1 one thousand to fifteen hundred dollars.
" If, however, the government should think that a small display
of force might be proper, an additional canoe, to be manned with
active soldiers, and commanded by an intelligent officer, would
not increase the expense, and would give greater effect to any
representations which might be made to the Indians.
" An intelligent officer of engineers, to make a correct chart,
for the information of the government, would add to the value of
the expedition.
" I am not competent to speculate upon the natural history of
the country through which we may pass. Should this object be
deemed important I request that some person acquainted with
zoology, botany, and mineralogy, may be sent to join Us.
" It is almost useless to add that I do not expect any compen
sation for my own services, except the ordinary allowance for
negotiating Indian treaties, should you think' proper to direct any
to be held, and entrust the charge of them to me.
" I request that you will communicate to me, as early as con
venient, your determination upon this subject, as it will be neces
sary to prepare a canoe during the winter, to be ready to enter
upon the tour as soon as the navigation of the lakes is open, should
you think proper to approve the plan.
"Very respectfully, &c, "Lewis Cass."
The department gave this communication the consideration

122 LIFE AND TIMES
which the source from whence it emanated entitled it to receive.
As previously, so now, the views of General Cass had, weight
with the government, and in January following, he received the
following reply: "Depabtment of Wae, January 14th, 1820.
"Sib: — I have received your letters of the 18th and 21st No
vember last. The exploring tour you propose, has the sanction
of the government, provided the expenditure can be made out of
the sum allotted your superintendency for Indian affairs, adding
thereto one thousand dollars for that special purpose.
" The objects of this expedition are comprised under the five
beads stated in your letter of the 18th of November, and which
you will consider, with the exception of that part whieh relates to
holding Indian treaties, upon which you will be fully instructed
hereafter, as forming part of the instructions which may be given
you by this department.
" Should your reconnoissance extend to the western extremity
of Lake Superior, you will ascertain the, practicability of a com
munication between the Bad, or Burntwood river, which empties
into the lake, and the Copper, or St. Croix, which empties into
the Mississippi, and the facility they present for a communication
with our posts on the St. Peter's.
" The Montreal river will also claim your attention, with a
view of establishing, through it, a communication between
Green Bay and the west end of Lake Superior.
" To aid you in the accomplishment of these important objects,
some officers of topographical engineers will be ordered to join
you. Perhaps Major Long, now here, will be directed to take
that route to join the expedition which he commands up the Mis
souri. In that event, a person acquainted with zoology and
botany will be selected to accompany him. Feeling, as I do,
great interest in obtaining a correct topographical, geographical
and military survey of our country, every encouragement, consis
tent with the means in my power, will be given by the Depart
ment. To this end General Macomb will be ordered to afford yon
every facility you may require. " I have,, etc.,
"J. C. Calhoun.
" His Excellency, Lewis Cass, Detroit, M, T."

OF LEWIS CASS. 123
In March following, General Cass received from tbe Secretary
of War information that Mr. Schoolcraft, a gentleman of science,
and particularly skilled in mineralogy, had been selected to
accompany him on the proposed expedition. He also received,
in another communication, a letter from Giles Sanford & Co., to
the Department, with reference to the discovery of plaster of
Paris, and asking permission to take possession of it. The imme
diate reference of it, and the subject matter, to General Cass by
the Department, is indicative of the unlimited confidence of the
government in his integrity and intelligence. It was not abused.
He immediately acknowledged its receipt by the following reply:
" Detroit, March 10th, 1820.
" Sie : — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the seventeenth ult., inclosing a copy of a letter from
Giles Sanford & Co.
"Their statement with respect to the discovery of plaster of
Paris upon one or more of the islands in the vicinity of Michili-
mackinac, to which the Indian title has not been extinguished, is
correct. Specimens of this plaster have been brought here, and
it is reported, by competent judges, to be of the best and purest
kind. The quantity is stated to be inexhaustible, and as vessels
generally return empty, or nearly so, from the upper lakes, it
could be transported to any part of Lake Erie at a trifling expense.
" I have great doubts, however, whether it' would be proper for
tbe government to grant any permission to remove this plaster
until the Indian title to the land is extinguished. • The power of
granting permission for that purpose is not given in the ' act to
regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes, and to pre
serve peace on the frontiers,' and appears, in fact, to be inconsis
tent with its general spirit and objects. To authorize these gen
tlemen to negotiate with the Indians for such a permission, is
contrary to the settled policy which h^s always been pursued by
the United States. I know of no case in which individuals have
been or should be permitted to hold any councils with the Indians,
except to procure the extinction of their title to lands claimed
under grants from one of the States. The application here must
be to the tribe; because in all their land there is a community of
interest, which can not be severed or conveyed by the acts of
iudividuals.

124 LIFE AND TIMES
" But, independerit of precedent, there are strong objections to
this course in principle. If private persons are authorized to
open such negotiations for any object, the government will find it
very difficult to procure from the Indians any cession of land upon
reason able "ter ms .
" Were these islands the property of the United States, I think
it would be very proper to permit the plaster upon them to be
removed by every person making application for that purpose.
The supply being inexhaustible, the agricultural interest would be
greatly promoted by such a measure, and the dependence upon a
foreign country for this important article would be removed.
" I therefore take the liberty of recommending that a cession
of these islands be procured by the United States from the Indians.
I presume that this may be done without the payment of any
annuity to them, and without any expense, except, perhaps, a few
trifling presents. The plaster -would then be at the disposal of
government, and its free distribution, under 6uch regulations as
might be adopted to prevent disputes between the adventurers, or
a monopoly by any of them, would be equally proper and bene
ficial. " Very respectfully, sir,
" I have the honor to be
" Tour most obedient servant,
"Lewis Cass.
"Hon. John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War."
Impressed With the importance of extinguishing the title of tho
Indians to the lands they occupied, General Cass again addressed
the War Department on that subject, on the eleventh and seven
teenth. And in a letter ofthe fifth bf April, the Secretary says:
" In relation to procuring cessions of land from the Indians, the
government has decided that it would be inexpedient to obtain
any further extinguishment of Indian title, except at the Sault de
St. Marie, where it is the wish of the Department that an incon
siderable cession, not exceeding ten miles square (unless strong
reasons for a greater cession should present themselves from an
actual inspection of the country), should be acquired upon tho
most reasonable terms,'so as to comprehend the proposed military
position there.
" Herewith you will receive a plate of the country about the

OF LEWIS CASS. 125
Sault de St. Marie, on which is indicated the military site intend
ed to be occupied for defense. Tou will also procure the cession
of the islands containing plaster, provided these islands are
clearly within the boundary of the United States, and can be
obtained 'without any considerable expense.
" A commission, authorizing you to bold these treaties, will
be forwarded to you in a few days.
" As it is desirable to know by what title the people at Green
Bay and Prairie du Chien hold their lands, and whether or not
the Indiaii titles to those lands were extinguished by the French,
at any period subsequent to their possession of the country,
(which is the impression of this Department), you will communi
cate such information as you possess, or may obtain, during your
tour, on this subject.
" In addition to Mr. Schoolcraft, Captain Douglass, ofthe En
gineer Corps, has been ordered to join you, and Mr. Whitney, (in
whose behalf application has been made for that purpose,) may
accompany you, if you can accommodate him. Should he ac
company you, he will be allowed the same compensation made
to Mr. Schoolcraft, who will be allowed one dollar and fifty cents
a day for the time actually employed."
It will readily occur to the reader, upon a perusal of these doc
uments, that different motives, relative to the extinguishment of
Indian title, actuated the Secretary of War and General Cass.
The military defense of the country appeared to be uppermost in
the mind of the former, whilst the latter embraced within his
view, also, the settlement of the country, and its ultimate perma
nent prosperity. The government, however, sanctioned the en
terprise ; and its projector congratulated himself that this would
be a .good stepping-stone — a beginning, at least, — towards the
final accomplishment of the wise policy of emigration and actual
settlement, which he then favored with all his energies, and now
is crowned with splendid results.
The expedition — viewed in all its aspects — was the most im
portant ever undertaken under the auspices of the government,
and was so regarded by the public prints in various parts of the
United States. It was manned as recommended by General
Cass, in bis first suggestions to the Department. A suitable com
plement of soldiers was detailed, not so much for the safety of the
travelers, as for its effect upon the Indians. The several scientific

126 LIFE AND TIMES
gentlemen who had been selected to accompany the expedition
reached Detroit in May. The birchen canoes, in which the ex
pedition was to be conveyed, were ordered from the Chippewas
of Lake Huron, near Saginaw Bay. Combining lightness with
strength, they could be readily carried over portages, and bear
considerable burdens when afloat.
The traveling party consisted of General Cass; Robert A. For*
syth, his private secretary ; Henry R. Schoolcraft, as mineralogist;
Captain D. B. Douglass, professor of engineering at West Point,
as topographer and astronomer ; Doctor Alexander Wolcot, as
physician ; Lieutenant Evans Mackey, United States Artillery, as
commandant of the escort ; and James D. Doty and Charles C.
Trowbridge, who occupied respectively the situation of official
secretary and assistant topographer. Besides these gentlemen,
ten Canadian voyageurs were taken to manage the canoes, ten
United States soldiers to serve as an escort, and ten Ottawa, Chip
pewa, and Shawnee Indians, to act as hunters, under the direc
tions bf James Riley, an Anglo-American, and Joseph Parks, a
Shawnee captive, as interpreters.
The expedition left Detroit on the twenty-fourth day of May.
General Cass, with several of the members, proceeded by land
nine miles, to Grove Point, on Lake St. Clair. The banks of the
river, at Detroit, were lined with a large and enthusiastic con
course of people as the canoes passed up ; and the soldiers, In
dians, and Canadians; were exhilarated with the scene, and merrily
and rapidly took their departure. The party, in consequence of
a heavy gale, were detained at Grove Point, and did not resume
their travel until the twenty^sixth, when the men loaded the
canoes, and, at mid-day, the expedition embarked. They coasted
along tbe lake, .passed up the St. Clair river, and keeping near
the southern shore of Lake Hriron, and after suffering much delay
from the rain and wind, on the sixth of June reached Michili-
mackinac, and, with a complimentary salute from the fort to the
leader of the expedition, landed, amid the congratulations of the
citizens of that northern post, who pressed forward to extend the
hand of welcome. Here terminated tbe first great pause in their
journey, after a tedious voyage of fourteen days, and at a remove
from their starting place, of three hundred and sixty long miles.
By following the indentations of the coast, and entering Saginaw
bay, the route of travel was longer than if, as on board of a

OF LEWIS CASS. , 127
steamboat, they could have traversed the lake farther from its
storm-battered and rocky shores.
Having spent eight days on the island, the party were recruited,
and felt better prepared for plunging deeper into, the north-west
forest. Before venturing to enter the stronghold of the Chippe
was, whose domain encircled Lake Superior, it was deemed
prudent, as a precautionary measure, to take along an additional
military force of twenty-two men, under the command of Lieuten
ant John S. Pierce, of the United States Army, a brother of
Franklin Pierce, as far as Sault de Ste. Marie. The expedition,
witbfthis additional force, now numbered sixty-four persons, and
embarking from the island oil the fourteenth, they reached tbe
Sault on the evening of the sixteenth, and encamped on the wide
green extending along the river.
This place was the seat of the Chippewa government, and being
the outlet of Lake Superior, and at the head of ship navigation,
had been occupied, as a military and trading post, from an early
period of tbe settlement of Canada. Under the treaty of Green
ville, made in 1795 by General Wayne, a reservation was made,
covering any gifts or grants of land in the North-west Territory
which the Indians had formerly made to the French or English,
and this reservation had been renewed or confirmed by treaties
with the same tribes, since the conclusion of the war of 1812, by
the treaty of Spring Wells, of the eighth of September, 1815, and
by the treaty of Fort Harrison, ofthe fourth of June, 1816. Under
these treaties, the United States claimed the concession formerly
made at the Sault, to the French, and by virtue of which conces
sion, this place had been occupied as a military post. General
Cass now proposed to hold a council, for settling the boundaries
of the grant, and thereby obtain an acknowledgment and renewal
of the concession.
This council was assembled at the marquee of the Governor,
with the national ensign floating above it, the next day after his
arrival. The chiefs, arrayed in their most attractive habiliments-,
with the usual profusion of feathers, and wearing their medals,
received from time to time from the British, entered the marquee,
and seating themselves with all their native dignity, opened the
council with the ceremony of smoking the pipe of peace. When
this was finished, and the interpreter, James Riley, a son of J.
Y. S. Riley, of Schenectady, N. T., by a Saginaw woman, and

128 . LIFE AND TIMES
acquainted with the language and customs of the Chippewas, had
taken his position, by direction of General Cass, he explained to
the chiefs the object of the council. They gave him their undi
vided attention ; but it was evident that the interpreter's speech
was not well received, and many of them spoke, in reply, in. oppo
sition to the proposition > of re-occupancy. At first, pretending
ignorance of former grants to the French and English, and pressed
from that position by a recurrence to facts which they could not
parry, they still continued to evade, and the talk soon became
desultory and very unsatisfactory. They differed among them
selves, and the discussion soon became animated. Some expressed
a willingness to adjust the boundaries, if it was not intended to
occupy the place with' a military garrison, accompanying their
remarks with the suggestion, that, if it was so occupied, they were
fearful their young men might prove unruly, and kill the cattle
and hogs that might stray away from the garrison. This was
designed as an insidious threat, and so received by General Cass;
who immediately, in an emphatic but dignified tone and manner,
informed them that, as to the establishment of a military garrison
at that place, they need not give themselves any uneasiness, for
.that point was already irrevocably settled, and so sure as the sun,
which was then rising, .would set in the west, so sure would an
American garrison be sent to that place, whether they renewed
the grant or not. Such decision always has great weight with the
Indians, and was particularly so in the present instance, as one
of the officers of the American party, just before the assembling
of the council, very indiscreetly and unauthorizedly, had intimated
to one of the chiefs that it was not intended to send a garrison
there. This decisive language had a sensible effect, and at once
brought matters to a crisis. Their animated conversation and
violent gesticulations plainly showed that high words were passing
among the Indians. Shingabowassin, of tall and stately stature,
and bead chief of the band, was for moderation. Shingwauk, a
chief who was on the war-path in 1814, was for extreme measures.
Sassaba,' a tall, martial-looking chief, wearing a scarlet uniform,
with epaulets, and reputed to hold the rank of a brigadier in the
British service, was the last chief who spoke ; and, in the course
of his speech, assuming a look of savage wildness, he drew his
war-lance, and stuck it furiously in the ground before him, and
retaking it, left the marquee, kicking away the presents which

OF LEWIS CASS. 129
had been laid before him. This defiant speech brought the delibe
rations to a close, and, amid great agitation and excitement, the
council was summarily dissolved, the Indians going to their bill,
and the Americans to their tents.
The Indian encampment was situated on a small hill, a few
hundred yards west from the Governor's marquee, with a small
ravine between. The Indians raised the British flag as soon as
they reached their encampment. Supposing that their superiority
in numbers made them, on that occasion, invincible, they ventured
to indulge in the grossest insolence. The business of the party at
that point had reached a crisis, and a conflict appeared inevitable.
The Governor instantly ordered the expedition under arms, and
calling the interpreter, proceeded with him, naked-handed- and
alone, to Sassaba's lodge. Several of the party, and, among
others, Mr. Schoolcraft, being armed with short rifles, volunteered
to accompany the Governor as a body guard, but he decidedly
refused this. On reaching the lodge of this hostile and violent chief,
he with his own hands pulled down the British flag, trod upon
it, and, entering the lodge, told Sassaba that the hoisting of that
insulting flag was an indignity which would not be tolerated on
American soil;, that the United States were the natural guar
dians and friends of tbe red man, and desired to act justly, and
promote their peace and happiness ; that the flag was the emblem
of national power, and that two national flags could not fly in
friendship on the same territory ; that the red man must not raise
any but the American, and, if they again did it, the United States
government would set a strong foot upon their necks, and crush
them to the earth ; and he took the flag to his own quarters.
This intrepid conduct astonished the Indians, and was all that
prevented an open rupture. Expecting so decisive a step to be
followed by an instant attack on their camp, in ten minutes after
the return of the Governor to his marquee, the Indians had cleared
their lodges of their women and children, and covered tbe river
with their canoes. The expedition, now under arms, were every
moment expecting to hear the war-whoop, and prepared them
selves to receive the furious shock. They remained in this position
for some time, but finally it was observed that the Indians ceased
to hold themselves in a hostile position, and the soldiers were
dismissed to their tents.
The bold and daring course pursued by General Cass, had had
9

130 LIFE AND TIMES
its effect, and evidenced a thorough knowledge of Indian ckarac-"
ter. They respect bravery. The movement of the entire force
of the expedition would have brought on an immediate fight ; but
to see one man, and unarmed, walk boldly into their camp and
tear down the symbol of their power without ceremony, amazed
them, 'and' brought them to reflection. General Cass has since
been told, that, when this proceeding was stated to Mrs. Johnston,
the daughter of Wabojeeg, she told the chief that resistance was
madness, and that this man, Cass, had too much the air of a great
man to be trifled with, and would carry bis flag through the
country. She counseled peace. Shingabowassin responded to
this advice, and Shingwauk coincided. Before the day passed, a
better state of feeling prevailed among all of them, and Shinga
bowassin renewed negotiations. Towards evening, another council
of chiefs was convened, and a treaty read, and signed by all, ex
cept Sassaba, ceding four miles square, reserving the perpetual
right to fish at the rapids of the river ; and the next day, the
seventeenth of June, the expedition resumed its journey, and
entered upon the waters of Lake Superior. -
On the twenty-first, they reached the Pictured Rocks, so called,
consisting of a series of lofty bluffs, extending along the southern
shore of the lake, for many miles, and presenting some ofthe most
sublime and commanding views in nature. Among many strik
ing features, one, in particular, attracted the admiration of General
Cass. It was called the Doric Rock, an isolated mass of sand
stone, projecting into the lake, consisting of four natural pillars,
supporting an entablature of the same material, and presenting
the appearance of a work of art. On the entablature rested a
stratum of alluvial soil, covered with pine and spruce trees, and
many of them sixty feet in hight. The most remarkable feature
of this wonder consisted of an excavation of the entablature,
between the pillars, in the form of a common arch, giving it the
appearance of a vaulted passage into the court-yard of some
massive pile of antiquated buildings. On the evening of this day,
they came across a village of Chippewas, about six miles beyond
the termination of this picturesque shore, and were welcomed to ¦
their lodges. Here they were entertained with dancing and other
festive feats.
On the twenty-fifth of June, the party left Lake Superior, and
ascended Portage river. After a boisterous passage much of the

OF LEWIS CASS. 131
way, and rainy weather, and after passing from one portage to
another, on the fifth day of July they reached the Fon du Lac.
Ascending tbe St. Louis river to one of its-sources, they descended
a tributary stream of Sandy lake to the Mississippi river ; thence
ascended to the Upper Red Cedar lake, the principal tributary
of the Mississippi ; hence they descended the Mississippi fourteen
hundred miles, to Prairie du Chien. They then navigated the
Wisconsin river to the Portage, and, entering the Fox river, de
scended it to Green Bay. At this place, Mr. Schoolcraft, and
others of the party, separated from General Cass, for topographi
cal exploration along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan to Mack
inac. General Cass, taking Chicago in his route, returned to his
home at Detroit. Here he arrived on the tenth of September,
having traveled over four thousand miles, and exploring a region
of country hitherto unknown in its various characteristics, and
having procured additional valuable knowledge of the various
disposition and numbers of the Indians, and a more accurate and
reliable topography of the vast country watered by the great lakes.
He had made several treaties, and had accomplished the objects
of the expedition.
Hastening to report to the government, be transmitted the
following dispatch : "Detroit, September 14th, 1820.
" Sie : — I am happyto be enabled to state to you that I reached
this place four days since, with some of the gentlemen who accom
panied me on my late tour, after a very fortunate journey of four
thousand miles, and an accomplishment, without any adverse
accident, of every object entrusted to me. The party divided at
Green Bay, with a view to circumnavigate Lake Michigan, and,
I trust, they may all arrive here in the course bf a week. '
" As soon as possible, I shall transmit to you a detailed report
upon the subject.
" Since my arrival, I have learned that Mr. Ellieott, professor of
mathematics at the military school, is dead. I can not but hope
that the office will'nbt be filled until the return of Captain Doug
lass. I do not know whether such an appointment would suit
bim but, from my knowledge of his views, feelings, and pursuits,
I presume it would ; and an intimate acquaintance with him,
during my tour, enables me to say that, in every requisite quali
fication as far aB I can judge, I have never found a man who is

132 LIFE AND TIMES
his superior. His zeal, talents, and acquirements are of the first
order, and I am much deceived if he does not soon take a distin
guished rank among the most scientific men of our country. His
situation as an assistant professor to Colonel Mansfield, and- his
connection with the family of Mr. Ellicott, furnish additional
reasons why he should receive this appointment.
" Yery respectfully, sir,
"I have the honor to be
" Tour obedient servant, "Lewis Cass.
" Hon. J. C. Calhoun, Secretary of War."
As soon as it could be prepared, the following report was made,
covering, in full, the inquiries to be answered by the expedition:
"Detroit, October 21st, 1820.
" Sir :— I had the honor to inform you, some time since, that I
had reached this place by land from Chicago, and that the residue
of the party were daily expected. They arrived soon after, with
out accident, and this long and arduous journey has been accom
plished without the occurrence of any unfavorable incident.
" I shall submit to you, as soon as it can be prepared, a memoir
respecting the Indians who occupy the country through which we
passed ; their numbers, disposition, wants, &c. It will be enough
at present to say that the whole frontier is in a state of profound
peace, and that .the remote Indians more particularly exhibit the
most friendly feelings towards the United States. As we approach
the points of contact between them and the British, the strength
of attachment evidently decreases, and, about those points, few
traces of.it remain. During our whole progress, but two incidents
occurred which evinced, in the slightest degree, an unfriendly
spirit. One of these was at St. Mary's, within forty-five miles of
Drummond's Island, and the other, within thirty miles of Maiden.
They passed off, however, without producing any serious result.
"It is due to Colonel Leavenworth to say, that his measures
upon the subject of the outrage committed by the Winnebago
Indians in the spring, were prompt, wise and decisive. As yon
have long since learned, the murderers were soon surrendered ;
and so impressive has been the lesson upon the minds of the

OF LEWIS CASS. 133
Indians, that the transaction has left us nothing to regret, but the
untimely fall of the soldiers. -'
" In my passage through the Winnebago country, I saw their
principal chiefs, and stated to them the necessity of restraining
their young men from the commission of' acts similar in their
character to those respecting which a report was made by Colonel
Smith. I have reason to believe that similar complaints will not
again be made, and I am certain that nothing but the intemper
ate passions of individuals will lead to the same conduct. Should
it occur, the acts will be disavowed by the chiefs, and the offend
ers surrendered with as much promptitude as the relapsed state
of the government will permit.
" The general route which we pursued was from this place to
Michilimackinac by the southern shore of Lake Huron. From
thence to Drummond's Island, and by the River St. Mary's to the
Sault. We then entered Lake Superior, coasted its southern
shore to Point Kawena, ascended the small stream which forms
the water communication across the base of the point, and, after
a portage of a mile and a half, struck the lake on the opposite
side. Fifty miles from this place, is the mouth of the Ontonagon,
upon which have been found large specimens of copper.
" We ascended that -stream about thirty miles, to the great
mass of that metal, whose existence has long been known. Com
mon report has greatly magnified the quantity, although enough
remains, even after a rigid examination,' to render it a mineral-
ogical curiosity. Instead of being a mass of pure copper, it is
rather copper imbedded in a bard rbck, and the weight does not
probably exceed five tons, of which the rock is the much larger
part. It was impossible to procure any specimens, for such was
its hardness that our chisels broke like glass. I intend to send
some Indians in the spring to procure the necessary specimens.
As we understand the nature of the substance, we can now fur
nish them with such tools as will effect the object. I shall, on
their return, send you such pieces as you may wish to retain for
the government, or to distribute as cabinet specimens- to the
various literary institutions of our country. Mr. Schoolcraft will
make to you a detailed report, upon this subject in particular,
and generally upon the various mineralogical and geological ob
jects to which his inquiries were directed. Should he carry into
effect the intention which he now meditates, of publishing his

134 LIFE AND TIMES
journal of the tour, enriched with the history of the facts which
have been collected, and with those scientific and practical reflec
tions and observations, which few men are more competent to
make, his Work will rank among the most important accessions
which have ever been made to our national literature.
" From the Ontonagon we proceeded to the Fon du Lac, pass
ing the mouths of the Montreal, Mauvais, and Brule rivers, and
entered the mouth of the St. Louis, or Fon du Lac river, which
forms, the most considerable water communication between Lake
Superior and the Mississippi.
" The southern coast,of the lake is sterile, cold and unpromising.
The timber is birch, pine, and trees of that description which
characterize the nature of the country. The first part of the
shore is moderately elevated, the next hilly, and even mountain
ous, and the last a low, flat, sandy beach. Two of the most sub
lime natural objects in the United States — tbe Grand Sable and
the Pictured Rocks — are tb be found upon this coast. The for
mer is an immense hill of sand, extending for some miles along
the lake, of great elevation and precipitous ascent. The latter is
an unbroken wall of rocks, rising perpendicularly from the lake
to the hight of three hundred feet, assuming every grotesque and
fanciful appeararice, and presenting to the eye of the passenger a
spectacle as tremendous as the imagination can conceive, or as
reason itself can well sustain.
" The emotions excited by these objects are fresh in the recol
lection of us all ; and they will undoubtedly be described, so that
the public can appreciate their character and appearance. The
indications of copper upon the western part of the coast are nu
merous ; and there is reason to suppose that silver, in small
quantities, has been found.
" The communication by the Montreal with the Chippewa
river, and by the Mauvais and Brule rivers with the St. Croix, is
difficult and precarious. The routes are interrupted by long, nu
merous, and tedious portages, across which the boats and all their
contents are transported by the men. It is doubtful whether
their communication can ever be much used, except for the pur
poses to which they are now applied. In the present state of the
Indian trade, human labor is nothing, because the number of
men employed in transporting the property is necessary to

OF LEWIS CASS. 135
•conduct tbe trade, after the different parties have reached their
destination, and the intermediate labor does not affect the aggregate
amount of the expense. Under ordinary circumstances, and for
those purposes to which water communication is applied in the
common course of civilized trade, these routes would be aban
doned. From the mouth of the Montreal river alone to its source.
there are not less than forty-five miles of portage.
" The St. Louis river is. a considerable stream, and for twenty -
five miles its navigation is Uninterrupted. At this distance, near
an establishment of the South-West Company, commences the
Grand Portage, about six miles in length, across spurs of the
Porcupine ridge of mountains. One other portage, one of a mile
and a half, and a continued succession of falls, called the Grand
Rapids, extending nine miles, and certainly unsnrmountable,
except by the skill and perseverance of Canadian boatmen, con
ducts us to a comparatively tranquil part of the river. From here
to the head of the Savannah river, a small branch of the St. Louis,
the navigation is uninterrupted, and, after a portage of four
miles, the descent is easy into Lac du Sable, whose outlet is
within two miles of the Mississippi.
" This was, until 1816, the principal establishment of the Brit
ish North- West Company upon these waters, and is now applied
to the same purpose by the American Fur Company.
" From Lac du Sable, we ascended the Mississippi to the
Upper Red Cedar Lake, which may be considered as the head of
the navigation of that river. The whole distance, three hundred
and fifty miles, is almost uninhabitable. The first part of the
route, the country is generally somewhat elevated and inter
spersed with pine woods. The latter part is level, wet prairie.
" The sources of this river flow from a region filled with lakes
and swamps, whose geological character indicates a recent for
mation, and which, although the. highest table-land of this part
of the continent, is yet a dead level, presenting to the eye a suc
cession of dreary, uninteresting objects. Interminable marshes,
numerous ponds, and a few low, naked, sterile plains, with a
small stream, not exceeding sixty feet in width, meandering in a
very crooked channel through them, are all the objects which are
found to reward the traveler for the privations and difficulties
which he must encounter in his ascent to this forbidding region.

136 LIFE AND TLMES
" The view on all sides is dull and monotonous. Scarcely a
living being animates the prospect, and every circumstance
recalled forcibly to our recollection that we were far removed
from civilized life.
" From Lac du Sable to the mouth of the St. Peter's, the dis
tance, by computation, is six hundred miles. The first two hun
dred present no obstacles to navigation. The land along the
river is of better quality than above ; the bottoms are more nu
merous, and the timber indicates a stronger and more productive
soil. But near this point commence the great rapids of the Mis
sissippi, which extend more than two hundred miles. The river
flows over a rocky bed, which forms a continuous succession of
rapids, all of which are difficult and some dangerous. The
country, too, begins here to open, and the immense plains in
which the buffalo range approach the river. These plains con
tinue to the falls of St. Anthony.
" They are elevated fifty or sixty feet above the Mississippi,
are destitute of timber, and present to the eye a flat, uniform sur
face, bounded, at the distance of eight or ten miles, by high
ground. The title of this land is in dispute between the Chippe
was and Sioux, and their long hostilities have prevented either
party from destroying tbe game in a manner as improvident as is
customary among the Indians. It is, consequently, more abun
dant than in any other region through which we traveled.
" From the post at the mouth of the St. Peter's to Prairie du
Chien, and from that place to Green Bay, the route is too well
known to render it necessary that I should trouble you with any
observations respecting it.
" The whole distance traveled by the party, between the
twenty-fourth of May and the twenty-fourth of September, ex
ceeded four thousand two hundred miles, and the journey was
performed without the occurrence of a single untoward accident
sufficiently important to deserve recollection.
" These notices are so short and imperfect, that I am unwilling
to obtrude them upon your patience. But the demands upon
your attention are so imperious, that to swell them into a geo
graphical memoir would require more time for their examination
than any interest which I am capable of giving the subject
would justify.

OF LEWIS CASS. 137
" I propose hereafter to submit some other observations to you
in a different shape.
" Yery respectfully, sir,
" I have the honor to be,
" Tour obedient servant.

" Lewis Cass.

" Hon. J. C. Calhoun, Secretary of War."

Mr. Schoolcraft, in tbe course of' a few months, published a
narrative journal of the travels of tbe expedition, and in it gave
a minute account of the geography and topography of the
country ; hence it became unnecessary for General Cass to pre
pare a more extended account than contained in the foregoing re
port. But, as will be seen in the following maturely considered
communication to the War Department, he was of the opinion,
that, in a topographical point of view, further examination of the
country was desirable, and would be profitable to the gov
ernment. ' "Detroit, September 20th, 1820.
" Sie : — In examining the state pf our topographical knowledge
respecting that portion of the north-western frontier over which
we have recently passed, it occurs to me that there are some
points which require further examination, and which might be
explored without any additional expense to the United States;
" The general result of the observations made by Captain
Douglass will be submitted to you as soon as it can be prepared.
And I believe be will also complete a map of the extensive route
we have taken, and embracing the whole of the United States
bounded by the upper lakes and the waters of the Mississippi,
and extending as far south as Rock Island and the southern ex
tremities of Lakes Michigan and Erie. The materials in his pos
session are sufficient, for such an outline, and he is every way
competent to complete it. But there are several important
streams-, respecting which it is desirable to procure more accurate
information than can be obtained from the vague and contradic
tory relations of Indians and Indian traders. The progress of
our geographical knowledge has not kept pace with the extension
of our territory nor with the enterprise of our traders. But I
trust tbe accurate observations of Captain Douglass will render a

138 LIFE AND TIMES
resort to the old French maps for information respecting our own
country, entirely unnecessary.
" I beg leave to propose to you, whether it would not be
proper to direct exploring parties to proceed from several of our
frontier ports into the interior of the country, and to make such
observations as might lead to a correct topographical delineation
of it. An intelligent officer, with eight or ten men, in a canoe,
would be adequate to this object. He would require nothing
more than a compass to ascertain his course, for it is not to be
expected that correct astronomical observations could be taken.
In ascending or descending streams, he should enter in a journal
every course which he pursues, and the length of time observed
by a watch. He should occasionally ascertain the velocity of his
canoe, by measuring a short distance upon the bank, and should
also enter in his journal his supposed rate of traveling. This,
whenever it is possible, should be checked by the distance as es
timated by traders and travelers. By a comparison of these
data, and by a little experience, be would soon be enabled to as
certain with sufficient precision the length of each course, and to
furnish materials for combination, which would eventually exhibit
a perfect view of the country. I do not know any additional expense
which it would be necessary to encounter. An ordinary compass
is not worth taking into consideration. A necessary supply of
provisions, a small quantity of powder, lead and tobacco, to pre
sent occasionally to the Indians, and a little medicine, are all the
articles which would require particular attention. Officers em
ployed upon such services should be directed to observe the natu
ral appearances ofthe country; its soil, timber and productions;
its general face and character ; the hight, direction and compo
sition of its hills ; the number, size, rapidity, &c, of its streams ;
its geological structure and mineralogical products ; and any
facts which may enable the public to appreciate its importance in
the scale of territorial acquisitions, or which may serve to enlarge
the sphere of national science.
" It is not to be expected that officers detached upon other
duties can enter into tho detail of such subjects in a manner
which their importance would render desirable. But the most
superficial observer may add something to the general stock ; and
to point their inquiries to specific objects may be the means of
eliciting facts, which in other hands may lead to important results.

OF LEWIS CASS. 139
The most important tributary stream of the Upper Mississippi is
the St. Peter's. The commanding officer at the mouth of that
river might be directed to form an expedition for exploring it.
" It is tbe opinion of Captain Douglass, and it is strongly for
tified by my personal observation, and by the opinion of others,
that Lieutenant Talcott, of the Engineers, now at the Council
Bluffs, would- conduct a party upOn this duty in a very satisfac
tory manner. He might ascend tbe St., Peter's to its source, and
from thence cross over to the Red river, and ascend the stream
to the forty-ninth parallel of latitude,' with directions to take the
necessary observations upon so important a point. Thence up
that branch of the Redriver interlocking with the nearest water
ofthe Mississippi, and down this river to Leech lake. From this
lake there is an easy communication to the River de Corbeau,
which he could descend to the Mississippi, and thence to St.
Peter's. " The St. Croix and Chippewa rivers, entering the Mississippi
above and below the Falls of St. Anthony, might, in like man
ner, be explored by parties from the same post. The former in
terlocks with the Mauvais and Brule rivers, but a descent into
Lake Superior would not probably be considered expedient, so
that' the party would necessarily ascend and descend the same
stream. " The Chippewa interlocks with the Montreal and Wisconsin
rivers, and consequently the same party could ascend the former
and descend the latter stream.
" A party from Green Bay' might explore Rocky river from its
source to its mouth.
" A correct examination bf Green Bay and of the Menomonie
river might be made from the same post.
" The St. Joseph and Grand rivers of this peninsula, could be
examined by parties detached from Chicago.
" It is desirable, also, to explore the Grand Traverse Bay, about
sixty miles south of Michilimackinac, on the east coast of Lake
Michigan. " These are all the points which require particular examination.
Observations made in the manner I have suggested, and, connected
with those already taken by Captain Douglass, would furnish
ample materials for a correct chart of the country.
" It is with this view that it might be proper, should you approve

140 LIFE AND TIMES
the plan I have submitted to you, to direct that the reports of the
officers should be transmitted to Captain Douglass, by whom they
will be incorporated with his own observations, and will appear
in a form best calculated to promote the views which you enter
tain upon the important subject of the internal geography of our
country. • ¦
" Very respectfully, sir,
" I have the honor to be
" Tour obedient servant, "Lewis Cass.
" Hon. J. C. Calhoun, Secretary of War."
The above communication originated Major Long's second
expedition, and the expedition of Henry R. Schoolcraft, in 1832,'
to Itosca lake, the head waters of the Mississippi river; and for
a discovery of these head waters, the world is indebted to General
Cass ; nor is it presuming too much to add, that General Cass
was mainly instrumental in finally obtaining that internal geo-
graphjr of the western country which Mr. Calhoun favored; and
had he not followed up his expedition, described in this chapter,
with unremitting efforts to obtain an accurate knowledge of the
topography of the regions to which he referred in the foregoing
communication, it is problematical whether civilization would not
have been a quarter of a century, at least, behind its present
advancement, in all the frontier settlements of this north-western
country.

OF LEWIS CASS. 141

CHAPTER X.
Progress of Settlement — Land Sales — General Cass' Purchase — Scarcity of Eoads— Public Surveys —
Population of Michigan — Extinguishment of Indian Title — His Journey'<to Chicago — Treaty -with
the Indians — He prohibits the Use of Whiskey — The Pardoning Power — New Counties — Public
Conveyances — Travelers — He recommends a Change of Government — Legislative Council.
Most of the year 1820 was thus occupied by General Cass. He
devoted himself attentively, upon his return from the Mississippi,
to the executive duties constantly claiming attention at Detroit.
Public lands bad been brought into market, and sold, in most
instances, to actual settlers. With the progress of settlement
came the necessity of extending the protecting arm of the govern
ment. The laws were to be enforced, and hence courts must be
instituted, and officers appointed to administer justice, who would
keep the fountain pure. Besides, in a newly settled country, it is
necessary that the relations of neighborhood should be maintained
on a different basis from what is observed in older communities.
Tbe ledger is not as often posted ;. the accounts between creditor
and' debtor are kept in the mind, and left to memory for the total
footings, instead of being carefully and methodically transcribed,
and left to paper and ink. Occasional chalkings, and imperfect
and badly written and worse spelled figures and words often com-.
prised the trade-books of the merchant ; and as for the mechanic
and artificer in iron, like the earliest of which we read in all anti
quity, they never were at pains to go beyond a hieroglyphic, if
even they stopped to do that ; whilst the sturdy and indefatigable
tiller of the soil squared his scores as he went along, especially on
the credit side. If his annual surplus crops did not yield enough
to balance the bill for groceries and merchandise and farm expen
ses, " the open, running account" was continued, and another year
checked upon to close it. As in longer settled countries, so in this,
occasionally a sharper would make his appearance on the surface,
well fed with random bait carefully stowed away in his maw, and, to
the surprise of the honest mechanic, laborious artificer, and simple-
minded farmer, by some wonderful legerdemain, gradually, but

142 LIFE AND TIMES
surely, swallow up their frugal gains. This would disturb the
peace of society, and mar the accustomed harmony of the little
neighborhood, if it did not tear the character of individuals.
To obviate, or rather forestall, crime, and save the hardy pioneer
from such pitfalls, it became imperatively necessary to start the
wheels of government in the right direction, and to select engi
neers that knew how to run them, and knowing how, would have
the integrity to do so. This delicate duty was ever uppermost in
the mind of their Governor. No speculator himself, and destitute
of all disposition to be one, yet he bad seen too much, and read
too much, of the endless transactions of business, not to be aware
of the existence of such a disposition in others. Consequently, in
all his communications with the general land office,- he constantly
urged the policy of giving preference, in all reasonable ways, to
the settler. Lands, in small parcels, and at low prices, was his
invariable -recommendation. The extent of General Cass' specu
lations in real estate, is, for the most part, comprised in two pur
chases — one, of five hundred acres, on the bank of Detroit river,
at the price of twelve thousand dollars, in the year eighteen hun
dred and sixteen. His neighbors told him that the sum paid was
exorbitant^ and if any thing was wanting before, that act was
enough to confirm them in the belief that he must rely upon other
sources than mere traffic, for the respectable maintenance of his
family. It is true that the price paid- for this purchase, (and it was
paid, after the example of his puritanic ancestry, in cash upon the
delivery of the deed,) then appeared high, and most extravagantly
so ; but General Cass, at that early day, intended to make his
then residence permanent, and he bought the property, in fact, for
a homestead. And if, forty years afterwards, the ingathering
shall multiply the value of the land, thus purchased, by fifties of
thousands, until it reaches nearly two thirds of a million of dollars,
the philosopher, in his reasoning upon this aggregation, must not
fail to overlook the fact, that it is the result of natural position,
and the beneficent measures of the territorial government.
The ordinance of '87 required the Governor, as a qualification,
to bold, in his own right, twelve hundred acres of land. This
qualification was complied with by General Cass. The tract of
twelve hundred acres was situated at or near the mouth of the
Detroit river. This tract, and the tract of five hundred acres,
were boight of private individuals.

OF LEWIS CASS. 143
The public sales of 1820-21, gave a new impetus to the rising
destinies of Michigan. Several cessions of land had been pro
cured from the Indians, and these were necessary before a full
and complete title could be acquired by the United States. They
were honorable, too, to the American government ; for, whatever
may be the abstract right, under the laws of nature, of civilized
nations to wrest from barbarians the soil which is not employed
in agriculture, it is manifest that the government of the United
States had a paramount right to these lands by conquest. They
had a valid and indisputable claim by conquest from the English,
and', subsequently, from the Indians themselves, in Wayne's war
and the war of 1812; and yet they only claimed the right of pre
emption when the Indians saw fit to sell their lands.
At that period, but few roads bad been constructed along the
sparse settlements through the wilderness, and these were in a
miserable condition, and hardly passable for tbe traveler. The
constantly increasing settlements were calling for the construction
of public works to facilitate emigration into different sections, and
promote easier communication with each other. General Cass
made extraordinary efforts to obtain the aid of the general gov
ernment in advancing these works for the improvement of the
Territory. These calls were liberally responded to by the general govern
ment. Bills passed Congress, and appropriations were made for
opening the road between Detroit and the Miami river ; also, for
the construction of a road from Detroit to Chicago, as well as a
ro>ad from Detroit to Fort Gratiot, and the improvement of La
Ploisance Bay.
The beautiful system of surveys of the public domain was car
ried into Michigan. Two straight lines were drawn through the
center of the Territory — north and south, east and west. The line
north and south was denominated the principal meridian, and
the line east and west, the base line. The Territory was then
surveyed into townships, six miles square ; these were subdivided
into sections, a mile square ; and these townships were numbered
in numerical order, increasing from tbe meridian and base lines.
The mathematical accuracy of this kind of survey, and the addi
tional fact, that each section and township were marked by the
surveyors on the trees at the corner of each section, and the lines
of the section, also, marked by shaving off the bark of the trees,

144 LIFE AND TIMES
furnished unmistakable landVmarks of the true boundaries of each
tract surveyed.
Thus far under the administration of General Cass, but'a small
quantity of land, compared with the whole, had been brought
into market ; and this was in the eastern portion of Michigan,
and lay in the land district of Detroit. But emigration, in silent
progress, was now gradually scattering its settlers over the forest.
And as they advanced into the interior, they found, frequently to
their surprise, — for the representations of surveyors in many in
stances had been of a different character, — a fertile, dry, and un
dulating soil, clothed with the most charming scenery, intersected
by limpid and rapid streams, and studded with small lakes well
stocked with delicious fish. These facts were not concealed from
their friends and acquaintances left behind in less inviting sec
tions of the country, or where the leading avenues to wealth and
distinction were, already occupied. , The , interior contained no
important settlements, but amid the clearings the lonely log:cabin
curled its smoke to the heavens from the borders of its lakes and
rivers ; and among the stumps and riven trunks of its large and
stately trees, small patches of wheat glowed in the sun — green
and inviting islands in a vast and magnificent ocean of
wilderness. To enable these settlers to be overtaken by others, and to in
crease the facilities for commerce and open communications to
market, General Cass favored the immediate construction of high
ways. These roads, he insisted, commencing at Detroit-— the great
depot,of the Territory, — passing through the most important parts
of the peninsula, and terminating at the borders of the great lakes
which almost encircle it, were essential to the security and pros
perity of the country. He was not unmindful, neither, of the im
portance of guarding the frontier with military works. In refer-
t ence tb this subject, be remarked, in one of his communications
to the department, as proof of the necessity of its attention, that
" the fort at Detroit is in a dilapidated state. No repairs have
been made on it since 1812,. and it is, in fact, incapable of de
fense. The platform could not bear the discharge of an eighteen-
pound gun, nor is there a single piece of artillery mounted upowi,
the works. , The pickets and abattis are rotten, and the gates un-,
hung. It is in a far worse condition than it was at the com
mencement of the late war. The military works at Fort Wayne,

OF LEWIS OASS. 145
Fort Gratiot, Sault de St. Marie, at Green Bay and Mackinaw,
are in but little better condition." He was able, however, to
awaken but little attention or interest at this time, on the part of
the general government, iu providing a solid defense to the
frontiers, where this would seem to have, been most required.
As settlements extended, he saw the propriety of extinguishing
Indian titles as fast and as far as possible. So far as the peninsula
of Michigan was concerned, most of this work had been per
formed. There was still a tract lying south of Grand river, and
in 1821 his services as Indian negotiator were again called into
requisition ; and in the summer of that year he again embarked
at Detroit, in a birch canoe, for another journey over stream and
portage. He ascended the Maumee, crossed the intervening
country into the Wabash, and descending that river to the
Ohio, went down the Ohio to the Mississippi, and from thence,
striking the Illinois river, ascended it to Chicago. It was a long,
circuitous and lonely voyage. For miles he saw no human beings
save his boatmen, and for days was embowered, in the prime
val forest. It furnished him, nevertheless, an admirable oppor
tunity to become acquainted with the character and locality of
the immense country through which he so silently glided ; and
an abundance of time for reflection. He felt he was traversing a
region of the world which one day would be the abode, under the
aegis of our enlightened republican institutions, of millions of free
men yet unborn, and that the future benefit of the services which he
was then rendering to his country would, in its advancement and
prosperity, amply compensate all his personal hazard and efforts
in its behalf.
Preliminary to the commencement of the negotiations at Chi
cago, the American commissioners, who were General Cass and
Judge Sibley, of Detroit, ordered that no spirits should be issued
to the Indians, and informed them, — as they would say it,— that
the bungs were driven into the barrels. A deputation of chiefs
waited upon the commissioners to remonstrate against this pre
cautionary measure, and at its head was the hereditary chief
Top-ni-be, really a respectable man, and high in the confidence of
the Pottawatomie tribe, and approaching almost his hundredth
year, but still in the possession of his mental faculties, and physi
cally well preserved. Every argument was used by Geheral Cass
to convince them that the measure was indispensable ; he told
lo

146 LIFE AND TIMES
them that tbey were exposed to daily murders, and that while in
a state of intoxication they were unable to attend to, the business
for which they were convened, and urged upon tbeni not to drink
the fire-water. All'this was useless^ and the discussion was only
terminated by the peremptory refusal ofthe commissioners to ac
cede to their request. " Father," said the hoary-headed chief,
when he was urged to remain sober and make a good bargain for
his people, — " Father, we do not care forthe land, nor the money,
nor the goods. What we. want is whiskey. Give us whiskey."
At Chicago, — then a mere trading post, — after several talks,,in
which it was necessary for him to take high and resolute ground,
he made a treaty, on the twenty-ninth of August, with the Chip
pewas, Ottawas, and -M>ttawatomies of Illinois, by which nearly
all the country within the boundaries of Michigan, south of Grand
river, and not before ceded, was granted to the United States.
General Cass, at this time on his return to Detroit, was
called upon to exercise the pardoning power in two cases of
murder, and here noticed for its novelty.
Two Indians, — named Ke-wa-bish-kim and Ke-taw-kah, — were
arraigned at the September term, 1820, ofthe Supreme Court of
the Territory ; the former for the murder of a trader at Green
Bay, and the latter for the murder of Dr. Madison, of the United
States Army. Both were tried and found guilty. An applica
tion was made to the Governor to pardon them. In the then
present attitude of our Indian relations, and well aware that
British agents were constantly at work to curry favor and hold
fast the friendship of the Indians, as well as the consideration
that higher or more certain evidence of malice aforethought,
perhaps, should be required in the case of a savage, the Governor
took the application into consideration. Some time elapsed be
fore he made up his final decision adverse to the application. The
evidence was too clear, and he deemed it to be his' duty to let
the law take its. course. December twenty-seventh, 1821, was
the day of execution ; and from tho current accounts of the event,
these men met their fate with stoical indifference.
They prepared themselves in jail, after their own customs, to
meet their fate. They laid aside, as an offering to the Great
Spirit, all the tobacco, pipes, and such other articles as they could
get. By drawing a piece of leather over the vessel which con
tained their drink, they made a drum, around which, -shaving

OF LEWIS CASS. 147
painted themselves black, — they danced their death-flance. With
red paint, they drew upon the walls of the prison cell figures of
men, beasts and reptiles ; and on their blankets even1 painted the
figure of an Indian suspended by the neck. The gallows was
erected in a spot where it was visible to them ; and although in
formed that it was made for them, it excited no expression of
dread or apparent fear of death. Evidently they had resolved to
die with Indian fortitude, admitting their fate to be just and their
punishment deserved ; and on the day of execution they ascended
the fatal platform with firmness and composure. When the last
moment arrived, they shook hands with their counsel and others
who stood near, and asked pardon of the citizens present for the
crimes they had committed. Then shaking hands with each
other, the officers of the law drew the caps over their faces, arid
these swarthy sons ofthe forest, as it were, hand in hand, passed
into the spirit land.
In tbe following year, — so great was the settlement of the
country, — it became necessary for the Governor to lay off and
create six new counties, extending'from the head of Lake Erie,
parallel with Detroit river and Lake St. Clair, towards Saginaw
Bay. Public travel also began fo increase, insomuch that, for
the first time in the Territory, a public stage was introduced and
plied between Detroit and the seat of justice of Macomb county,
in connection with the steamboat on Lake Erie. The name of
the steamboat was Walk-in-the- Water, and named after the Wy
andot chief. This boat had no competition froiri other steam ves
sels, being the only one which navigated the lake,' and was
deemed sufficient to transact the commercial business of the Ter
ritory. In the succeeding year, (1823.) General Cass, by the re
quest ofthe Department of War, met the Delaware Indians, arid
concluded an arrangemerit with them, by which they ceded sev
eral valuable' tracts of land lying on the Muskingum river, in the
State of Ohio. In tiie winter of this year, General Cass recom
mended a change in the territorial form of government. The in
crease of population and business was such, that he felt the
responsibility was too great to be vested in the governor and
judges, — embracing, as it did, the legislative, judicial and execu
tive functions of the government. He thought, too, that the
people should have more voice, and should have a representation,
revocable at stated periods. In his judgment, this would materially

148 LIFE AND TIMES
contribute to the stable progress of prosperity, and in the
end give more satisfaction. His views were presented to, Con
gress by the delegate, and Congress, listening to the application,
passed an act providing for the establishment of a Legislative
Council, to consist of nine members. These members were to be
appointed by the President" of the United States, with the consent
of the Senate, out of eighteen candidates elected by the people of
the Territory ; and, with the Governor, they were invested with
the same powers which had been before granted by the ordinance
of 1787 to the Governor, Legislative Council and House of Rep
resentatives of the North-western Territory. By this act, the
legislative power and duties of the governor and judges were
taken away ; the term of judicial office was limited to four years;
and eligibility to office required the same qualifications as the
right of suffrage.
This action on the part of Congress invested the Territory, of
Michigan with a more compact and energetic government, and
met the cordial approbation of the inhabitants. The election of
councilors, to be presented to the consideration of the President,
awakened an interest in the affairs of government among the peo
ple which they had not previously experienced, and naturally did
they consider themselves more as part and parcel thereof. In
some respects, they considered that they had changed their posi
tion from that of servant to that of principal, and that the acts of
their local rulers were now to be passed in review by themselves.
They also experienced that other sensation, which underlies the
growth and peaceful prosperity of all civilized communities, —
namely, that they were citizens, exercising the elective franchise
.guarantied by a republican constitution, and no longer occupying
the position of a mere dweller or visitor in the land selected, vol
untarily, for the homes of themselves and families.

OF LEWIS CASS. W9

CHAPTER XI.
First Session of Legislative Council — General Cass delivers his Message — His Recommendation — His
Views of Political Power — Of Schools and Education— The Copper MineB— Treaty with the Cllip-
pewas — Council of Prairie du Chien — General Cass' Prudence- and Tact — The Gopher— Hunters
Narrative — Its Exposure— The Customs and Traits of the Indians — Their Language, Religion, and
Depopulation — General Cass' Description.
In conformity with the Act of Congress, nine persons were
appointed by the President, to constitute the Legislative Council
of Michigan. It convened for the first time on the seventh day
of June, 1824, at the Council House in Detroit. General Cass
at that time delivered his message, in which he briefly reviewed
the progress of the Territory, since bis administration of its
government commenced, and marked out what he considered
the proper line of its policy, as well as its existing condition. In
reference to the devastations during the war of 1812, he remarks:
" The whole population was prostrated at the feet of the relentless
savages, and with such atrocious circumstances. as have no parallel
in the annals of modern warfare ; menaces, personal violence, im
prisonment, and depopulation, were indiscriminately used, as either
appeared best calculated to effect tbe object, which avowedly was
to sever our citizens from the allegiance they owed to their country.
Fortunately, their patriotism and energy resisted these efforts, and
probably in no portion of the Union was more devotedness to the
general cause manifested than here."
The proceedings of this Council attracted universal attention
among the citizens. The members of the Legislature were guided
by the Governor's message, which contained accurate information
of the condition of the Territory, and indicated a thorough know
ledge, on the part of the Governor, of its wants and capacities.
He recommended the establishment of a system of township
government, in which matters of local police might be regulated
by the people in their primary meetings ; the power of appoint
ment and removal of territorial officers; a limitation of tenure
to some of the offices, in order that a more faithful performance
of the duties belonging to them might be secured; the necessity

150 LIFE AND TIMES
of enacting laws for the surrendering of fugitives from justice;
the organization of courts, which should make the dispensation
of justice convenient and attainable in remote parts of the Terri
tory; and the efficient organization of tbe militia. He pointed
out the benefits which would result mutually to the constituent
and representative by the division ef the Territory into districts;
the importance of a practical and well-digested system of schools
and education ; the situation of the roads ; and explained to them
the condition of the finances of vthe Territory, and recommended
radical changes in the code of laws. All these topics were dis
cussed in a statesmanlike manner, and satisfied as well the
members of the Council as the inhabitants, for whose; welfare he
acted and wrote, that he understood their interests, and had
endeavored to subserve them. The Legislature responded to
these recommendations by enactments — the best evidence in
their power to give of their unlimited confidence in tbe Chief
Magistrate. The Governor believed that the right of government was inhe
rent in the people; and that from them, in a republican govern
ment, emanates all the power arid sovereignty. In commenting
on this point, he remarks: "The legislative power heretofore
exercised, has been vested in officers over whom the people had
no direct control. Authority, thus held, is certainly liable to
abuse ; but its practical operation was restrained and secured,
as well by the limitations provided in the fundamental ordinance'
as by the spirit of our institutions and the superintending; control
of the general government. Still that change in our political
system, which gives to the people the right of electing, their own
Legislature, is not only correct in principle, but will be* found
most salutary in its operation.
"The power of appointment to office, in free governments, prer
sents for solution a delicate question. In this Territorial govern
ment, that power is vested in the Executive alone. I feel no
disposition, on the one hand, to shrink from any necessary re
sponsibility ; nor, on the other, tenaciously to retain any power
originally granted for the public good,, but which the public
interest now requires should be surrendered' The ordinance
of Congress which forms the basis of our political fabric, was
passed thirty-five years ago. It was a political experiment, and
successive alterations have been made, and to remedy defects

OF LEWIS CASS. 151
which experience has shoWn to exist, and to accommodate its
principles to the advancing opinions of the age. My, own obserr
vation has satisfied me, that a beneficial change may be made; in
tbe mode of appointment to office. All township and corpora
tion, and many county officers, particularly those whose d nties
relate to thei fiscal and police concerns of the respective counties,
should be elected by the people.; In the appointment of others,
it appears to me proper to give to the. Council a participation.
No system which has been adopted in the United States, upon
this subject, is better calculated to effect the object than that
which requires a nomination by an executive magistrate, and
the concurrence of' a deliberative body. By these means, we
have the advantage of individual responsibility in the nomina
tion, and also a check upon its abuse, in the required concurrence
qf a co-ordinate branch of the government."
Governor Cass also called the attention of the Legislature to
another subject, — that of schools and education — a subject at
that day not so much discussed or generally appreciated as since.
-'>The importance of this subject,';' he says,, "to our present
and future prosperity, must be too well appreciated to require
any observation from me. A practical and well-digested system,
which [should extend to all the advantages of education, would
be of inestimable value to this young and growing community.
A more acceptable service could not be rendered to. our fellow-
citizens ; and no more equitable tax can be levied in any country,
than one whose application is directed to preparing its citizens
for appreciating and preserving the blessings of self-government."
In relation to the accountability of the representative to his
constituents, he comments as follows: "It is alwaySvdesirable
that the connection between the representative and constituent
should be as intimate as practicable; and with this view, districts
are usually established, within which, it may fairly be presumed,
the electors will be acquainted with the characters and preten
sions of those who request their suffrages. When these districts
are extensive, and particularly when they embrace a whole State
or Territory, the immediate accountability of the representative
to, those among whom he lives, and who know him best, is weak
ened. I- believe it would be expedient to divide the Territory
into districts, and assign to each the election of two members of
the Council."

152 LIFE AND TIMES
. No person will pretend, but that these sentiments are such as
would be expected from a believer in the doctrines of republican
ism. In antagonism to the once popular dogma of limiting all
civil power and authority to the few, and the few centered in one,
he planted his administration upon the basis of popular suffrage:
that being the government of the people, and baptized with their
hearts' blood, it should be amenable to them, and at all times
subject to their revision. The Legislature promptly seconded
their Governor ; and in all their legislation, this sentiment was
steadily kept in view. With what benefit and success, let the
subsequent history of Michigan attest.
In the course of this year, (1824,) General Cass directed the
attention of the general government to the resources of that part
of the Territory situate on Lake Superior, and, in particular, the
copper mines. He recommended that steps be taken to obtain
from the Indians the right to explore that country for mining
purposes, with liberty to remove iron or other precious metals
found there. There were obstacles in the way of procuring an
absolute title ; but all the advantages to be derived from a pur
chase, could be as well attained by procuring the assent of the
Indians to prosecute mining operations, leaving the cession of
title to some subsequent negotiation. The country was known
to abound in rich mines of copper and iron. The observations
and report of the expedition of 1820 had fully established this
truth, and subsequent information confirmed it. The future value
of these mines was perfectly obvious to General Cass. Writing
on this subject, in November of this year, to Thomas H. Benton,
of the United States Senate, he remarks :
" The metaliferous region is upon and about the lake shore, and
the extinction, of the Indian title to such a portion of it as may he
deemed advantageous, would not diminish their means of subsist
ence. But I still think, as I thought originally, that it would be
most proper to negotiate with them for the right to explore the
country, and carry on mining operations wherever appearances*
may promise the most productive results. All the advantages wfl^
could expect to derive from the mineral riches of the country
would be gained by the right to procure and take away any por
tion of them. No calculation can be made of the extent and
pecuniary value of these copper mines. No doubt is entertained
but that the metal may be procured with as much ease as in any

OF LEWIS CASS. 1S$
v.
part of the world. In fact, it is well known that large masses of
pure malleable copper have been discovered in different parts of
the country, and there is every reason to believe that, when those
regions are fully explored, these masses will be found to be still
more abundant. The cost of making the purchase I have des
cribed, may be kept within the sum of ten thousand dollars, and:
full justice be done to the Indians interested. It might, I doubt
not, be made for a much less sum, were it consonant to the prin
ciples or policy of the government to procure cessions from the
Indians at the lowest possible rate. But it is due to the character
of our country, and to the feelings of our citizens, that, in our
negotiations with these wretched people, we should remember our
own streflgth and wealth, and their weakness and poverty ; that
we should look back upon what they have lost and we have gained;
and never forget the great moral debt we owe them."
At the session of Congress which assembled on the first Monday
of December, 1824, a bill passed the Senate conferring authority
on the President of the United States to appoint a commissioner
to treat with the Indians for permission to search for copper on
the south shore of Lake Superior. The bill, however, was lost in
the House of Representatives ; but the necessity for carrying out
the suggestion of General Cass became so obvious to the next
Congress, that it passed the bill, and a treaty was made with the
Chippewas, granting to the United States the right to search for
and carry away the metals or minerals found in any part of their
country. This was the commencement of mining in the Superior
region, and the enterprising miner, and the companies he repre
sents, may, in justice, attribute their right to tear up the rocks
and mountains, and excavate the subterranean caverns of earth,
to the vigilant' watchfulness and far-seeing statesmanship of Gen
eral Cass at this early day.
In the year 1825,- the general government believed it was their
duty to make an effort to terminate, if possible, the feuds and
enmities existing among the north-west tribes of Indians. Wars,
for many successive years, had been waged between the Chippe-'
was and Sioux; the Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux; and the
Iowas and the Sioux. The last named tribe roamed an extensive
country, and was turbtilerit arid revengefnl, and powerful. It was
thought, if this state of hostilities was suffered longer to continue
within tbe jurisdiction of the United States, the evil would become

154 LIFE AND TIMES
incalculable. Besides, there was extreme danger of these wars
extending over a large surface of country. The government
became fearful that other tribes, far up the Missouri and Missis
sippi rivers, would become involved in hostilities, and a general
warfare be the consequence. This would be a deplorable evil,
retarding the advancement of the country, and creating new and,
perhaps, insurmountable obstacles to a removal, of tbe tribes fur
ther east, beyond the Mississippi. To promote peace among
themselves, and to establish- limits to their hunting grounds, so
that one tribe should not invade the domain of the other, and thus
remove the principal source of all their difficulties, General Cass
was associated -, with Governor Clarke, of the State of Missouri,
Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and well acquainted with them,
and who had been the associate of Lewis across the Rocky Moun
tains, in a commission to negotiate a treaty of general pacifica
tion and boundaries. The commissioners, in August,- at Prairie
du Chien, met, in pursuance of invitation to these Indians, large
deputations of the Sioux, Chippewas, Sacs, Foxes, Winnebagoes,
Iowas, and Menominees, and many of them having come from
points a thousand miles from the treaty ground. This great
council, being, from numbers, necessarily of many dispositions
and minds, was quite unwieldy, and it was many days before the
commissioners were able to penetrate their views. Their numer
ous claims came in conflict, and were perseveringly and doggedly
urged. , It was a herculean task to reconcile these formidable
differences, and induce concession and relinquishment. The
nature ,of the transaction was different from an ordinary treaty,
where lands were to be given up on the one side, and a consider
ation paid therefor on the other. "There were no tangible induce
ments — no glittering gold and showy presents. The consideration
of their concession was entirely a moral one. It was asking the
turbulent and war-seeking Chippewa, the brave and daring Sioux,
to lay down the tomahawk, and extend the hand of peace and
friendship to one another, while each held the unavenged trophies
of valor; obtained in deadly combat." All the caution and pru
dence ofthe commissioners were required to meet successfully the
great acuteness of. the Indians in defining their rights, and their
pertinacity in maintaining them ; and had not the commissioners
been thoroughly conversant with their character, and undismayed
with their frequent startling ebullitions of passion, the conference

OF LEWIS CASS. 155
would have been a failure. But, to the, perpetual good of the
Indians, the commissioners concluded a treaty with them, on the
nineteenth of August. To give due solemnity to this treaty, none
of the ceremonies, usual ori such occasions, were omitted by the
commissioners. To these ceremonies the Indians < attach , great
importance, and such a token of respect to their usages and cus
toms, operated favorably in holding them more faithfully to the
fulfillment ef their agreements. , Accordingly, at the conclusion of
the treaty, the commissioners entertained all of the Indians with
a feast. There ¦ was a peculiarity attending it, however, which
struck the guests with astonishment. General Cass made use of
the occasion to explain to them the evils which they suffered from
an indulgence in ardent spirits; and pointed out to them the ter
rible consequences, if they continued the practice. To convince
them, at the same time, that the- government was not actuated by
a parsimonious spirit, or a desire to save the cost of the liquor,
which it had been customary to distribute at the signing of treaties,
and then omitted, the commissioners took care to have an ample
supply of whiskey, to be brought in among them. As they were
proceeding to help themselves, General Cass ordered the vessels
containing the liquor to be overturned, and the entire contents to,
be wasted on the ground. The Indians, by their repeated excla
mations of Te-yaw, showed much disappointment, and were aston
ished by this short, practical, and novel temperance lecture. The
objects- of this treaty were, in part, attained. It resulted in a
common acceptance of certain geographical or other known boun-
dariesj and its beneficial results accrue with each coming year.
The lines of separation, defined with so much solemnity, and; by
such general consent, are appealed to as decisive. War may still
prevail, as it lias existed for ages, but border contests, the most
inveterate and sanguinary, may be appeased.
In his forest travels, General Cass had the opportunity, and;
sometimes, the leisure, to examine the animal and vegetable
kingdom, in the unequivocal exhibition of nature. In one of his
excursions into the recesses of the wilderness, he found himself in
the country of the gophers — small animals which dwell princi
pally in the earth, and known to naturalists under the name of
sPseudostoma Bursarvum. Their natural habits lead them to bur
row in the ground, and they are furnished with two pouches,
formed by a prolongation and indentation of the skin of the cheek,

156 LIFE AND TIMES
by which the pouch, while it opens outwards, is contained within
the jaws. The object of this strange apparatus is said to be to
enable the little animal to exeavate his dwelling, in the sandy.
ground where he loves to resort, by filling his pouches with sand,
and then carrying the burden to the entrance of his hole, and
there depositing it, by pressing his fore paws upon his cheeks.
< At this time, the animal was not much known, and he sue-,
ceeded in procuring one, and gave directions that the skin should
be carefully prepared for preservation. It was in the month of July,
and it became necessary to turn the skin of the pouches inside
out, in order that it might' be effectually dried. In this position,
they presented the appearance of two strange-looking projections,
pushed out from the cheeks, and whose object it would be difficult
to divine. He saved these exuviae of the gopher, and afterwards
sent them to a naturalist, in New > Fork — a man of much worth;
at one time of high political standing, and, who was then a point
of concentration for many facts in natural history, which, without
his zeal, would, for the time, have been lost ,to science. General
Cass did not replace the inverted pouches in their proper position,
never dreaming of the unlucky renown they were about to acquire,
and never supposing, for a moment, that any mistake could exist
respecting their natural arrangement. But so it was : the stuffed
specimen was -sent, by the New York philosopher, to Europe, with
the projecting appendages, and the animal formed tbe subject of
a memoir, of Cuvier, to the Academy of Natural Sciences. This
zoological stranger was described as belonging to a new species
of quadrupeds ; speculations were indulged upon his proper posi
tion and habits of life: thus warning us that the highest acquire
ments may be at fault, and that we must not always surrender our
confidence to the greatest names.
Ib the year 1823, John Dunn Hunter's narrative of the "Man
ners and Customs of several Indian tribes, located west of the
Mississippi," appeared, from a publishing house in Philadelphia,
and, at the time, attracted much attention. General Cass, in the
course of his tours through the west, had satisfied himself that'this
work was an imposture. In determining to expose it to the world,
his mind was led to' dwell on the subject of Indian character, lan
guage, and condition, and he wrote the article which appeared in
the fiftieth number of the North American Review, in January,
1826. The subject was full ef interest, and written in a style

OF LEWIS CASS. ¦ 157
uncommonly earnest; chaste, and eloquent; and the public were
gratified to learn that a theme so interesting had engaged the
attention of so cultivated and liberal a mind.
General Cass was too much attached to truth and opposed to
imposture, to stand by and see the character and ways of the poor
Indian mercilessly hawked at by an unseen foe. " More than
three centuries have passed away," says he, " since the American
continent became known to the Europeans. At the period of its
discovery, it was inhabited by a race of men, in their physical
conformation, their moral habits, their social and political rela
tions, their languages^ and modes of life, differing essentially from
the inhabitants of the Old World. From Hudson Bay to Mex
ico, and from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains, the country-
was possessed by numerous petty tribes, resembling one another
in their general features, but separated into independent commu
nities, always in a state of alarm and suspicion, and generally on
terms of open hostility. These people were in the rudest condi
tion of society, wandering from place to place, without sciences
and without arts, (for we can not dignify with the name of arts the
making of bows and arrows and the dressing of skins,) without
metallic instruments, without domestic animals ; raising a little
corn by the labor of their women with a clam-shell or the scapula
of the buffalo, devouring it with true savage improvidence, and
subsisting during the remainder of the year upon the precarious
supplies furnished by the chase and by fishing. They were thinly
scattered over an immense extent of country, fixing their summer
residence upon some little spot of fertile land, and roaming, with
their families and their mat or skin houses, during the winter,
through the forests, in pursuit of tbe animals necessary for food
and clothing. Such a state of society could not but arrest the
attention of the adventurer, to whom everything was new and
strange. A spirit of inquiry had been recently awakened in
Europe, and the discovery of the mariner's compass and the art
of printing had wonderfully enlarged the sphere of human obser
vation and given new vigor to the hufnan faculties. And we
find, accordingly, that the man of America soon became the sub
ject of examination and speculation, and many a ponderous tomte
has been written on the topic, from the letter bf Veneyzani to
Francis the First, in 1524, down to the latest work, manufactured
in London by some professional book-maker, whose accurate

158 LIFE AND TIMES
knowledge of the Indian character and condition has been ac
quired by profound-observation within Temple-bar, or who strings
together the falsehoods of such men as the personage who calls
himself John Dunn Hunter ; and whose finale is always a jere
miad upon the savage treatment of the aborigines of this conti
nent by their barbarous Anglo-American neighbors.
" Of the, external habits ofthe Indians, if we may so speak, we
have the most ample details. Their wars, their amusements,
their hunting, and the more prominent facts connected with their
occupations and condition, have been described with great pro
lixity, and doubtless with much fidelity, by a host of persons,
whose opportunities for observation, and Whose qualifications for
description, have beeri as different as the places and the eras in
which they have written. Eyes have not been wanting to see,
nor tongues to relate, nor pens to record, the incidents which
from time to time have occurred among our aboriginal neighbors.
The eating of fire, the swallowing of daggers, the escape from
swathed buffalo robes, and the juggling incantations and cere
monies by which the dead are raised, the sick healed, and the
living killed, have been witnessed by many, who related what
they saw, but who were grossly deceived by their own credulity
and by the skill bf the Indian Waubeno. We have ourselves, in
the depth and solitude of our primeval forests, and among some
of the wildest and most remote of our Indian tribes, gazed with
ardent curiosity, and perhaps with some slight emotion of awe,
upon the Jongleur, who with impudent dexterity performed feats
which probably it is wiser to witness than to relate. And when
the surrounding naked and painted multitude, exulting in the im
posing performance, and in the victory obtained over the incredu
lity of the white strangers, fixed their eyes upon us, and raised
their piercing yell, breaking the sounds by the repeated applica
tion of the hand to the mouth, and dancing around us with the
activity of mountebanks and the ferocity of demons,
' We dare not say, that then our blood
Kept on its wont and tempered flood ;'
nor that, under less favorable circumstances, the same might not
have been terrific, arid impressed us with > recollections equally
difficult to reject and to account for. And there can be no
doubt, that similar scenes in other times, with proper ' appliances

OF LEWIS CASS. 159
and means to boot,' have been the origin of most of those stories
of Indian miracles and prophecies which occupy so large a por
tion of* the narratives of our earlier historians and travelers.
"But bf the moral character and feelings of the Indians, of
their mental discipline, of their peculiar opinions, mythological
and religious, and of all that is most valuable to man in the his
tory of man, we are about as ignorant as when Jacques Cartier
first ascended the St. Lawrence. The constitution of their society,
and the ties by which they are kept together, furnish a paradox
which has never received the explanation it requires. We say
they have no government. And they have none whose operation
is felt either in rewards or punishments. And yet their lives and
property are protected, and their political relations among them
selves and with other tribes are duly preserved. Have they, then,
no passions to excite them to deeds of violence, or have they dis
covered, and reduced to practice, some unknown principle of ac
tion in human nature equally efficacious with the two great mo
tives of hope and fear, upon which all other governments have
heretofore rested ? Why does an Indian,, who has been guilty of
murder, tranquilly fold his blanket about his head, and, seating
himself upon the ground, await the retributive stroke from the
relation of the deceased ? A white man, under similar circum
stances, would flee or resist, and we can conceive of no motive
which would induce him to submit to such- a sacrifice. Those
Indians who have murdered any of our citizens, have generally
surrendered themselves for trial. The Winnebagoes convicted at
Belleville, the Osages at the post of Arkansas, and the seven per
sons now confined at Mackinac for the murder of four American
citizens upon Lake Pepin, in August, 1824, freely delivered
themselves to our authority, as necessary offerings for their own
guilt, and tb exonerate their tribes from suspicion or injury. And
it is but a just tribute to the impartial execution of our laws to
state, that the persons who Were guilty of the atrocious murder of
a number of Indians, a few months since in Indiana, were con
victed and executed in June last.
"• This result is, however, sometimes avoided by an agreement
on the part of the friends of the murdered person to receive a
present instead of the life of the offender. It is the price of blood,
and contributions are freely made to it by all the relations of tbe
criminal. But its acceptance or rejection is purely voluntary, and

160 LIFE AND TIMES
as there is no obligation to receive, so no offense is given by. re
fusing this peace-offering. The victim dies, if the love of revenge
is stronger than the love of property. In 1824, an Ottawa Indian
was killed by a Miami. A formal negotiation was carried, on be
tween the two tribes, which finally resulted in the payment pf
five thousand dollars by the latter to the former. It is worthy of
remark, that the right to kill a murderer, without any preparatory
demand, is confined to persons of the same tribe. . When the
criminal and the victim belong to different tribes, a demand must
be made previously to the adoption of any other measure, which,
if not satisfied, is followed by war.
" Within the last year, we ourselves, far in the interior of the
country, while surveying the initiatory ceremonies of the Indian
Meetay, one of their mystical societies, saw a Chippewa, whose
grave and serious demeanor attracted our observation. His ap
pearance led to the inquiry, whether any peculiarity in his situa
tion impressed upon his deportment the air of seriousness which
was too evident to be mistaken. It was ascertained ,that he had
killed a Pottawatomie Indian during the preceding season, and
that the Pottawatomies had made the usual demand for his, sur
render. On a representation, however, that he was deeply in
debt, and that his immediate death would cause much injustice
to some of the traders, the injured tribe at length agreed to post
pone his execution till another season, that the produce of his
winter's hunt might be applied to the discharge of his debts. He
had been successful in his exertions, and had paid the claims
against him. He was about to leave his friends, and to receive,
with the fortitude of a warrior, the doom which awaited him. He
was now, for the last time, enjoying the society of all who were
dear to him. No man doubted his resolution, and no man doubted
his fate. Instructions, however, were given to the proper agent,
to redeem his life at the expense ofthe United States.
" But the difficulty of surveying the Indians in their own
country is in direct proportion to its importance. They are jeaj-
ous and suspicious, unwilling to associate with strangers, and slow
to give them their confidence. Persons unacquainted with them,
and ignorant of their language, can not reside with them, and follow
them from camp to camp, through the vicissitudes of the seasons,
and exposed to privations, which Indians only can provide against
or successfully encounter. A fortitude and zeal which could

OF LEWIS CASS. 161
meet and overcome these obstacles, are rarely found, and still
more rarely applied to such pursuits.
" The Totem is the armorial badge or bearing of each tribe into
which the various nations are divided. It is the representation of
the animal from which the tribe is named. , This is not the place
to discuss the principles and objects of this institution. It is one
of the most important in aboriginal polity, and its full develop
ment would lead to new views and opinions. Its operation is felt
in religious ceremonies, in the laws regulating marriages, and in
the succession and election of civil, or, as they are called, Village
Chiefs. If one of the tribes has a right to furnish the chief, the
others have a right to elect him. The tribes are named from the
eagle, the hawk, the beaver, the buffalo, and from all the ' beasts
of the field, the fowls of the air,' and the fishes of the rivers and
the lakes. The succession in the tribes is in the female line, and
the figure of the sacred animal is the Totem, which every indi*
vidual of the tribe affixes, whenever his mark is necessary, or
whenever he wishes to leave a memorial of himself. This beloved
symbol adheres to him in death, and is painted upon the post
which marks his grave."
Speaking of the multiplicity of languages and dialects among
the Indians, he remarks: "It is easy to conceive, that roving
bands of savages, in the hunter state, may separate for very trivial
canses, and that dialects may soon be formed, which will gradu
ally recede from one another, until all etymological traces of their
common origin can with difficulty be discerned. Languages -
which are not fixed by letters must be liable to perpetual fluctua
tions ; and as the intercourse between different tribes is dimin
ished by mutual hostilities, or by distance, their dialects, will rap
idly recede from one another. In this manner many dialects; and
possibly all, have been formed. The Foxes have a traditionary
legend upon this subject, which we are tempted to give, because
it happily explains their opinion of the mode in which these sepa
rations of natural and political connection, and, consequently, of
languages, have been brought about.
" Many years since, say tbey, two bands of our people were
living near each other. The chief of one of these bands wanted
some Indian tobacco, and sent one of his young men to the chief
of the other band to procure some. The latter, being a little
offended with his relation, told the young man that he would send'
11

162 LIFE AND TIMES
no tobacco, and that he had long tusks, .intimating that he was
disposed to quarrel. The young man replied that the tobacco
was wanted- for a feast. The chief then took up a pair of
Apuhwine, (large bone needles, made of the ribs of the elk, and
used in the manufacture of rush mats,) and throwing his pipe
upon the ground, put these, like tusks, upon each side of his
mouth, and said, ' My teeth are long and strong, and will bite.'
The young man returned and communicated the result to his
chief, who assembled bis warriors, and said, 'My warriors, let' us
prepare to pull out these long tusks, lest they should grow sharp
and bite Us.' He then directed them to accompany him to an
attack upon the other party, and they proceeded to form an am
buscade near their camp. As the day dawned, the chief said,
' It is now light enough, we can see to pull out his teeth.' The
attack commenced, and many were destroyed. This is the way,
says the tradition, in which the great Indian family became
divided. Till then they were one people.
" The Wyandots, . and the various tribes of the Six Nations,
speak dialects having a general affinity ; but they require inter
preters in their intercourse with one another. The Chippewa, or
Algonquin language, is spoken by tbe Chippewas, Ottawas, Pot-
tawatomies, Sacs and Foxes, Shawnees, Kickapoos; Menomonees,
Miamis, and Delawares ; and these dialects approximate one
another in the order of arrangement, the Chippewa being the
standard dialect and tbe Delaware the most remote. For the
three first, no interpreter is required ; for the three next, one is
convenient but not necessary ; and the three last are too imper
fectly understood by any of the others to enable them to converse
without assistance. There is no doubt that, at the era of discov
ery, a knowledge of the Chippewa or Algonquin tongue, — for
they are the same, — would have enabled a traveler to communi
cate with all the Indians, except the Wyandots and their kindred
tribes, from the Penobscot to the Chesapeake, and from the ocean
to Lake Superior.
" The Trans-Mississippi languages are divided into two great
families. At the head of one we may place the Sioux, and of the
other, the Pawnee. The Sioux language is to the nations west of
the Mississippi what the Chippewa is to those east of it. That
river is the boundary between these great families ; for the
Winnebagoes, who live upon the Fox, Ouisconsin, and Rock

OF LEWIS CASS. , 163
rivers, are evidently intruders there. Their hereditary country
was in the south-west. Perhaps some branches of the Illinois
family lived at a remote period upon the Des Moines. But the
exceptions to tbe general statement are too few to require a spe
cific enumeration. Interpreters are convenient, and in some of
these dialects are necessary, for any communication ; but we be
lieve unerring traces of the Sioux language will be found in all
the dialects, except those of the Pawnee family, extending from
the Mississippi to the Indians who roam through the country at
the beads of the Missouri and Arkansas, and Occupy the passes
of the Rocky Mountains.
" In the division of labor among the Indians, the composition
and delivery of speeches are not often entrusted to the same per
son. In all important questions, the chiefs previously assemble
and prepare the speech which is to be delivered. And here the
influence of talent and authority is exerted and felt. But the
public delivery of the speech is a mere act of memory on the part
of the orator. The addresses for which Tecumthe has had Credit,
were prepared principally by Walk-in-the-water, the Grey-eyed-
man, and Isidore, — three Wyandot chiefs ; and the celebrated re
monstrance to Proctor, against his evacuation of the country upon
the Detroit river, and in which' he was told that he appeared like
a dbg running off with his itail between his legs, was thus pre
pared in the house of Mrs. Walker, a respectable half-Wyandot
woman, upon whose authority we state the fact. Tecumthe was
not an able composer of speeches. We understand that he was
particularly deficient in those powers of the imagination to which
we have been indebted for the boldest flights of Indian eloquence.
He was sometimes confused, and generally tedious and circum
locutory. "The Prophet, the brother of Tecumthe, was an able coadjutor.
His character has not been well understood. He is shrewd and
sagacious, and well qualified to acquire an influence over those
about him. We are inclined to think, that at the commencement
of his career he was a fanatic, who had seen visions and dreamed
dreams, and who believed the doctrines he professed and incul
cated. This practical conquest of the imagination over the
reason is not very rare, even in civilized life; and there is a
singular feature in the system of Indian education, by which
its occurrence is encouraged and promoted. It is admirably

164 LIFE AND TIMES
contrived to render the Indians reckless of consequences, and
its influence is not less powerful than the sternest principle of
fatalism. The tutelary genii guard the lives of their favorites,
and the eagle receives upon his beak the balls of their enemies*
The process commences before the age of puberty, and continues
for a .shorter or longer term, as the revelations are more or less
propitious. The appearance of some animals foreshows a happy
destiny ; while others, and particularly snakes, portends misfor
tune. Wheri; the dreams are fortunate, the . discipline, is termi
nated: but when otherwise, it is interrupted, and after some
time renewed, with the hope of a more favorable result. If,
however, in this hope they continue to be disappointed, their
situation is remediless, and they must submit with fortitude to
the calamities which await them. Subsequent events in life are
materially affected by this process, and vivid impressions are
formed, which are never eradicated. This result is produced
by a system ,of watching and fasting, vigorous, painful; and long
continued. During this period, which is called, the time of fast
ing, (in the Chippewa, Makatm,). many rites are practiced to
render the lessons impressive, and to excite the feelings to a
proper degree of susceptibility. The guardian Manitou finally
appears in a dream, assuming the shape of some animal, and is
ever after during life the object of adoration. The real or imagi
nary qualities of this animal, indicate the character and the
proper business in life of the dreamer. If it is an eagle, he
must be a warrior ; if a wolf, a -hunter ; and if a turkey buzzard,
a prophet or physician.
" But to return once "more to the book in question. Mr. John
Dunn Hunter is one of the boldest impostors that has appeared
in the literary world since the days of Psalmanazar. His book,
however, is without the ingenuity and learning, which, like re
deeming qualities, rendered the History of Formosa an object
of rational curiosity. It is a worthless fabrication, and, in this
respect, beneath the dignity of criticism; compiled, no doubt,
partly from preceding accounts, and partly from the inventions
of Hunter. He says he left the Osages in 1816, when he waB
nineteen or twenty years of age ; and, as he recollects the inci
dents of his capture, he was then probably four or five. He
was, therefore, taken about 1800 or 1801 ; and as the outrage
was committed by a party of Kickapoos, the residence of hifi

OF LEWIS CASS. 165
father must have been in Indiaria or Illinois'. His description
bf the scene shows that it was an act of the most determined
hostility. And all this was in a period of profound peace. Such
an aggression in 1800, or in 1801, would have electrified the
whole country west of the mountains. We have our own distinct
recollections, to justify us in saying that no such incident occurred.
The Kickapoos were quiet from the signature of Wayne's treaty
till the commencement of the difficulties with Tecumthe and the
Prophet. " Hunter proceeds to state, that the party of Kickapoos, who
took him, were themselves attacked and destroyed by the Paw
nees, into whose possession he then fell. In 1800, and for some
time after, not a Kickapoo lived west of the Mississippi. They
occupied the plains about the Illinois, and between that river and
the Wabash. They are separated from the Pawnees by extensive
districts^ and by the Osages, Kansas, and Missouris. The Paw
nees and Kickapoos have never been brought into ' contact with
each other, nor have they ever been engaged in mutual hostilities.
After residing some time with the Pawnees, by a similar freak of
fortune, he was thrown into the possession of the Kansas. We
have then an affecting description of the ' venerable chief To-hut-
Che-nau.' Where this respectable man lived, except in these
pages, we have not been able to ascertain. There never has
been a chief of that name known among the Kansas, nor is
the word itself, nor anything like it, to be found in the Kansas
language. A transfer to the Osages terminated this pilgrimage
from tribe to tribe. And with them he continued until his final
restoration to civilized life. It was during this period that
Tecumthe is said to have made his visit to the Osages, and
delivered his celebrated speech.
" The Osage tribe occupy the immense plains extending from
the Missouri and the Arkansas to the Rocky Mountains. They
are the Ishmaelites of the trans-Mississippi country. Their hand
is agairist every man, and every man's hand is against them.
The nations of the Algonquin family, — the Shawnese, Dela
wares, Miamis, Kickapoos, — and also the southern Indians,
have been at war with them for ages. So late as 1818, we
witnessed the arrival of a war party of Shawnese, among their
own people, from a hostile expedition against the Osages. The
6calps which they bore evinced their success, and the shouts of

166 LIFE AND TIMES
the multitude left no doubt of the deep interest they felt in the
destruction of their enemies. No Shawnese had, in 1812, ever
visited the Osages as a friend, nor was Tecumthe ever within
many hundred miles of a party of that nation.
"But the most wonderful event in the life of Hunter, is his
journey to the Pacific. And wonderful indeed is it, that a party
of thirty-six Kansas and Osages should have reached the brink of
that distant ocean: No Osages or Kansas ever traversed the
Rocky Mountains. Their inveterate enemies — the Alyetons-^-
guard those passes ; and even beyond, they must encounter many
hostile tribes, before they can reach the ocean. And this despe
rate expedition was undertaken with no other object, that we can
discover, than to indulge in sentimental reflections and descrip
tions, which are said by the Quarterly to have 'great simplicity
and beauty.'
" Hunter's impudence is exceeded only by his ignorance. He
says: 'The unbounded view of the waves, the incessant and
tremendous dashing of the waves along the shore, accompanied
with a noise resembling the roar of loud and distant thunder,
filled our minds with the most sublime and awful sensations,. and
fixed on them, as immutable truths, the traditions we had received
from our old men, that the great waters divide the residence of the
Great Spirit from the temporary abodes of his red children. We
here contemplated, in silent dread, the immense difficulties over
which we should be obliged to triumph after death, before we
could arrive at those delightful bunting-grounds which are un
alterably destined, for such only as do good, and love the Great
Spirit. We looked in vain for the stranded and shattered canoes
of those who had done wickedly. We could see none, and were
led to hope that they were few in number.' All this is clumsy
fabrication. The Osages occupy a country of boundless plains.
They- know nothing of the ocean, nor do they believe that the
land of departed spirits is beyond it. Tbe heaven of the Indians
is as sensual as the Mahometan paradise ; and every tribe places
it in situations, and fills it with objects, most familiar and agrees
able 'And thinks, admitted to that equal sky,
His faithful dog shall bear him company.'
The Osages know nothing of canoes, and we have the best of
authority for saying, that there is not one in the nation. And

OF LEWIS CASS. 167
yet their departed friends are sent over an ocean of which they
never heard,, in, vessels such as they never saw !
"Their opinion of the condition of the soul after death, is
derived from their habits and modes of life. Their land of
6pirits is an extensive prairie, peopled with their friends, filled
with game, and abounding in all that an Indian can desire.
When they are buried, their clothes and other necessary articles
are buried with them, that they may not suffer in the country for
which they have departed. Every warrior has a horse which is
never used but in war. , This horse, with his saddle and accoutre
ments upon him, is brought to his master's grave after death, and
is placed directly over it. He is then shot in the forehead, and
there left, ready to be mounted by his master, on their arrival in
the land of departed spirits.
''We intended to expose Hunter's statements respecting the
courtship of the Indians, his trash about their materia medica,
and many other topics which he has introduced into his book,
but we have exhausted our own patience. It is evident, that the,
compiler of Hunter's work had examined the preceding accounts
of the Indians which have been published; but he, was not
able to discriminate between the different customs of different
tribes, and has, therefore, described the Osages and the neighbor
ing nations as possessing customs of which they have no knowl
edge. Among others, he speaks of throwing the tomahawk,—
a well-known amusement among the northern Indians, but never
practiced in tbe south-west. The pipe tomahawk, which alone
they use, is wholly unfit for this purpose. He describes the rifle
as the common weapon of men and boys; but that instrument is
very seldom used by the Indians of the plains, and, in fact, has
not been known among them till within a few years — probably,
not one in ten is armed with it. The bow and arrow are their
most efficient weapons against the buffalo, and the. north-west
fusils, as they are called, are the most common fire-arms. He
also describes the boys as working with the women — a most dis:
graceful employment, utterly unknown among the Indians. And
he speaks of wild rice, as an article of food, which, in fact, is found
in no part of the country where be pretends to have lived. These
more minute circumstances he could not mistake, if he described
facts only as they existed ; and if not, it is in such descriptions that
bis falsehoods become tbe most apparent. But one of his grossest

168 LIFE AND TIMES
errors relates to the Ottawas. He speaks, in many places of Ms
work, of the Ottawas as a tribe of south-western Indians. He
had heard, or his compiler had read, of such a tribe; and they
placed it in a most unfortunate situation. There is not an Ottawa;'
West of the Mississippi, nor south of the heads of the Illinois
river." General Cass thought it his duty to expose Hunter's book, be
cause it had gained considerable popularity, and because he thought
it was highly important that, if the public could not advance, they
should not, at least, >go backward, in their knowledge of the history
and character of tbe Indians. The world, he thought, had been
amused with fable and fiction long enough on this subject, and it
was time to look for facts, or be contented with the limited stock
that existed. To mafce assurance doubly sure, respecting the im
posture of this fictitious Hunter, he applied to several gentlemen
for any information or light they might give him in relation to it.
He received the following testimony — copies of the original letters
in his possession — from gentlemen ofthe highest respectability, and
whose declarations are entitled to confidence. The first is from
General Clark — the companion of Lewis in their adventurous jour
ney to the Pacific Ocean — formerly Governor of Missouri, and,
for a long time, Superintendent of Indian Affairs at St. Louis:
"St. Louis, September 3d, 1825.
" Sir. : — In answer tb your inquiries respecting the man who
calls himself Hunter, I have no hesitation in stating that he is an
impostor. Many ofthe most important 'circumstances mentioned
by him are, to my certain knowledge, barefaced falsehoods. I
have been acquainted in this country since 1803, and have resided
in it since 1807, and, for eighteen years, have been connected with
the Indian Department. It is not possible he could have lived
with the tribes he mentions, and gone through the scenes he
describes, without some knowledge of him, and of his history,
having reached me. " William Clark."
The next letter is from Mr. Vasquez, a sub agent for the Kansas
tribe at the time of writing it, and well acquainted with the In
dians in that country. He accompanied Pike, in his journey to
the Internal Provinces :

OF LEWIS CASS. 169
, "St. Louis, September 3d, 1825.
' " Sir: — I have received your note of yesterday. In answer to
the inquiries contained therein, I can say that I have been en
gaged in trade with the Kansas tribe of Indians nineteen years,
between the years 1796 and 1824, and that, during the whole of
that time, there was no white man a prisoner, of any age or des-v
criptibn- among them ; nor do I believe that such a circumstance
has occurred for the last thirty years. :-;•.:
" Baronet Vasquez."
The writer of the next letter, Major Choteau, at its date had
more knowledge of the Osages, in the opinion of General Cass,
than any man then living. It was owing to his exertions, and
those of his brother, that a considerable portion of the tribe sepa
rated from the. others, and left the Missouri for the Arkansas :
"St. Louis, September 3d, 1825.
" Sir : — In answer to your favor, I have the honor to state that
my acquaintance with the Osages has been, since 1775 to this day,
in the capacity of trader, agent, or otherwise, and that, during
that period, there never was any white boy living or brought iip
by them. I can further add, that, had this circumstance hap
pened, it could not but have come to my knowledge.'
" P. Choteau."
One more letter, written by Mr. Durin, at its date a member of
the Missouri Legislature, arid the gentleman whom Hunter stated
to have been his great patron and friend : i
" Cape Gikadeaij, September ,4th, 1825.
" Sir : — I have the honor to state, in answer to your inquiries
on the subject,, that I have never known such a person as John
Dunn Hunter, the reputed author of " Memoirs of a Captivity
among the Osage Indians, between the years 1804 and 1820." I
have been a resident, in the vicinity of this place, for the last
twenty years, during which time I have never heard of a person,
bearing the same name with myself, in this country. I am, there
fore, confident that the author alluded to is an impostor,, and that
the work issued under his name is a fiction ; most probably the
labor of an individual Who has never seen the various tribes of
Indians of whom he speaks.

170 LIFE AND TIMES
" I can further state that I have known no man ofthe name of
Wyatt in this country, who seems to have been mentioned as one
of the friends of Hunter. H John p^,,
British writers and British ignorance were prone to misrepre
sent not only the condition of the Indians, and their true character,
and disposition, but also the conduct of the American and British
governments towards them. Their comparison was invidious, and
often the facts cited were sheer fabrications. General Cass saw
so much of this obloquy, and felt it too, that he has deemed it an
imperative duty to unmask it, whenever a suitable opportunity
has been afforded. The subject of our Indian relations was very
imperfectly understood thirty years since, even by the mass of the
people in this country, and when developed, as they have been
from time to time, it is almost unnecessary to add, that they reflect
the highest credit on (the American government, at the same time
they expose not more the unjustifiable measures of the London
cabinet than the perverseness of London and Edinburgh writers,
Speaking of the progress of Indian depopulation, General Cass
observes : "As long as the destruction of the game was restricted
to an adequate supply of the wants of the Indians themselves, it
is probable there was little diminution in the number of animals,
and that here, as in other cases, population and subsistence had
preserved an equal ratio to each other. But when the white man
arrived, with his cloths,, guns, and other tempting articles, and the
introduction of new wants drove the Indians to greater exertions
to supply them, animals were killed for their furs and skins.
An important article of exchange was made known to the Indians,
which they were stimulated to procure, and an alarming declen
sion became visible in the animals essential to their support.
Their population, scanty as it was, soon began to press upon their
means of subsistence, and the operation of these causes was accel
erated by the introduction of fire-arms, and the consequent facility
afforded for destroying game. The occupation of the hunter ere
long became laborious, and his labor was rewarded with dimin
ished success. He found the means of supplying his family de
creased, as their attachment to the articles brought among them,
and their wants, increased. Game became less abundant, and
receded from tbe circle of destruction, which advanced with the
advancing settlements.

OF LEWIS CASS. 171
"We are satisfied that this cause has had a strong influence in
reducing the Indian population. Its operation has been aided by
other circumstances : by the small pox, whose ravages have been
sometimes frightful, and by ardent spirits, which have prostrated
the mental and physical energies, and debased the character of
the Indians, in the immediate vicinity of the white settlements ;
but whose general effect, we are strongly inclined to believe, has
been greatly over-rated. Among the remote tribes, spirits are
scarcely ever seen, arid they do not constitute an article of general
use even among those who are much nearer to us. The regular
tions of the government are such, and they are so rigidly enforced,
that the general introduction of spirits into the Indian country is
too hazardous for profitable speculation. ,Nor could it bear the
expense of very distant transportation ; 'for, if sold and consumed,
a corresponding reduction must be made in clothing, guns, pow
der and ball — articles essential to the successful prosecution of
their hunting expeditions, and without which, the trader would
soon find his credits unpaid, and his adventure equally ruinous to
the Indians and himself.
" But their own ceaseless hostilities, as indefinite in their ob
jects as in their duration, have, more than any other cause, led
tb the melancholy depopulation, traces of which are everywhere
visible through the unsettled country ; less, perhaps, by the direct
slaughter which these hostilities have occasioned than by the
change of habits incident to their prosecution, and by the scarcity
of the means of subsistence which has attended the interruption
of the ordinary employments of the Indians. There isreason to
believe that fire-armSj by equalizing the physical power of the
combatants, have among these people, as in Europe, lessened the
horrors of war.
" The Indians in that extensive region, (beyond the Missis^
sippi,) are to this day far beyond the operation of any causes,
primary or secondary, which can be traced to civilized man, and
which have had a tendency to accelerate their progressive depop
ulation. And yet their numbers have decreased with appalling
rapidity. They are in a state bf perpetual hostility, and it is be
lieved there is not a tribe between the Mississippi and the Pacific
which has not some enemy to flee from or to pursue. The war-
flag is never struck upon their thousand hills, nor 'the war-song
unsung, through their boundless plains.

172 LIFE AND TIMES
" We have only stated a few prominent facts ;- but, were it ne
cessary, many otbers might be added, to prove that the decreasd
in the number of the Indians, whatever it may be, has been owing
more to themselves than to the whites. To humanity it is indeed
consolatory to ascertain, that the early estimates of aboriginal
population were made in a spirit of exaggeration ; and that,
although it has greatly declined, still its declension may be traced
to causes which were operating before the arrival of the Euro
peans, or which may be truly assigned^ without any imputation
upon the motives of the first adventurers or their descendants.
"But after all, neither the government nor the people of the
United States have any wish to conceal from themselves, nor
from the world, that there is upon their frontiers a wretched, for
lorn people, looking to them for support and protection, and pos
sessing strong claims upon their justice and humanity. These
people received our forefathers in a spirit of friendship, aided
them to endure privations and sufferings, and taught them how
to provide for many of the wants with which they were sur
rounded. The Indians iwere then strong, and we were weak;
and without looking at the change which has occurred in any
spirit of morbid affectation, but with the feelings of an age accus
tomed to observe great mutations in the fortunes of nations and of
individuals, we may express our regret that they have lost so
much of what we have gained. The prominent points of their
history are before the world, and will go down unchanged to pos
terity. In the revolution of a few ages, this fair portion of the
continent which was theirs has passed into our possession. The
forests which afforded them food and security, where were their
cradles, their homes, and their graves, have disappeared, or are
disappearing, before the progress of civilization. We have ex
tinguished their council fires, and plowed up the bones of their
fathers. Their population has diminished with lamentable rapid
ity./ Those tribes that remain, like the lone column of a. fallen
temple, exhibit but the sad relics of their former strength ; and
many others live only in the names which have reached us
through the earlier accounts of travelers and historians. The
causes which have produced this moral desolation are yet in con
stant and active operation, and threaten to leave us, at no distant
day,' without a living proof of Indian sufferings, from the Atlantic,
to the immense desert which sweeps along the base of the Rocky..

OF LEWIS CASS. 178
Mountains. Nor can we console ourselves with the reflection,
that their physical declension has been counterbalanced by any
melioration in their moral condition. We have taught them
neither how to live nor how to die. They have been equally sta
tionary in their manners, habits, and opinions ; in everything but
their numbers and their happiness ; and although existing more
than six generations in contact with a civilized people, they owe
to them no one valuable improvement in the arts ; nor a single
principle which can restrain their passions, or give hope to des
pondence, motive to exertion, or confidence to virtue." ,

174 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER XII.
The Year 1826— General Cass again Traverses the Lakes — Holds an Indian Council at Fon du Lao-
Indians Appear with the British- Flag — A Treaty Concluded — Repairs to the Wabash— In Council
with Pottawatomies and Miamis — His Speech to Them — Concludes Treaties— ^The Legislature—
Territorial Boundaries — The Message^- Accountability of Public Officers — Qualifications Requisite-
Democratic Tone of his Messages.
The year 1826 was a busy year for General Cass. In addition
to tbe ordinary duties of his Indian Superintendency, he was' re
quested by the War Department again to traverse the lakes, and
meet the Chippewas of the extreme north-west in council at Fon
du Lac. This place was an old Indian tradirig post, situate on
the St. Louis river, and five hundred miles distant from Sault St.
Marie. With Thomas L. McEenney, who was Associate Com
missioner, he proceeded on bis mission in July. As usual trav
eling in his bark canoe, the vOyage occupied eighteen days, and
much tempestuous weather and high seas were experienced.
Upon reaching the treaty ground, he found two thousand Indians
assembled to meet him. The chiefs who were there appeared
with the British flag, and with British medals suspended from
their necks. This was annoying, but the council proceeded ; and
op the fifth of August a treaty was concluded and signed, the
great object of which was to remove the causes of contention be
tween the various tribes as to the limits of their hunting grounds.
Upon the conclusion of this treaty, General Cass directed one of
his attendants to take the flag and medals from the chiefs. When
this was done, he very coolly placed the flag and medals under
his feet, and told the chiefs that when he returned he would give
them the flag and medals they were to use. This was a bold act .
on the part of the Commissioner, but it impressed the Indians
with his courage, and made them listen more attentively and
favorably to his views and advice. This duty performed, and re
turning to his home, General Cass repaired to the Wabash, to
negotiate with the Miamis and Pottawatomies, iu October follow
ing. He opened this council with the delivery of the following

OF LEWIS CASS. 175
speech, and which is a fair specimen of the' style and manner of
his intercourse with the Indians on similar occasions :
" Mt Children-— Pottawatomies and Miamis :
" We thank the Great Spirit that, he has opened the paths to
conduct us all here in safety, and that he has given us a clear sky
and a cloudless sun to meet together in this council-house. Your
great father, the President of tbe United States, has sent me, to
gether with the two gentlemen who sit with me, to meet you here
upon business ' highly important to you, and we request that you
would open your ears, and ljsten attentively to what we have to
say to you.
" When the Great Spirit first placed you upon this island, he
gave you plenty of game for food and clothing, and bows and
arrows with which to kill it. After some time, it became difficult
to kill the game, and the Great Spirit sent the white man here,
who supplied you with guns, powder, and balls, and with blankets
and clothes., We were then a very small people ; but we have
since greatly increased, and we are nowv spread over the whole
face of the country. You have decreased, and your numbers are
now much reduced. You have but little game, and it is difficult
for you to support your women and children by hunting. Your
great father, whose eyes survey the whole country, sees that you
have a large tract ofiand here which is of no service to you. You
do not cultivate it, arid there is but little game upon it. The buf
falo has long since left it, and the deer are going. There are no
beavers, and there will soon be no other animals worth hunting
upon it.
" There are a great many of the white children of your father
who would be glad to live upon this land. They would build
houses, and raise corn, and cattle, and hogs. You know that when
a family grows up and becomes large, tbey must leave their father's
house and look out for a place for themselves — so it is with your
white brethren. Their family is increased, and they must find
some new place to move to. Your great father is willing to give
for this land much more than it is worth to you. He is willing
to give more than all the game upon it would sell for. He will
make you a considerable present now, and he will allow you an
annuity hereafter. You know well that all he promises he will
perform. #

176 LIFE AND TIMES
" The stipulations made to you heretofore are punctually ful
filled. Large annuities in specie are paid to you, and they are
sufficient to make you comfortable ; much more so. than you were
before the treaty of St. Mary's. Your great father is not only
anxious to purchase the country of you, but he is desirous that
you should remove far from his white children. You must all
see that you can not live in the neighborhood ofthe white people.
You have bad men, so haye we. Your people will steal our horses,
kill our cattle and hogs, and commit other injuries upon our propr
erty. Some of our people who have committed crimes escape into
your country, and it becomes difficult to take them. Besides, when
you divide our settlements, we can not have roads, and taverns,
and fences. The game, too, dies before our improvements, and
when that goes, you must follow it. But above all, your. young
men are ruining themselves with whiskey.
" Since within the recollection of many of you, your numbers
have diminished one half, and unless you take some decisive step
to, check this evil, there will soon not be a red man remaining
upon these islands. We have tried all we could to prevent yoii
from having this poison, but we can not. Your bad men will
buy, and our bad men will sell. Old and young among you will
drink. You sacrifice your property, you abandon your women
and children, and destroy one another. There is but one safety
for you, and that is, to fly from this mad water. Your father
owns a large country west of the Mississippi ; he is anxious that
all of his red children would remove there, and sit down in peace
together. There they can hunt and provide for their women and
children, and once more become a happy people. We are au
thorized to offer you a residence there equal to your lands here in
extent, and pay you an annuity which will make you comfortable,
and provide means for your removal.
" You will there have a country abounding with game, and you
will also have the value of the country you leave, You will be
beyond the reach of whiskey, for it can not reach you there. Your
great father will not suffer any of his white children to reside
there, for it is reserved, for his red people. It will be yours as
long as the sun shines and the rain falls.
" You must go before long: — you can not remain here — you
must remove or perish. Now is the time for you to make a good
bargain for yourselves which will make you rich and comfortable.

OF LEWIS CASS. - 177
" Come forward, then, like wise men, and accept the terms we
offer. We understand there is a difference of opinion between
Pottawatomies and Miamis, respecting their claims to this land.
This difference we should be glad to have you settle among your
selves. If you can do this, it will be well, if not, we shall examine
into the circumstances and decide between you."
Tbe preceding was written, and was read by sentences to the
interpreter, ' Mr. Barrow, who delivered' it to the Indians ; to
this followed a few extempore remarks by General Cass, namely:
" Mr. McCoy, whom you know is a good man, will go with
you over the Mississippi, and continue to live among you. You
know him to be a good man, and a sincere friend to you, and
would not advise -you to do any thing that would be an injury, to
you. You stand alone — there is none to support you — the Shaw-
nees and Delawares are all gone. You have been invited by
your great father, the President, and are nbw sitting around our
council fire, in our council house, and under our 'nag. Your
young men are not always prudent, they will drink and quarrel ;
we hope the old and wise men will keep the young men from
doing any injury. If blood should be shed at our council fire,
we never should forgive it, — we have the will and power to
punish it.
" Your great father has a quick ear, a sharp eye, and a long
arm. If a Pbttawatomie strikes a Miami, or a Miami strikes a
Pottawatomie, be strikes us, — no matter where he goes, we prom
ise here before our brethren, red and white, we will never kindle
another council fire, nor smoke another pipe, before we punish
him. Your young men must listen to what the chiefs tell them.
They should do as in former days$ when chiefs had power and
the young men were wise, — -let them clear out their eyes, and let
the words I have spoken go to their hearts.
" You now have the proposition we were authorized to make
you. We wish you to remember it, and think upon it, and
return us an answer as soon as possible. When you are ready,
let us know it, and we will hoist the flag, which, shall be the
signal that we are ready to receive your answer."
The Pottawatomies came to terms first, and a treaty was
signed with them on the sixteenth of October. The Miamis came
forward and concluded a treaty o» the twenty-third of the same
12

178 . LIFE AND TIMES
month. The written speech read at this council is familiarly
known as " Tbe Mississinawa Speech," and was highly applauded
throughout the United States.
In November the legislature again convened ; and notwith
standing the Indian Superintendency bad this year occupied
much of the thoughts and time of General Cass, yet he had
steadily kept in view, at the same time, the great interests of
Michigan, and was prepared to advise the council of what these
interests required at their hands. Unlike the civil jurisdiction
of older settled countries, he not only was called upon to admin
ister the laws, but it was necessary to look forward into the future,
and judge as well of tbe future as of the present wants and
requirements of the Territory. Among the principal topics to
which he called their' attention, was the dividing limit between
Michigan and the contiguous States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illi
nois. In defining the State limits of Ohio, Congress had over
looked the rights of Michigan.
The southern boundary of the latter was a line running due
east from the southern extremity of Lake, Michigan to Lake Erie,
as defined by tbe authority of the United States. The Legisla
ture of Ohio contended that this line was declared to be the
northern boundary of Ohio by Congress in 1802, and was
accepted by their people, with this provision, however, that if the
southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan should extend so far
south, that a line drawn due east from it should not intersect
Lake Erie, or if it should intersect this lake east of the mouth of
the Miami river, then in that case, with the sanction of Congress,
the northern boundary of the State should be established by, and
extend to, a direct line running from the southern extremity of
Lake Michigan to the most • northerly cape of Miami Bay, after
intersecting the due north line from the mouth of the Great
Miami ; thence north-east to the territorial line, and by said line
to the boundary of Pennsylvania.
Upon this subject,— -fraught with so much importance to the
people of his jurisdiction, — General Cass dilated with perspi
cacity, being perfectly familiar with every page and line of
congressional enactments relating to it. He considered the
action of Ohio as wrong, and an indefensible encroachment upon
Michigan. He apprised the council and the people of their
rights, and of the true limits of the Territory ; and the information

OF LEWIS. CASS. 179
thus embodied remained for reference and, unimpeachable
evidence in the public archives. All subsequent action on this
important subject was guided by this information ; and the
people of tbe Peninsular State adhered to it in their feelings with
as much devotion and sacredness , as did the people of Israel to
the sayings of Moses.
" The Legislature of the State of Ohio," says he, in his revered
message of November, 1826, "has contended that. the northern
boundary of that State is a line run directly from the southern-
extreme of Lake Michigan to the north cape of Miami Bay.
The line actually run under the authority of the United States,
and in conformity with the various acts of Congress upon the
.subject, commences at the southern extreme of Lake Michigan,
and proceeds due east to Lake Erie. The country north of that
line, and; bounding upon Ohio, is subject to our jurisdiction, and
that jurisdiction can only be changed by the authority of the gene
ral government. A resolution was introduced into Congress, at
the last session, but not acted on, to provide for a cession to Ohio
of the country claimed by her. Although I consider the right of
this Territory too clear to be shaken, and that our interests are
safe where alone they can be affected, still the expression of your
sentiments upon the subject would be useful in the discussion it
may produce, and I suggest the expediency of your interference.
" With Indiana, also, our boundary is unsettled. The ordinance
of Congress of July 13th, 1787, which formed the basis of the
governments north of the Ohio, provided that a line, to be run due
east and west from the southern extreme of Lake Michigan to
Lake Erie and the Mississippi respectively, should be the bound
ary between the States upon the Ohio, and those north of them,
if Congress should find it expedient to establish more than three
States. The power, thus vested, has been exercised bythe admis
sion already of three States into the Union, and, by the existing
provision, for the admission of, at least, one more. The original
arrangement of this matter is in that part of the ordinance which
is declared to be a compact, and unalterable but by mutual consent.
"Virginia, by ber act of cession, was a party to the arrange
ment, and her consent, as well as that of the States and Territo
ries to be affected, is essential to the validity of any change in
this instrument. The boundary of Indiana has been extended ten
miles north of this line, and, as the consent of the proper parties

180 LIFE AND TJMES
has never been given to this measure, we have a right to expect
that our just claims will yet be regarded.
"In like manner, the boundary of Illinois has been extended to
the parallel of forty-two degrees thirty minutes, probably forty
niiles north of the line established by the ordinance. How the
claims of this Territory to the country that severed from it, can
be best enforced, and what time it may be expedient to urge
them, I leave for you to determine.
• " But there is a question connected with the existing jurisdic
tion of Illinois, which the interests of an important section of
country demand should be settled without delay. The parallel
of forty-two degrees thirty minutes probably intersects the Missis
sippi in the vicinity of the Riviere aux Eievre. Upon that stream,
as is well known, there are various lead mines, to which the
Indian title has been extinguished, and which are now profitably
and extensively worked. A considerable population is now en
gaged in this business, much of which, there is little reason to
doubt, is in the county of Crawford. Illinois has recently extended
her jurisdiction over this settlement, and difficulties have already
occurred in the execution of process which threaten serious conse
quences. It is desirable that provision should be made by Con
gress for running the temporary line, if the boundary can not be
definitively settled, and it would, doubtless, promote the accom
plishment of this measure, should you express your views on that
subject in a memorial to that body."
Years afterwards, after repeatedly, in conventions, solemnly
resolving that the boundary between Ohio and Michigan was truly
set forth by General Cass, the people, in pursuance of the express
requirement of the general government, as a condition precedent
to admission into the Union as a State, and by the advice of him
who penned the foregoing, as the least of two evils and wrongs,
consented to a modification, and accepted from Congress the fol
lowing boundary: — The northern boundary line of the State of
.Ohio shall be established at, and shall be, a direct line drawn
from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to the most north
erly cape of the Maumee (Miami) Bay, after that line, so drawn,
shall intersect the eastern boundary line of the State of Indiana,
and from the said north cape of the said bay north-east to the
boundary line between the United States and the province of
Upper Canada, in Lake Erie; and thence, with the said last

OF LEWIS CASS. 181
mentioned line, to its intersection with the western line ofthe
State of Pennsylvania."
But the message of November, 182'6, was deeply interesting in
other respects. The accountability of public officers to the people
was treated of clearly, and the applicability of the views presented
is not circumscribed to State or Territorial limits. ' They are in
strict consonance with those promulgated in 1801, and worthy of
the school of which General Cass was so distinguished a disciple.
He assumed the position that the purity of government, and the
incorruptibility of all its officers, was in. proportion as they were
closely or remotely connected with the people. " I have hereto
fore submitted to tbe Legislature my views in relation to the estab
lishment of a system of township government ; but I deem the
subject so important that I must again recommend it to your
attention. These institutions have, elsewhere, produced the most
beneficial effects upon the character of the community, and upon
the general course of public measures. They embrace within
their scope those questions of local police which are interesting
to every citizen, and which every citizen is competent to discuss
and determine. In the more extensive concerns of a country, the
necessary regulations for these subordinate matters can not be
adopted and enforced. Besides, in proportion as all governments
recede from the people, they become liable to abuse. Whatever
authority can be conveniently exercised in primary assemblies,
may be deposited there with safety. They furnish practical
schools for the consideration of political subjects, and no one can
revert to the early history of our revolutionary struggle without
being sensible that to their operation we are indebted for much
of the energy, unanimity, and intelligence which were displayed
by our government and people, at that momentous crisis." And
again, in a special message twenty days afterwards : " The act of
Congress, changing the mode of appointment to office in this
Territory, by requiring that nominations should be made by the
Governor to the council, and the act of the Territorial Legislature '
limiting the tenure of certain offices, have made important changes
in this branch of our local government. It appears to me proper,
on the first occasion of a general appointment to office, that I
should submit to you principles by which I shall be guided in the
discharge of that portion of the duty which is entrusted to me.
"It is necessary that all persons bearing office should possess

182 LIFE AND TIMES
the proper qualifications, and enjoy the confidence" of the commu
nity. Wherever either of these requisites is wanting, the office
will be executed with diminished usefulness. It is not possible
that the comparative claims of all who are proposed, or who are
applicants, can be known to the nominating power. He must
proceed upon such information as may be given to him. ' The
authority is vested in him, not for his own sake, but for that of
the community. I have always considered myself, in the execu
tion of this duty, a trustee for the public, called upon to perform
a specific act, in which they alone were interested. There are
circumstances connected with the nature and duties of certain
offices, and with the exercise of public suffrage, which render it
inexpedient that all appointments should be filled by popular
elections./ Where, however, this authority can be deposited with
most safety, is a political problem-, respecting which much differ
ence of sentiment has prevailed in the United States. Latterly,
the opinion has gained ground that the constitution of the general
government furnishes the best model for imitation, and that the
right of confirmation or rejection, vested in a representative body,
afforded the greatest security which can be devised for the pru
dent exercise of this power. An elective body is too often without
responsibility, and a single individual without control. By uniting
the advantages of both, we provide, as far as human institutions
can do, against the abuse of this delegated authority.
"An expression of the public opinion ought to have great
weight in all nominations to office. Where it is unanimous or
uncontradicted, it should be conclusive. In county offices, newly
created or occasionally vacated, where the citizens assemble upon
proper notice, and without any concealment, and, by the form of
an election, recommend a person to office, I can conceive few
reasons which would justify the neglect of such an application.
The process appears to me as little liable to objection as any
other by which the qualifications of candidates can be ascer
tained. But, the practical difficulty is, that there is frequently
such a contrariety of sentiment, that no general opinion can be
collected. Counter meetings are held, and remonstrances trans
mitted, and different names are presented to the Executive for
each office, supported by the recommendation of respectable
citizens. Under such circumstances, there is but a choice of
difficulties, ahd a selection must be made as the facts in each

OF LEWIS CASS. 183
case may seem to require. I sincerely trust, when any of our
fellow-citizens find the person recommended by them has not
received the office applied for, they will attribute the result to
tbe duty of examining the whole ground, and of attending to all
the representations which may be made, and not to the slightest
disregard of their wishes or opinions. It is a task which, how
ever it may be executed with delicacy, must yet be executed with
firmness." On another occasion — "At the late session of Congress, an act
was passed, extending to the citizens of Florida and Arkansas the
privilege of choosing almost all their officers holding their offices
under Territorial laws ; and authorizing the local Legislature to
appoint the few not eligible by the people. I see no reason why
the principles of this act should not be extended to this Territory ;
and I submit for your consideration the expediency of an applica
tion to Congress for that purpose. ' It will be found that appoint
ments to office thus^ made, will be more satisfactory than when
they are made upon the nomination of a single individual. The
people in their respective counties are better acquainted with the
qualifications of candidates for county offices, than an executive
magistrate can be, and more competent to determine upon them.
This measure would give to the people a direct and proper influ
ence in the management of their affairs — an influence which, at
all times, ought to be exerted in a republican government, and
which, will be more fully exerted in that change in our political
condition to which we are rapidly approaching."
A more complete commentary upon the theory and practical
applicability of power never was written. General Cass had the
candor and ability so to define bis sentiments upon the manner
in which the delicate trust of appointments should be executed,
that be who runs may read and understand. And what is of
infinitely greater moment, he conformed his executive conduct
to the principles he so perspicuously enunciated. The people
over which he ruled so many years, understood, in advance,
what to expect of their Chief Magistrate. How well he served
them, and how perfectly satisfactory, the business, population,
and opulence of the State, and their continued evidences of
approbation, most abundantly prove.
In all his public action with the legislative department of the
government, he was controlled in a great degree by the old

184 LIFE AND TIMES
maxim, "the world is governed too much." He was opposed
to ill-advised and frequent legislation. When a law was once
deliberately enacted, his disposition was to give it a fair trial;
and, at any rate, not to engraft amendment upon amendment,
unless it was evident that tbe tree, at its base, was, beyond,
peradventure, sound enough to sustain all the branches. In his
"own language — "Our code of laws must accommodate itself
to the progress of our institutions, and to the more important
changes in public opinion. A little observation and reflection,
however, will satisfy us, that in the United States, generally,
legislative experiments have been made too frequently, and with
too much facility. Laws are no sooner known, than they are
repealed. Important innovations are made upon established
principles; and experience, the only sure test in matters of /
legislation, soon demonstrates their inefficacy, and they give
way to some statutory provision. I trust that a character of
permanency will be given to the laws you are about to revise;
and1 that after engrafting upon them such provisions as have
been found salutary, they will be left to operate until our legal
institutions shall be matured by time and experience."
And now, whoever shall take the trouble to look over the laws
of Michigan, as found upon the pages of her statute books, will
not fail to discover two prominent characteristics standing out in
bold relief, namely: uniformity, but precious little legislation
upon the same poirit, and a democratic tone and spirit pervading
the whole. Arid with the above sentiments safely deposited
among her public records, it surely will not be deemed fanciful,
to attribute to them these results in her legislative history. Un
doubtedly, she has had other Solons, whose profound wisdom and
unerring sagacity have been felt in all her councils and delibera
tions ; but it ought not to be deemed invidious to say, that the
volume of impartial history points to one greater than all — to
him who was ber Governor for eighteen consecutive years.

OF LEWIS CASS. 183

CHAPTER XIII.
Another Negotiation -with the Indians— Journey to Lake Winnebago— Hostile reeling among the
Winnebagoes— Descends the Wisconsin— Personal Danger at an Indian Village— Providential
Escape— Attack on the Miners — War Messages— General Cass organizes the Miners for Defense -
— Alarm at Fever River — He hastens to St. Louis — General Atkinson orders on Troops — Rapidity
of General Cass' Movements — Arrival at Green Bay — Treaty of Butte de Morts— Singular Occur
rence — Cause of Indian Difficulties — British Agents— The North American Review — Article of
General Cass.
In the month of June, 1827, General Cass, with Colonel
McKenney as his associate Commissioner, left his home' in
Detroit, for another negotiation with the Indians, at Lake Winne
bago. This time, he was to meet in council the Chippewas, the
Menominees, and Winnebagoes; and his instructions from the
War Department were, to establish the boundary line between
the tribes, as agreed upon at the treaty of Prairie du Chien, and
to define the boundaries of the lands set apart to the New York
Indians. On his arrival at Green Bay, he did not find the
Winnebagoes, who were to be parties to the contemplated nego
tiation. It was rumored, that they were making efforts to enlist
the Pottawatomies to join them in a war of extermination.
The council was opened, and while holding it with the Indians
at that place, a runner came in with the startling intelligence,
that the Winnebagoes, who were expected, instead of attending
had broken out into hostilities, and had actually attacked the set
tlements. At that time, the communication between Green Bay
and Prairie du Chien, upon the Mississippi river, where these
events were passing, was by water up the Fox river about two
hundred miles to the portage, thence across to the Wisconsin and
down that stream to the Mississippi, which it enters three or four
miles below Prairie du Chien. General Cass embarked in a
birch canoe with fifteen paddles to visit the scene of difficulty,
and to take such measures for the protection of the people and
for restraining the Indians as might be found necessary. He
ascended the Fox river, crossed the portage, and descended the
Wisconsin about ninety miles ; there he met a boat coming up,
belonging to the American Fur Company, with some of their

186 LIFE AND TIMES
traders on board, from whom he first learned the true state of
things, which was more alarming than he bad anticipated. Tho
Winnebagoes had struck at som'e of the settlements about the
Prairie, and fire and blood had, as usual, marked their course.
They were at open war, and preparing to attack the frontiers,
where the alarm was naturally very great. Some of these traders
were intelligent men,. well acquainted with the Indians, and en
joying their confidence,' which was proved by the fact that they
were permitted to proceed with their party upon their voyage
without molestation, for the Indians feel much kindness towards
the traders who treat them well. They urged General Cass not to
proceed farther, but to turn back, as he bad no force, and his po
sition would be a very dangerous one. They said the Winneba
goes told them that they should shut up tbe portage path, and.
that no other boat after theirs should pass. However, General Cass
felt that he could not yield to these representations, though he
felt their weight, but he felt also the necessity of continuing his
mission at all hazards, as the consequences were all important to
that district of country. The traders told him that the hostile
Winnebagoes were encamped upon a high prairie some thirty
miles lower down. Approaching the place indicated, the Indians
were seen from the canoe to be in an evident state of agitation,
moving rapidly about and watching the descending party. The
flag of the United States was flying from the canoe, and though
the Indians did not know who was in it, they saw at once that
the movement was an uncommon one, and that probably some
public officer was on board. General Cass directed the boat to
approach the shore as near as possible, and then debarking with
bis interpreter and secretary, he ordered the crew to paddle out
into the middle of the stream, and there to await the result. He
then ascended the high bank where the Indians were assembled,
and the first thing which struck him was the sight of the squaws
and children who were running away across the prairie. It is
always a bad sign with the Indians when their women and chil
dren flee from the meetings which they hold with the white man.
On approaching the Indians, they received General Cass coldly,
but without any direct demonstrations of hostility. Some of the
chiefs had been in council with him and knew him, and all of
them soon learned that he was their American father, charged,
under their great father the President, with all the business

OF LEWIS CASS. 187
between them and their white brethren. A conversation took
place, and after awhile the pipe, that indispensable instrument
of consultation, went around, and they seemed to be a good deal
mollified. ' General Cass remonstrated with the chiefs in a firm
tone against their dangerous proceeding, and stated their inevita
ble destruction, should they continue in their course. He invited
them to come to Green Bay, where a council was then sitting,
and if they had any just causes of complaint, he requested them
to make them known to the commissioners, and assured them
that justice should be done to them. An hour or two was spent
in this intercourse, and the elder chiefs evidently became im
pressed with the conviction that they had placed' themselves in a
dangerous position, and they promised to do all they could to re
strain their young men$ and also that they would attend the
council at Green Bay. The interview seemed to pass off well,
and the conduct of the Indians, so far as came within the obser
vation of General Cass, was respectful. The young men sur
rounded the chiefs, listening -attentively in, the usual Indian man
ner, but without saying a word. They always evince on these
occasions great deference, the effect of which is, however, de
stroyed by the first impulsive movement. When General Cass
had taken leave of the chiefs, and turned away from them, a
young man suddenly leveled his gun at him and pulled the trig
ger,, but luckily it missed fire. He was immediately seized by
the chiefs, and his gun taken from him. It was obvious that the
chiefs were afraid to commit an act so flagrantly hostile as would
have been the murder of the representative of the United States
in one of their councils, and therefore instantly arrested the act
of the young man. The party re-embarked in their canoe, and
continued their voyage to Prairie du Chien, which they reached
without further accident, though several parties of hostile Winne
bagoes were roaming about. At the Prairie General Cass found
the inhabitants ' in the highest state of alarm, having resorted to
the old unoccupied fort. He took such measures as were in his
power to provide for • the immediate danger and to organize the
people for their defense, and he promised them to repair with all
speed to St. Louis, and there to place himself in communication
with the Superintendent of Indian Affairs and with the general
cominanding the troops of the United States, and to have a force
sent up without delay, for their relief. At Fever river, now

188 LIFE AND TIMES
Galena, the miners had been driven in and tbe settlements broken
up. Boats upon the Mississippi had been attacked, and the
danger was rapidly spreading. General Cass stopped at Fever
river, where the inhabitants were assembled. He gave them his
advice, and explained to them his mission. At that time, on the
right bank of the Mississippi, down to the Missouri line, there
were no settlers, and but few on the left bank. On a recent
excursion to Rock Island and Burlington, on the opening of a
railroad, General Cass adverted to the wonderful difference he
found in the condition of the country after an interval of twenty-
eight years, — a change which resembles rather the dreams of an
Eastern imagination than tbe sober realities of actual life. Arrived
at St. Louis, the necessary arrangements were immediately made
for the protection of the frontier, and a force was dispatched
which reduced the Winnebagoes to obedience. From St. Louis
General Cass ascended the Illinois in his canoe and passed into
Lake Michigan, by the water communication, without leaving it.
At the head of the Des Plaines, a branch of the Illinois which
approaches near Chicago, is a shallow lake, appropriately named
Mud lake. The party entered it towards evening, and it soon
became so dark that they could riot discern the bank. The lake
was covered with the broad leaves of a kind of lily, favorite
haunts of disgusting looking water snakes. A birch canoe can
not touch the shore without danger of having a hole broken
through its slight material. It is brought near the land, and
there retained while the passengers disembark, and this is effected
by their being carried ashore upon the backs of the voyageurs.
And in the same manner is the freight disposed of. The canoe is
then taken from the water and carried by the men upon the land.
Finding they could not get to shore safely, the party spent the
night upon that slimy sheet of water. Eighteen men in a small
canoe, in a hot summer night, with tbe poles stuck into the mud
across the canoe to steady it, accompanied with the most intense
rain and with the most intense thunder and lightning, — such are
the reminiscences which belong to that memorable night. And
he who was not there, or has never been in such a place, if such
another place there is, has little conception of what a formidable
enemy a mosquito can be. During that long night, — long in suf
fering, though short in the calendar, for it was in the month of
July, — their venomous attacks were beyond the power of

OF LEWIS CASS. 189
description. As soon as the dawn of day enabled the party to discern
the surrounding objects, the anchor poles were taken from the
mud, and the voyage was resumed. A small branch of the Chi
cago creek takes its rise close to this Mud lake, and the whole
region being flat and marshy, when the waters are high this
creek flows back into the lake, and thus a communication was
formed by which boats passed from the Des Plaines, which runs
through the lake, to the Chicago creek, and of course to Lake
Michigan. This channel of communication, though almost shut '
up by the rank water vegetation, was found in the morning, and
the travelers entered it, and as the descent to Lake Michigan is
rapid, and the distance but a few miles, that space was soon
passed over, and the canoe rested upon the broad bosom of that
great lake. The magnificent city which occupies the junction of
the Chicago creek and the lake, and of miles around, had then
no existence. The white man was not there with the power and
the desire to change everything around him. There were no
troops, and but few families, and these were connected with the
Indian trade. They were of course exposed at all times to the
sudden hostility of tbe Indians. As the canoe approached their
cabins at the mouth of the creek, the voyageurs commenced their
songs, and these were heard by the traders and at first mistaken
for the shouts of the Indians. Knowing that the times were
dangerous, they were at first in great fear, being entirely desti
tute of the means of resistance, but they were soon and happily
re-assured by the sight of our flag and by the arrival of the canoe,
and it was with demonstrations of the liveliest joy that they
received General Cass upon the bank.
In the almost fabulous progress of our country, there are few
greater marvels than the change which a few years has wrought
by the building up of the great city which now occupies that
spot, then so lonely and exposed. It is difficult to conceive that
but the other day, as it were, silence and solitude spread over
all those regions, interrupted only by the Indian, or by the wild
animals, his co-tenants of tbe forest, whom God has given to him
for bis support.
From Chicago to the point of departure at Green Bay, the
voyage was upon Lake Michigan; and was happily terminated
after a rapid passage. :
General Cass made the trip from Prairie du Chien to St. Louis

190 LIFE AND TIMES
in six days, notwithstanding the stoppage at Fever river — the
shortest time then known.
Great anxiety was felt at Green Bay, in the meantime, for the
General's safety, rumors having reached there that he had been
massacred by the Indians, on his way down the Wisconsin river.
As soon as the troops left St. Louis, he set out on his return to
Green Bay, by the way of the Illinois river and Lake Michigan,
in the same canoe, and reached the treaty ground in safety, having
traveled a circuiti of about eighteen hundred miles, with unprece
dented rapidity. His celerity of movement, and the alacrity with
-which the United States troops responded to his call, probably
averted a war that might have embraced the whole north-western
frontier. He met now, at the treaty ground, a large body of
Indians, reputed to number three thousand. These he addressed,
advising them to preserve the peace, but taking good care to let
them know that, if they wanted war, they would find their great
father prepared for them.
General Cass having, in some degree, allayed the excitement,
and, by bold measures, awed them into apparent friendship, pro
ceeded with the council, and the commissioners concluded a treaty
on the fifteerith of September, at the Butte de Morts — Hillock of
the Dead. By it, a division line was agreed upon, between the
Chippewas and the Menominees ; also, he obtained a cession of
the Green Bay reservation, and the determination of its bounda
ries ; and to the United States government was referred the mat
ters in dispute between the Menominees and the New York,
Indians. As the Indiaris were preparing to leave the treaty
ground, their attention was suddenly arrested by the wild and
startling scream of a squaw. She had been stabbed by her hus
band, for attempting to prevent him from parting with the supplies
given to him for whiskey. General Cass promptly ordered him
into custody-, and made arrangements to punish him.. To the
inquiry, What should be done with the man, General Cass replied :
"We will make a woman of him." He adopted this mode of
punishment as it was regarded by the Indians as the most degrad
ing they could suffer. The infliction of this punishment occurred
as follows :
The Indians were all assembled together around the Butte de
Morts, the women and children in front. The culprit was then
brought before them, and General Cass, through an interpreter,

OF LEWIS CASS. 191
explained to them what he was about to do. He spoke to them
ofthe kind intention ofthe squaw; of-her object in attempting to
preserve their- provisions and clothing from the grasp of the heart
less whiskey dealer ; that the man bad struck her with his knife,
and, if others had not interfered, would have taken her life ; that
the man who could do that to a helpless squaw, was unfit to rank
among braves, and was no longer a man. The warriors were
indignant at this interference of the General, and a desire was
manifested by them to resist bis orders. But he proceeded un
moved in the performance of the ceremony. The Indian was
deprived of his leggins and ornaments ; his knife taken from him,
the blade broken off, and the handle returned to him. A dirty
petticoat, procured from an old squaw, was then put on him, and,
thus dressed, he was led through the crowd, and pronounced hence
forth " a woman." This sentence was far more terrible to the
culprit than death itself. Henceforth he could not associate with
the braves of his tribe, and he was subject to all the drudgery and
servility common to the squaws.
In the course of two months, occupied on ;business relating to
this movement of the Indians, and making this treaty, General
Cass traveled over three thousand five hundred miles, arriving at
his home the latter part of August ; but only to set out, in a few
days, to negotiate again with the Pottawatomies. On the nine
teenth of September be concluded a treaty with the Pottawato
mies living in St. Joseph county, Michigan, obtaining a cession of
their lands for building a military road from Detroit to Chicago.
: The Indian' troubles of this year are attributable to the with
drawal of the troops from most of the military posts in the Indian
country. Prairie du Chien, the seat of the outbreak, was a small
settlement, surrounded by the Sacs, Foxes, Winnebagoes, and
Sioux, and without a soldierto protect it ; and, as we have seen,
the inhabitants themselves without weapons of defense. A mili
tary force was obviously proper and necessary, but it was removed
up the Mississippi to St. Peter's. The western people, well aware
of the insolence of the Indians when no force was near to chaBtise
it, had memorialized Congress upon this subject, but hitherto to
no purpose, for the senior Major General favored another policy.
He would have a cordon of military posts and establishments ori
the exterior instead of the interior, thereby leaving the most settled
and frequented portions of the country exposed to the attacks of

192 LIFE AND TIMES
the savages, as their caprice might dictate. General Cass, in a
memorial, had reviewed the Whole ground, and showed how indis
pensable it was to the defense of the frontier, to the maintenance
of our rights, and the protection of our citizens, to foster a policy
of systematized and thorough defense by the construction of mili
tary roads, and the erection of suitable and permanent defenses.
At this period, exclusive of the Indians on Lake Superior and the
head waters of the Mississippi, there were, within the Territory
of Michigan, more than twenty-eight thousand Indians ; and, what
was of far more consequence, over them the Indian agents of the
British government exercised an influence incompatible with the
honor of the American government, and injurious to the peaceful
interests of the inhabitants of Michigan. Detroit, Mackinaw,
Chicago, and Prairie du Chien were wholly destitute of any mili
tary force! The experience of this year, however, served to con
firm the authorities at the federal capital that General Cass knew
what he was talking about, and fully posted as to the interests and
duty of his government, and, in some measure, corrected the evil
of abandonment, and induced a re-occupation of the deserted posts
at Chicago and Prairie du Chien.
In consequence of this apparent indifference manifested by the
government, not only the people most interested began to exhibit
uneasiness, arising from fear that they were to be deprived of the
protecting arm of tbe War Department, but a wrong impression
was gaining ground among the people of the older States, in rela
tion to the number and character of the Indians. Stories were
industriously invented and circulated by British agents, that it
was out of the question to think of bringing them into friendly
relationship with the whites. This had the. effect to retard emi
gration, which was now setting towards the west from the Middle
States, and from the extreme east. The troubles were magnified,
and' the actual condition of the inhabitants was maliciously mis
stated. To correct, as far as was practicable, this wrong sentiment,
and to exhibit, in true colors, the aborigines of this continent,
General Cass resorted to the public press, and in the fifty-fifth
number of the North American Review, exposed these errors, and
presented to the reading world, under new aspects, this interest
ing and vital subject. Instead of relying upon reason and argu
ment entirely, the article was altogether of a historical and
statistical character. Speaking as well from his own personal

OF. LEWIS CASS. 193
observation as from the scanty records and very imperfect tradi
tions that had come down from other generations, it was worthy
df receiving, and did receive, great attention from the reflect
ing men of that day.5 It rolled back the waves of prejudice
and calumny, set in motion by the enemies of our peace and
happiness, and put to silence their pensioned presses and venal
pens. '
"The true character of this policy," says the General, "has
been well understood, even in this country ; and abroad, it . has
too often furnished the motive or the pretext for grave accusation
and virulent invective. This subject, we propose now to examine,
and, in connection with it, briefly to review the conduct of the
two rival nations, whose general measures, in peace and war,
had produced the most permanent effects upon the manners, and
morals, and condition of the Indians, previously to the existence
of the American government. The operation of the British
policy has been so much more extensive and durable than that
of the French, that in the observations which we shall submit to
our readers, this relative importance will be kept, in view.
"The peace of 1763 terminated the long contest between the
French and the British for superiority upon the North American
continent. During its continuance, which exceeded a. century,
the Irdquois were in the English interest, and the other tribes in
the French. We speak in general terms, and without adverting
to the inconsiderable exception, occasioned by the local residence
of some small tribes, and by other partial causes. The great con
tending parties availed themselves of the passions and wants of
the Indians to harass their enemies, and employed them without
scruple, whenever their services were useful ; and each was more
successful in arraigning the conduct of his rival, than in defend
ing his own, for this atrocious practice, equally repugnant to their
duty as civilized and christian nations. We feel no disposition to
look back upon the exciting scenes of these times gone by. The
Indians were employed; with a full knowledge of their habits arid
propensities ; and manv^a traditionary story, as well as the more
permanent memorials of history, have brought down to us, even
through successive generations, afflicting details of these enormi
ties. The cupidity of the savages was stimulated by pecuniary
rewards ; and human scalps, as proofs of death, were bought and
sold in christian markets.
13

194 LIFE AND TIMES
"As the fortunes of the French waned, and the superiority of
the British became more and more manifest, the zeal and exer
tions of the Indians in the interest of the latter gradually relaxed,
and they became spectators rather than actors, in the great drama
which was rapidly approaching its termination. The Iroquois,
appear to have become sensible, that, in exalting one power and
annihilating the other, their policy, had been directed by very
limited views, and that it would convert an ally into a master.
Even as early as the reign of Queen Anne, their deputies, in an
address to that sovereign, portrayed, with great truth and feeling,
the calamitous issue that awaited them. 'We doubt nbt,' say
they, 'but our great Queen has been acquainted with our long
and tedious war, in conjunction with her children, against her
enemies the French, and that we have been as a strong wall for
their security, even to the loss of our best men.' Since then, so
often has this strong wall been interposed between the British
and their enemies, that it is now utterly demolished, and its
fragments scattered to the four winds of heaven.
"But, at an earlier period, the unsettled state of their Indian
relations must have satisfied the British government, that, in
succeeding to the power of the French, they had not succeeded
to their influence and interest 'with the Indians. Pontiac's war,
and the contemporaneous attack upon most: of the posts on the
north-western frontier, and the capture of many of them; the
expeditions of Broadstreet and Bouquet in that quarter, and of
Grant in the south, together with many other military expeditions
of subordinate interest, mark the excited feelings which prevailed
among the Indians, from Michilimackinac to Florida. There is
peculiar elasticity in the French character, and we stop not to
inquire whether it be feeling or philosophy, by which a French
man accommodates himself to any situation in which he may
be' placed. Upon the Seine, and upon the St. Lawrence, if not
equally pleased, he is equally pleasant; and, during two centu
ries, in the depths of the American forests, he has associated
with their rude tenants, and, as he could not elevate them to his
own standard, he has descended to theirs. A mutual and perma
nent attachment has been the result of this intercourse, and, to
this day, the period of French domination is the era of all that.is
happy in Indian reminiscence.
"When we look back upon the long interval of Indian inter-

OF LEWIS- CASS. 195
course which elapsed between the first settlements on the shores
of the Atlantic and the final consolidation of the British power,
nothing but a dreary waste meets, the eye. Not a verdant spot
cheers tbe sight, nor a single oasis in this worse than; Lybian
desert. Remote and feeble colonies had become important and
flourishing provinces, and the aboriginal inhabitants had disap^
peared or receded before the mighty tide of population, which
already, from the summit of tbe Alleghany, was spreading with
exterminating force over the forests and prairies of the west. We
hold no fellowship with those to whom the sound of the Indian's
rifle is more attractive than that of the woodman's, ax, nor are we
believers in that system of legal metaphysics which would give
to, a few naked and wandering savages a perpetual title to an
immense continent. But it will-not, at this day, be disputed that
when, in the progress of improvement, the hunting-grounds of
the Indians give place to cultivated fields, it is our duty tb render
them a full equivalent. The British government is responsible
for the whole course of measures in relation to the Indians in this
country, until the war of the Revolution. Their orders were
executed by their own officers; and, during a part of this period,
a Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the northern and another
for the southern department, were appointed by the Crown.
"Not a vestige remains of any permanent advantage derived
by the Indians from the cessions or sacrifices they made. Their
actual relations with the British government may be emphatically
stated in few words. They were useful, and were used; — in war,
to fight, and in peace, to trade. Queen Anne, indeed, presented
sacramental vessels to the Mohawks, and other furniture, for a
chapel ; and this is about the extent, as far as we have been able
to discover, of the direct interference of the British government
in any plan to improve the moral condition of the Indians. Pious
and benevolent men were engaged then, as they are now, in this
interesting task; and the names of Eliot and Brainerd have come
down to us with, apostolic sanctity. The Society for Propagating
the Gospel attempted something: but they discovered, as they
said, 'that the Indians obstinately rejected their care;' and aban
doned the effort, without suspecting that the fault was in the plan
of the teacher, and not in the docility of the scholar. Generally,
however, great indifference prevailed; and it is said, that Lord
Granville reproved the converting of the1 Indians, 'because a

196 LIFE AND TIMES
knowledge of the arts, and such a consummation, would make
them dangerous to our plantations.' In the few Indian treaties
which have escaped from the official bureaus, a piece or two of
'strouding,' some 'duffils,' 'kettles,' 'flints,' &c, constitute the
whole value paid for important cessions. These presents were
too inconsiderable for general distribution, and they disappeared
almost as speedily as the council which produced them. A per
manent arrangement, by which an annual consideration should
always be given, and a supply thus provided for never-ending
wants, was neither adopted nor proposed. This plan of perma
nent annuities, which constitutes an era in the relations existing
between the white and the red man upon the continent, was
introduced under the American government, and was first exten
sively embodied in Wayne's treaty of 1795 — a treaty, to which
no parallel can be found in history. The Indians had waged a
bloody and causeless war against our settlements for many years.
They had finally been overthrown in a signal battle, and their
confidence in themselves and their cause utterly destroyed. They
were invited to a general council at Greenville, where the same
terms were granted which had been granted to them long before.
Many important advantages Were secured to them, and perpetual
annuities were guarantied to each tribe.
"If any restraints were imposed by the British authorities, be
fore our Revolution, upon the Indian traders, either in relation to
their general conduct or tbe price of their goods, such restraints
have escaped our investigation. We speak advisedly when we
say, that none such now exist. Nor is there any prohibition
against the introduction of spirituous liquors into any part of their
Indian country. We may close this branch of the subject in a
few words. There was no attempt to provide a permanent resi
dence for the Indians. There were no schools, and no efforts to
introduce agriculture or the mechanic arts. There were no annu
ities, no regulations to direct the conduct of the traders, and no
law to prevent the sale of ardent spirits. A century and a half
had, passed away since the first settlement of the country. The
rulers who governed it, heedless of the condition and sufferings
of its aboriginal inhabitants, abandoned them' to that current of
events which is yet hurrying them onward to their doom. The
records of history can not furnish a more cold-blooded, heartless
document than the official report of Sir Jeffrey Amherst, the British

OF LEWIS CASS. 197
commander-in-chief, dated Albany, thirteenth of August, 1763,
and communicating the result of Colonel Grant's expedition
against the Cherokees. He states that ' Colonel Grant had burnt
fifteen towns and all the plantations of the country ; destroyed
fourteen hundred acres of corn ; and driven about five thousand
men, women and children in to, the. woods and mountains, where,
having nothing to subsist Upon, they must either starve or sue
for peace.'
" But that great revolution bad now approached, which has
already produced, and is yet destined to produce, important
changes in the social and political systems of the world. The
American government, at the commencement of its operations,
used every effort to prevent the Indians from taking part in the
contest, aiid the desperate struggle in which the early patriots
were engaged still left them time to devise plans for the moral
and physical melioration of their unhappy neighbors. In the J
Congress of 1776, that body passed the following resolutions :
" i Resohed, That all traders shall dispose of their goods at such
stated prices as shall be fixed and ascertained by tbe commission
ers, or a majority of such as can conveniently assemble for that
purpose in each respective department, and shall allow the Indians
a reasonable price for their furs and skins, and take no unjust ad
vantage of their distress and intemperance ; and to this end, they
shall respectively, upon receiving their licenses, enter into bond
to the commissioners, for the use of the United Colonies, in such
penalty as the acting commissioner or commissioners shall think
proper, conditioned for the performance of the terms and regula
tions above prescribed.
" ' Resohed, That a friendly commerce between the people of
the United Colonies and the Indians, and the propagation of the
gospel and the cultivation of the civil arts among the latter, may
produce many and inestimable advantages to both, and that the
Commissioners for Indian Affairs be desired to consider the proper
places in their respective departments for the residence of minis
ters and schbolmasters, and report the same to Congress,'
" With what little effect attempts were thus made to counteract
the efforts of the British authorities, and to restrain the, habitual
disposition of the Indians for war and plunder, was soon demon
strated by courts, and impartial history has recorded.
i " The employment of the savages by the French and the British

198 LIFE AND TIMES
to destroy their enemies, is among the most atrocious acts which
Christendom has beeri called to witness. We shall not here tax
our own recollection, nor the feelings of our readers, by any
recital of the enormities we have seen. The imagination can fur-
nishino aid towards a just conception of these scenes. There is
nothing more appalling than the reality. The Indians are im
pelled to war by passions which acknowledge no control, and
death and desolatiori are the objects of their military expeditions.
He is the most renowned warrior whose tomahawk flies. swiftest
and sinks deepest. There is a horrible institution among some
of the tribes, which furnishes a powerful illustration of this never-
tiring love of vengeance. It is called the Man-eating Society,
and it is the duty of its associates to devour such prisoners as are
preserved and delivered to them for that purpose. The members
of this society belong to a particular family, and the dreadful in
heritance descends to. all the children, male and female. Its
duties can not be dispensed with, and the sanctions of religion
are added to the obligations of immemorial usage. The feast is
considered a solemn ceremony, at -which the whole tribe is .col
lected, as actors or spectators. The miserable victim is fastened
to a stake, and burned at a slow fire, with all the refinements of
cruelty which savage ingenuity can invent. There is a tradition
ary ritual which regulates, with revolting precision, the whole
course of procedure at, these ceremonies. The chief of the family,
and principal member of the society among the Miamis, whose
name was White Skin, we have seen, and with feelings of loath
ing, excited by a narration of his atrocities amid the scenes where
they occurred.
" There are but two serious occupations connected with the ordi
nary business of life to which an Indian willingly devotes himself.
These are war and hunting. Labor is performed exclusively by
the women. The. passion for war is fostered and encouraged hy
institutions which are admirably adapted to make tbe warrior
brave and enterprising. Nothing in the systems of the ancient
republics was better devised to stimulate the ardor of. their citi
zens. And when assembled Greece proclaimed the victor at the
Olympic games, and crowned him with the olive wreath, she fur
nished no more powerful motive for exertion and distinction than
is provided in the institutions of our aborigines. It is the same
love of distinction which impels the warrior to tear from the

OF LEWIS CASS. 199
head of the writhing and reeking victim the bloody trophy of
savage victory, and, at the next war-dance in his distant village,
to strike the post and to recount the atrocities which, by the aid
of the Sag-a-nosh, (Englishman,) he has been enabled to commit
upon the Tshe-mo-ke-maun, (Big Knife, American.)
" An Indian war-dance is an important incident in the passing
events of a, village. The whole population is assembled, and a
feast provided for all. The warriors are painted and prepared as
for battle. A post is firmly planted in the ground, and the sing
ers, the drummers, and the other instrumental musicians, are
seated within the circle, formed by the dancers and the spectators.
The rnusic and the dance begin. The warriors exert themselves
with great energy. Every muscle is in action, and there is the
most perfect concord between the music and their movements.
They brandish their weapons, and with such apparent fury that
fatal accidents seem unavoidable. Presently a warrior leaves the
circle, and with bis tomahawk, or cassetete, strikes the post. The
music and dancing cease, and profound silence ensues. He then
recounts, with a loud voice, his military achievements. He de
scribes the battles he has fought, the prisoners be has captured,
the scalps he has taken. He points to his wounds, and produces
bis trophies. He accompanies his narrative with the actual rep
resentation of his exploits, and the mimicrengagement, the advance
and the retreat, are exhibited to his nation as they really occurred.
There is no exaggeration, and no misrepresentation. It would be
infamous for a warrior to boast of deeds he never performed. If
the attempt was made, some one would approach, and throw dirt
in his face, saying : ' I do this to cover your shame, for the first
time you see an enemy you will tremble.' But such an indignity
is rarely necessary, and as the war parties generally contain many
individuals, the character and conduct of any warrior are well
known. Shouts of applause accompany the narration, propor
tioned, in duration and intensity, to the interest it excites. His
station in the circle is then resumed by the actor, and the dance
proceeds till it is interrupted in a similar manner.
' " No terms of reprehension can be too strong for the employ
ment of such a force. The nation which authorizes it should be
arraigned at the tribunal bf Christendom. It is a force which will
not be controlled. Human power can not stay the tide of slaugh
ter ; and ' allies,'' as the Indians may be, it is an alliance to which

200 LIFE AND TIMES
posterity will look back with grief and indignation, and which
will tarnish the brightest pearl in the crown of the Defender of
ihe Faith. It needs no casuistry to prove that the government
which employs a force, of whose direct tendency they are aware,.
is responsible for the conduct of that force. Mr. Madison has
justly said, that ' for these enormities they are equally responsi
ble, whether, with the power to prevent them, they want the will,
or, with tbe knowledge of a want of power, they still avail them
selves of such instruments.' "
General Cass, in this celebrated article, proceeds to specify
irrefragable facts demonstrative of the British relations with the
Indians, and, particularly, the deception practiced upon them
during the war commenced in 1812. The utter abuses of good
faith are graphically described, and the uniform policy of the
American and, British governments truly and forcibly contrasted.
" But no event, since the discovery of the continent," he adds,
" produced greater changes in the character, feelings, and situation
of the Indians, than this war. During the latter part of 1812, and
the whole of 1813, the north and the west were almost depopulated.
Their ordinary occupations were abandoned, and men, women, and
children assembled around the British head-quarters, upon the
Detroit river, the warriors for blood, pay, and plunder, and their
families for food and clothing. It is said that twelve thousand
rations were daily issued to this subsidized bost. And where are
they now? G°ne; tbe victims of war, want, and disease. They
perished by thousands, and however their watch-fires, and the
other incidents of savage life may furnish materials for romantic
delineation, their recollection now excites a deeper sympathy for
tbe fate of those who gave life and animation to the scene. Their
numbers pressed heavily upon the resources of the British com
manding officer. Supplies were obtained with difficulty, and
doled out with parsimony. Their usual habits and employments
were abandoned. These were succeeded by the listlessness of a
sedentary camp, without the recurrence of those duties which give
some variety to that most irksome situation. A warrior has no
system of tactics to learn, and no labor to perform; and, when
associated with civilized troops, he must abandon the.chase, he-
cause the animals he pursues retire from the vicinity of large
bodies of men. No resource, therefore, was left for physical exer
tion or mental excitement, except the war parties which were

OF LEWIS CASS. 201
occasionally detached upon scalping expeditions. Such was the
disposition of General Harrison's force that these were ' few and
far between,' and the time of the warriors was generally passed
in a state of morbid inactivity. They were collected in unusual
numbers, and many of them were as unaccustbtried to the climate
as to the mode of life and the absence of employment. Under
these circumstances, disease was necessarily generated^ and it was
exacerbated by all the symptoms of a disastrous campaign. The
hopeless prospect before them was rendered still more gloomy by
the presence of their families, remote from home, and depending
for food and clothing upon their ' allies,' whose capture or retreat
appeared but too probable. These causes produced their full
effect. A grievous mortality prevailed among them, and when
tbe American army made its descent upon the Canadian shore in
1813, there was no foe to oppose it. Proctor had fled, with the
warriors who adhered to his cause. But much of his savage force
had previously disappeared, either in the recesses of the forest
whose shelter was nearest, or in the grave. Horrible, stories are
told of the miseries they endured. We had no pleasure in hearing
them, and we should now have none in relating them. Whatever,
in the extremity of human suffering, man has done or endured,
these wretched outcasts were doomed to do and bear. But this
physical wretchedness was not the only evil entailed upon them
by their participation- in the war. Their spirits were broken.
This feeling was well expressed by Wabesha, the principal Sioux
chief, to the British commanding officer, at Drummond's Island,
in 1815. Wabesha is venerable for bis age, and has always
maintained a decided influence over his people. He was treated
with marked attention, and valuable presents were spread before
him. ' My father,' said he to Colonel jflfDowell, then command
ing the post; ' what' is this I see before me . A few knives and
blankets. Is this all you proinised us at the beginning of the
war ? Where are those promises you made us at Michilimacki-
nac, and sent to our villages on the Mississippi ? You told us you
would never let fall the hatchet until the Americans were driven
beyond tbe mountains ; that our British father would never make
peace without consulting his red children. Has that come to pass .
We never knew of this peace. We are now told it was made by
our great father beyond the water, without the knowledge of his
war chiefs ; that it is your duty to obey his orders. What is this

202 LIFE AND TIMES
to us ? Will these paltry presents pay for the men we have lost,
both in battle and on the road? - Will they soothe the feelings of
our friends ? Will they make good your promises to us ? For
myself, I am an old man. I have lived long, and always found
the means of supporting myself, and I can do so still.'
"The tenure by which the primitive inhabitants of this continent
held their land, is a question of metaphysical speculation, rather
than one of practical right. All will agree that they were entitled
to as much as would supply them with subsistence, in the mode tp
which they were accustomed. And there will probably be an
assent, little less general, to the proposition,, that whatever was not
thus wanted, and unemployed, might be appropriated by others
to their own use. The new race of men who landed upon these
shores, found that their predecessors had affixed few distinctive
marks of property in the forests where they roamed. There were
none of those permanent improvements which elsewhere, by uni
versal assent, become the evidence and security of. individual
appropriation. From Hudson's Bay to Cape Horn, the various
nations of Europe have formed settlements, and have gradually,
by force or purchase, reduced the aboriginal inhabitants to a
state of vassalage, or driven them into the interior. European
sovereigns have divided this immense country, by their charters
or treaties, into many colonies and provinces, and have assumed
a general jurisdiction oyer them, without the slightest regard to
the primitive occupants. • And the hoisting of the first flag, and
the burying of the first bottle, are important incidents, which have
occasioned many a, perplexing discussion to grave diplomatists.
Almost all the country now composing the Atlantic portion of the
United States, was thus acquired by England. Our colonial
records contain the history of many of these negotiations and pur
chases, but time has swept away almost every vestige of the-
consideration paid to the Indians. Since the establishment of
their independence, the United States have adopted the system of
acquiring the aboriginal title by peaceable purchase ;. but they
have adopted it with an important change, consolatory to all who
look with sympathy upon this falling race. The plan oi perma
nent annuities guaranties to the Indians a never failing resource
against want, and its beneficial effects are apparent in the im
proved condition of the Wyandots, the Shawnese, and the Miamis.
But one instance, in the history of the United States, can be

OF LEWIS CASS. 203
found where tbey have acquired any title to the unappropriated
cbuntry by force, and that was at the termination of the wanton
and unprovoked hostilities of the Creeks; originating, probably,
in foreign influence, but prosecuted in a spirit, of atrocious cruelty
not often displayed, even in Indian warfare. Peace, without
exemplary chastisement, would have been but an invitation to
new aggressions.
" The condition of our primitive people is a moralphenomenon,
perhaps without a parallel in the whole history of man. During
two centuries, they have been in contact with a civilized people.
They have seen our improvements and felt our superiority. They
have relinquished their bows and arrows, and skins, and flint
knives, and stone tomahawks, and have adopted our arms and
ammunition, our clothes, and many of our instruments of iron
and steel. But in their own moral qualities, if they have not re
ceded, they certainly have not advanced. . A principle of pro
gressive improvement seems almost inherent in human nature.
Communities of men, as well as individuals, are stimulated by a
desire to meliorate their condition. There is nothing stationary
around us. We are all striving in the career of life to acquire
riches, or honor, or power, or some other object, whose possession
is to realize the day-dreams of our imaginations ; and the aggre
gate of these efforts constitutes the advance of society. But there
is little of all this in the constitution of our savages. Like, the
bear, and deer, and buffalo of his own forests, an Indian lives as
his father lived, and dies as his father died. He never attempts
to imitate the arts of bis civilized neighbors. His life passes
away in a succession of listless indolence and of vigorous exertion
to provide for his animal wants or to gratify his baleful passions.
He never looks around him, with a spirit of emulation, to com
pare his situation with that of others, and to resolve on improving
it. Iri a season of abundance he never provides for a season of
scarcity. Want never teaches him to be provident, nor misery to
be industrious. This fatuity is not the result of ignorance. Efforts,
however ill-directed, have not been wanting to teach and reclaim
him. But he is, perhaps, destined to disappear with the forests
which have afforded him food and clothing, and whose existence
seems essential to his own.
" Under such circumstances, what ignorance, or folly, or mor
bid jealousy of our national progress, does it not argue, to expect

204 LIFE AND TIMES
V
that our civilized border would become stationary, and some of
the fairest portions of the globe be abandoned to hopeless sterility,
that a few naked, wandering barbarians should stay the march of
cultivation and improvement,, and hold in a state of perpetual un
productiveness immense -regions formed by Providence to support
millions of human beings ? And has England furnished us with
any examples of such a system of self-denial, or, rather, of canting
weakness ? We will not inquire in India, for there no barbarians,
strictly speaking, are found. But the Australasian continent is
now a British province, acquired and settled within the memory
of the present generation. And where are its aboriginal inhabi
tants ? Let the following extract from the Sydney Gazette of De
cember 16th, 1824, answer this question :
" ' The overseer, finding that they bad nearly expended their
arms, he and his men dismounted, tied their horses together, and
faced about, commencing a fire of musketry on the natives, then
charged them with the bayonet until they were completely routed
and dispersed. The natives left sixteen men dead on the field, and
their weapons were completely destroyed.
" ' After the fight the party returned in safety to Mudgee.'
" That nothing short of that whole continent, exceeding Europe
in extent, will satisfy the forbearance of the British government,
we have full evidence in the measures which are in progress. And
what permanent advantages, either physical or moral, have the
Australasians derived from their civilized neighbors ? We hear
of no treaties of cession, no ' purchases compulsory,'' or voluntary,
no mutual concessions, no annuities for future relief. The land is
wanted, and it is taken.
" There is one consideration connected with the cession of land
by the Indians, too important,,, in a fair examination of , the sub
ject, to be overlooked. The advance of the white settlements is
the signal for the recession of the game. There is always an ex
tensive interval of border country between our cultivated frontier
and the permanent possessions of the Indians. Their unremitted
efforts to procure food and clothing cause a rapid diminution of
wild animals in this district ; and as these animals flee from de
struction, they are followed by those who look to them for suste
nance. The district thus abandoned becomes useless to the
natives, and this is the land which is generally acquired by our
treaties. Iu many instances, and we speak from personal^

OF LEWIS CASS: 205
observation, the amount paid for these cessions has been more
valuable to the Indians than all tbe animals existing there whose
flesh and furs are sought by them.
" We come now tb other topics. ' It is not necessary to prove
in this place, for the fiftieth time,' says the reviewer, ' that our
cause was common with that of the Indian nations. Agavnst
them, as against us, the Americans had been the real aggressors.''
Withtwhat truth these assertions are advanced, will be best deter
mined by a brief examination ofthe various acts ofthe American
government towards the Indians, and by a comparison of these
with the course which has been pursued by the British govern
ment. Our attention has already been called to the unremitting
exertions of the republican government to restrain the Indians
from hostilities ; to induce them, whenever a contest between their
white neighbors appeared unavoidable, to remain in their own
country and suffer the storm to pass away without exposing them
selves to its violence. In the same spirit hostile tribes have been
brought together, and the tomahawk buried beneath the ashes of
the council fire.''
He then proceeded to point out tbe various measures of the
British government, and he clearly demonstrated that, in all
instances, the rriere love of worldly gain was the incentive ; that
the well-being of the poor Indian never was taken into considera
tion. And' to satisfy the inhabitants of other portions of bur
country, that the American government not orily acted from mo
tives of humanity, but fully comprehended the labor, he posted
the reading public with the locality and disposition of all the
many tribes west of the lakes, and their attitude with the whites ;
and then, with the confidence of truth, commended to the final
judgment of the' world the conduct of his government. By this
verdict he was conterit to abide.
The councils held by General Cass with the Indians were for
the purpose of removing difficulties with them and of securing
their attachment to the United States, and eventually for the
purchase of land. The progress of our settlements rendered
necessary the acquisition of new districts, while, at the same
time, the diminution of game and the reduction ofthe number of
Indians, made the district adjoining our improved frontier of little
value to the aborigines; ,for, in those days, they had no perma
nent occupation of land, and subsisted principally by the chase,

206 LIFE AND TIMES
living upon the ineat and selling the furs to the, traders, and thus
procuring the indispensable supplies of guns, powder, lead, and
blankets, and some other articles.
The mode of life of the Indians has undergone little change
since they became known to us, unless in those cases, (and till
recently there have been but few of them,) where they have
abandoned their primitive habits and become stationary agricul
turists. According to their primitive habits, in the spring the
families of the Saint Totem, — the subdivision of a tribe marked
by the figure of some tutelar animal, — seek a pleasant spot offer-
tile ground upon some stream, and there they erect rough cabins,
forming a little village, marked by its council house and its sur
rounding green for amusements, and in its vicinity they plant a
little corn, which is scratched around, rather than cultivated, by
the women. There are but two occupations an Indian warrior
can honorably pursue. One is to hunt and the other is to go to
war. All other labor devolves upon the women ; and this point
of honor, made such by early training which fosters their natural
indolence, is one of the rnost formidable obstacles to the improve
ment of the Indians. - As soon as their corn is fit for roasting-
ears, — before, indeed, they begin to eat it, and to waste it with
true Indian improvidence, for they have less foresight than many
of the animals around them, and by the -time their little crop is
ripe, it is all consumed. A few pumpkins and beans, plants in
digenous to the country, were also, and yet are, raised. During
the summer the game is poor and the furs bad, and they are able
to kill but little, -for the assemblages in the villages drive away
the animals. They kill what they can, and when there are no
war parties, the season is passed in indolence and amusements,
— in eating, (gorging, rather, when they have the means,)
dancing, singing, smoking, and telling stories. In the fall they
repair to the hunting grounds. Each family has its own, which
is not encroached on by others, or, if so encroached on, a deadly
feud is the consequencel There they encamp, and spend the
winter in hunting and in the collection of furs,, to enable them to
satisfy their traders. In the spring they return to their traders ;
and thus passed the life of an Indian when the race first becaiao
known to us, except that bows and arrows were used, for weapons,
and furs and skins for clothing, — and thus it passes yet, where
they have not followed our example.

OF LEWIS CASS. 207

CHAPTER XIV.
Effect of the Article in the Review— The Lake Communication — General Cass' Literary Efforts — Treaty
. of Green Bay — His Labors— Historical Society of Detroit — His AddreBS — Hamilton College — Oration
before the Alumni— Degree of LL.D.
The article extracted from, in the preceding chapter, electrified
the public mind. In addition to the many stubborn facts brought
out, showing clearly and concisely what policy had been, pursued
and what measures imitated by the several- christian nations, in
their intercourse with the wild aborigines of America, General
Cass, for the first writer, had had the manliness to speak plainly
to Europe, and to proud England in particular. The effect was,
that the latter nation became more chary of their baseless charges
against the philanthropy of tbe United States, and began to look
about and see how well they might get off from the- inroads of
benevolence, and best preserve the residue of their North Ameri
can Indian possessions. Their traders saw that it would be a
profitless task further to prosecute annoyance, and that the only
alternative was now to be at peace with the American authorities.
A new era in British diplomacy dates from this time. Directing
their attention to the innumerable tribes of1 Indians scattered far
and wide, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Nootka Sound, they
withdrew their busy agents from lands farther south, and allowed
the banner of "the brave and the free" to go on in the fulfillment
of its high mission.
Nor was this all. The example set by General Cass encouraged
other writers, and gave them confidence to speak out, and, on all
proper occasions, defend the dignity and character of republican
ism from the assaults of pampered royalty. It also restored
confidence to the young farmers and mechanics of New England
whose thoughts were upon lands to the westward, and hastened
their vigorous footsteps. This elucidated argument familiarized
their minds >with the dreaded natives, neutralized fear, and re
animated them with high and' exhilarating hope. More than

208 LIFE AND TIMES
ever did the broad prairies and dense and lofty forests, stretching
.from the chain of inland seas that washed the northern frontier
away to the majestic rivers that emptied the surplus waters of
millions of acres into the southern ocean, seem to be the land
of promise. And hitherward did they now begin to go. Not
singly, and as exiles banished from their native land, but in
caravans and of their own volition, there to take their parts in
the unending drama of life. Noble resolution! And their steady
efforts to subdue the wilderness, beyond the language of praise.
The Walk-in-tbe- water was too slow, and of insufficient capacity,
to accommodate the travelers and their luggage over the rough
waves of Erie, and enterprise built the Henry Clay and other-
steam vessels, to supply the wants of emigration. To meet the
demand, for land, increasing with every arrival of the boats in
the Straits, other and larger tracts were surveyed and brought
into market, and quickly taken up by the settlers. The capitalist,
too, Came, and made investments. Improvements, local and gene
ral, were made ; the small settlements began to swell into villages;
edifices, public and private, were projected and built ; the echo of
the woods was supplanted by the hum of commerce ; rich fields
of grain and other products of agriculture met the eye in every
direction, and were shipped to the seaboard. To this complexion
had Michigan come at last, under the judicious piloting of her
faithful and far-seeing Chief Magistrate., Her people saw and
appreciated it, and their confidence in his wisdom and action was
greater than ever. Not vainglorious or overweening of- his own
efforts, he was deeply sensible of how much of their almost
unprecedented prosperity was due to the favor of an all- wise
and beneficent Providence; and to him, in meekness, did the
Governor invite the people to set apart a day of public thanks
giving and praise.
The mines, both copper and lead, began to pour forth their
wealth ; and the excavators and smelters reported large quanti
ties for market. In this season of prosperity, and the wheels
of : government, over which he presided, moving with harmony
and regularity within their appointed orbits, General Cass found
leisure to add to the literary wealth of our common country, and
enrich its stores with his views on the important topics of the
day. He wrote several essayB and reviews for the magazines, ex
hibiting as well great research as beautiful thoughts, and clothed

OF LEWIS CASS. 209
in elegant and apt language. His contributions hold high rank
in the world of letters, for their clearness, comprehensiveness,
and felicity of expression.
He was again called upon, however, in the summer of 1828, to
visit the Sacs and Foxes, Winnebagoes, Pottawatomies, Ottawas,
and Chippewas, in grand council at Green Bay. He concluded
a treaty with these tribes on the, twenty-fifth of August, acquiring
for the United States many millions of acres of land; and on the
twentieth of September in the same year, he negotiated a treaty
with the Pottawatomies at St. Joseph's, by which a large cession
was procured for the State of Indiana. Regardless of personal
comfort, he was always ready to execute the wishes of the govern
ment. The imminent perils which he often encountered, and his
hair-breadth escapes from danger.and death, would fill volumes to
relate. Incident upon incident, in his travels upon the lakes and
rivers, and through the solitary forests, it would afford pleasure
to give, ands instruction to hear. No man living has seen and
experienced more of border life, with all its excitement and
danger, than he. There is scarcely a river in all the country
north-west of the Ohio, of any magnitude, that he' has not seen;
and he is familiar with all the bays, inlets, and promontories, that
line the lake coast from Buffalo to the. head waters of the Father
of Rivers, away' in the far-off, northern wilderness. And in all
his multiplicity of business with the Indians, he has, in every
instance, so acted as not to leave the slightest consciousness on
his mind, that he has aggravated the lot of a single tribe, or in
any other manner than to the promotion of their own good and
happiness. In July of this year, a Historical Society was organized at
Detroit, under the advice of General Cass, for" the purpose of
collecting and preserving such materials, both traditionary and
authentic, as might enable its members to trace tbe history of
that portion of the United States, and mark the changes it had
undergone. By judicious exertions, they hoped to rescue from
oblivion many important documents ; to disclose many facts and
transactions, either wholly unknown or iinperfectly remembered;
and, elucidate what was confused and contradictory in the earlier
annals of those regions. The field of labor was sufficiently interest
ing and extensive for all their industry and zeal. Experience has
shown that, however ardently individuals may devote their energies
14

210 LIFE AND TIMES
to such pursuits, little, after all, is accomplished by solitary
efforts; whilst unity of action, a generous spirit of emulation,
the co-operation of the community, and a central point of union,
where plans may be proposed and adopted, opinions discussed,
and collections and recollections embodied and preserved, are
secured by these institutions. The history of Michigan com
mences with 1701, when, in June of that year, Mons. De la Motte
Cadillac, with one hundred men and a Jesuit, left Montreal, carry
ing with them everything necessary for the commencement and
support of an establishment, and ascending the St. Lawrence and
Lakes Ontario and Erie, reached the City of the Straits in the
following month of July: It is not invidious to say, that no place
in the United'States presents such a series of events, interesting
in themselves, and permanently affecting, as they occurred, its
progress and prosperity. Five times has its flag changed between
that day and this ; three different sovereignties have claimed its
allegiance, — France, England and the United States ; and, since
it has been held by the latter, its government has been thrice
transferred ; twice has Detroit been besieged by the Indians, once
captured in war, and once burned to the ground. Still, there was
riowhere to be found a connected account of the progress of the
people : occasional notices were interspersed through the French
historians, and detailed descriptions given of the more important
events;, but the whole subject was involved in much obscurity,
and the statistical facts had altogether been neglected. There
were no comparative estimates of plantation and production—
none of those severe investigations into the character and condi
tion of the country which render modern history so valuable and
satisfactory. It was under such circumstances, and impelled by" such motives,
that a movement was now made by Henry R. Schoolcraft, who
had traveled much in the western cbuntry, and was highly gifted
with observation arid reflection, and others, to institute a society,
which, in its efficient and harmonious action, would remedy the
remissness of the past, gratify the present, and benefit the future.
The celebration of the first anniversary was deferred until the
Session of the legislative council; when, on the eighteenth of
September, 1829, at the council chamber, in Detroit, General
Cass, by invitation, delivered an appropriate, interesting, and
iriBtructive discourse. It embodied the early history of Michigan,

OF LEWIS CASS*. 211
bringing it down to a period when the United States came into
possession. It was published by the society, and excited a spirit
of research and inquiry, producing the most beneficial results.
'* There are no proud recollections associated with the early his
tory of this region of forests, and lakes, and prairies. No monu-
riients have survived the lapse of ages, to attest, at once, the
existence of heroic achievements, and a nation's gratitude. No
names of renown have come down to us, rescued from oblivion by
their virtues or their vices. No place is found, in all our borders,
where the traveler can meditate upon the instability of human
power, amid the evidence of its existence and decay ; nor where
the memory of brilliant exploits can be recalled among the scenes
of tbeir occurrence. Our country is yet- fresl/and^green. Cen
turies must roll on before our arches are/orokeri, our columns
dilapidated, our monuments destroyed ; hefore/the hand of time
shall have impressed upon our high deeds and high places that
sanctity which enables the inhabitant/of the eternal city; even in
this day of Roman degeneracy, to, look{ back with pride to the
deeds and days of the republic/ On/ only monuments are the
primitive people around us. Woke/, and fallen as tbey are, they
yet survive in ruins, conne/ting/the present with- the past, and
exciting emotions like those which are , felt in the contemplation
of other testimonials of/numan instability. The early European
adventurers found these regions in the possession of numerous
tribes of savages, divided into separate communities, and speak
ing various languages, but having a general resemblance in their
physical relations, their manners and customs, their religion;
governmentv4nd institutions. Much labor and research have been
devoted tc/an inquiry into their origin and migrations. Many
idle noti/ns haye prevailed respecting these topics, unworthy now
of serious examination, except as they furnish evidence of the
waywardness of the human intellect. That they are branches of
the great Tartar stock, is generally believed at the present day.
Tuany points of resemblance, both physical and moral, leave little
doubt upon the subject. But why, or when, or where the sepa
ration occurred, or by what route, or in what manner they were
conducted from the plains of Asia to those of America, it were
vain to inquire, and impossible to tell.
" Cartier was the pioneer, but Champlain was the founder of the
French power on this continent. For twenty years succeeding the

212 LIFE AND TIMES
commencement of the seventeenth century, he was zealously em
ployed in planting and rearing, upon the banks of the. St. Law
rence, that infant colony which was destined to extend its branches
to these shores, and, finally, to contest, with its great rival, the
sovereignty of North America. Champlain displayed, in his ad
venturous life, traits of heroism, self-devotion, and perseverance,
Which, under more favorable circumstances, would have placed
him in the rank of those whose deeds are the landmarks of history.
I sha,ll not attempt to trace the progress of these remote settle
ments, nor to mark their alternations of prosperity and adversity.
They are peculiarly interesting to us only as they exhibit the
gradual andvsuccessive steps by which a knowledge of these inter
nal seas, and of the. countries around them, was acquired, and the
settlements formed and extended. As the tide of French power
flows towards this peninsula, we become more anxious to trace
its principles and progress, and to inquire into the motives and
means of the hardy adventurers who were every year ascending
still further and further the boundless waters before them. It
was early discovered that a profitable traffic in furs could be
carried on with the Indians, and the excitement of gain prompted
those engaged in it to explore every avenue by which the camps
and hunting grounds of the Indians could be approached. A
better and nobler feeling, too, brought to this work a body of
learned and pious men, who left behind them their own world,
with all its pleasures and attachments, and sought, in the depths
of remote and unknown regions, objects for the exercise of their
zeal and piety. The whole history of human, character furnishes no
more illustrious examples of self-devotion than are to be found in
the records of the establishments of the Roman Catholic mission
aries, whose faith and fervor enabled them to combat tiie difficul
ties around them in life, or to triumph over them in death.
" It is now difficult to conceive, what, however, is well authenti
cated, that, a century and a half ago, the great central point of
Indian influence and intelligence was upon the southern shore «f
Lake Superior, and far towards its western extremity. This was
the seat of the Chippewa power, and here was burning that eternal
fire whose extinction foretold, if it did not occasion, some great
national calamity. No fact is better established, in the whole
range of Indian history, than the devotion of some, if not all the
tribes, to this characteristic feature of the ancient superstition of

OF LEWIS CASS. 213
the Magi ; and it proves their separation from the primitive stock
at an early day, when this belief was prevalent among the eastern
nations. All the ceremonies attending the preservation of this
fire, yet live in Indian tradition, and it was still burning when the
French first appeared among them. There were male and female
guardians, to whose care it was committed ; and when we recol
lect the solemn ritual and dreadful imprecations with which the
same pledge of Roman safety was guarded and preserved, it ought
not to surprise us that such importance was attached by the In
dians to the ceaseless endurance of this visible emblem of power,
Whose duration was to be coeval with their national existence.
The augury has proved but too true. The fire is extinct, and the
power has departed from them. We have trampled on the one,
and overthrown the other.
" The circumstances of another custom have survived the general
wreck, in which so much of their tradition has perished. Upon
the Sandusky river, and near where tbe town of Lower Sandusky
now stands, lived a band of the Wyandots, called the Neutral
Nation. They occupied two villages, which were cities of refuge,
where those who sought safety never failed tofind it. During the
long and disastrous contests which preceded and followed the
arrival of the Europeans, and in which the Iroquois contended for
victory, and their enemies for existence, this little band preserved
the integrity of their territories, and the sacred character of peace
makers. More fortunate than the English monarch, who, seated
upon the shore of the ocean, commanded its waves to- come no
further, they stayed the troubled waters which flowed around but
not over them. All who met upon their threshold, met as friends,
for the ground on which they stood was holy." It was a beautiful
institution ; a calm and peaceful island, looking out upon a world
of waves and tempests.
" It is difficult, at this day, to trace the causes of the attachment
and aversion which were respectively manifested by the various
tribes for the French and English. The interest of the former
generally predominated, and they seem to have had a peculiar
facility in identifying themselves with the feelings of the Indians,
and in gaining their affections. But, even in this quarter, the
seeds of disaffection were early sown, and ripened into an abund
ant harvest. The Fox or Outaganic Indians, who then occupied this
strait, evinced a restless disposition, from their first acquaintance

214 LIFE AND TIMES
with the French, and a determined predilection for the English.
This was cultivated by the usual interchange of messages and
presents, and an English trading expedition actually reached Mich-
ilimackinac in 1686.
" During such a contest for supremacy, both in power and com
merce, the great advantages offered by an establisbment upon
this river could not escape the observation of the contending par
ties. In fact, it is difficult to conceive why it was so long post
poned, and we can only account for it by the recollection, that
the French had another and safer way by which they could com
municate with the north-western regions. If the English entered
the country at all, they must enter it by this route, and a position
here was in fact the key of the whole region above us. Influ
enced by these motives, the English government seriously con
templated its occupation, but they were anticipated by the decisive
movement of their, rivals. A great council was convened at
Montreal, at which were present all the distinguished chiefs of
the various tribes occupying the country from Quebec to the Mis
sissippi. It is described by tbe French historians as the most
numerous and imposing assemblage ever collected around one
council 'fire, and it was attended by the Governor General and
all that was noble and powerful iri New France. Its discussions,
and proceedings, and result, were fully recorded, and have come
down to us unimpaired. The whole policy of the French inter
course with the Indians was considered, and the wants and com
plaints of the various parties made known. The Iroquois stated
that they had understood the French general was about to estab
lish a post on the Detroit river, and objected strenuously to the
measure, because the country was theirs, and they had already
prevented the English from adopting the same step. The GovT
ernor General, in answer, informed them that neither the Iroquois
nor the English could claim the country, but that it belonged to
the King of France ; and that an expedition, destined for this ser
vice, had already commenced its march.
" The continued wars between France and England, which filled
so large a portion of the eighteenth century, extended their influ
ence to this quarter, and a company of militia, detailed from the
inhabitants, and commanded by an ancestor of one of our most
respectable families, that of Campan, fought in the great battle
where Braddock was defeated and killed. But it was under the

OF LEWIS CASS. 215
walls of Quebec that the fate of this country was decided. Upon
the plains of Abraham the victor and the vanquished, poured out
their lives together, displaying in death, as they had displayed in
life, traits of magnanimity and heroism worthy of the best days
of chivalry. 'Who flies ?' said the expiring Wolfe, to an excla
mation of one of the mourning group around him. He was an
swered, ' The enemy ! ' * Then,' said he, ' I die happy ;' — and
he died. His fate, so picturesque and glorious, recalls the mem
ory of Epaminondas and Gustavus, upon the plains of Mantinea
and Lutzen. Yictory crowned their standards, and death sealed
their career. His rival in fame, and in all but fortune, Montcalm,
nobly supported the honor of France, and fell too soon for his
country, though too late for himself. But a few brief years after
wards, and ariother noble and gallant leader attempted to plant
the standard of freedom upon the rocky battlements of Quebec.
He fell where Wolfe and Montcalm had fallen before him, but
the memory of Montgomery will be cherished as long as the
sacred cause for which be fought and died.
" In 1760, the British, under the capitulation of Montreal, took
possession of Detroit and the upper ports, and in 1763 these were
finally ceded by France. No sooner had the English obtained
possession of the country, than a spirit of disaffection became vis
ible, which extended' to all the tribes in this region, and finally
led to the conception and execution of a plan, equally able and
daring, for their overthrow.
" There was then upon the stage of action one of those high and
heroic men who stamp their own characters upon the age in
which they live, and Who appear destined to1 survive the lapse of
time, like : some proud and lofty column, which sees crumbling
around it the temples of God and the dwellings of man, and yet
rests upon its pedestal, time-worn, but time-honored. This man
was at the bead of tbe Indian confederacy, and had acquired an
influence over his countrymen, such as had never before been
seen, and such as we may not expect to see again. To form a
just estimate of bis character, we must judge him by the circum
stances in which he was placed; by the profound ignorance and
barbarism of his people ; by his own destitution of all education
and information ; and by the jealous, fierce and intractable spirit
of his Compeers. When measured by this standard, we shall
find few of the men whose names are familiar to us more

216 LIFE AND TIMES
remarkable for all tbey purposed and achieved than Pontiac.,
Were bis race destined to endure until the mists of antiquity
could gather round his days and deeds, tradition would dwell
upon his feats as it has done in tbe Old World upon all who,, in
the infancy of nations, have been prominent actors for evil or for
good. Pontiac was an Ottawa, arid had . been a celebrated and
successful warrior.. His virtues seem to, have been his own, and
bis vices those of his age and nation. Major Rogers, who con
ducted to Detroit the first British detachment, was met upon
his route by Pontiac and his warriors. He states that the chief
sent to demand why he entered his country, and informed him
that be stood in the path, and tbat the troops could not proceed
until their object wills satisfactorily explained. At an interview
between them, the British commander assured him his object
was not to claim the country, but to remove from it the French
troops, who had prevented a friendly intercourse between the
English and the Indians. Proper belts were interchanged, and
the desired permission was given. Pontiac issued a currency
which was received by tbe French settlers and faithfully, re
deemed by him. These bills of credit were drawn upon bark,
and represented the article which had been delivered to him,
and were authenticated by the figure of an otter—the totem of
his family.
," Pontiac meditated a sudden and cotemporaneous attack upon
all the British posts on these lakes, and upon the forts at Niagara,
Presque Isle, La Boeuf, "Venango, and Pittsburgh. His design
was to carry them by treachery, and to massacre their garrisons.
He then intended to take possession of the country, and to op
pose the introduction of British force. He calculated that these
successes would give confidence to all the tribes and unite them
in a general confederacy. His first object was to gain his own
tribe and tbe warriors who generally attended him. Topics to
engage their attention and inflame their passions could not be
wanting. A belt was exhibited, wbicb he pretended to have re
ceived from the King of France, urging him to drive the British
from the country, and to open the paths for the return of the
French. The British troops had not endeavored to conciliate the
Indians, and mutual causes of complaint existed. Some of the
Ottawas had beeri disgraced by blows. But, above all, the Brit
ish were intruders in the country, and would ere long conquer

OF LEWIS CASS. 217
the Indians as they had conquered the French, and wrest from
them their lands.
" After these topics bad been skillfully managed, a great council
was convened at tbe River Aux Ecorces, where Pontiac addressed
the Indians with equal eloquence and effect. He called to his
aid their prevalent superstition, and related a dream, in which
the Great Spirit had recently disclosed to a Delaware Indian
tbe conduct be expected his red children to pursue. I shall not
occupy your time by a recital of the various circumstances attend
ing the translation of this 6eer from earth to heaven. They were
distinctly narrated by Pontiac, and such is the effect of supersti
tion upon the human mind, that they were perhaps related with
as much good faith as they were received. In the interview be
tween the Great Spirit and his chosen minister to the Indians,
minute instructions were given for their conduct in this, the pe
culiar crisis of their fate. They were directed to abstain from
ardent spirits, and cast from them the manufactures of the white
man ; to resume their bows and arrows, and the skins of the ani
mals for clothing. ' And why,' said the Great Spirit, indignantly,
to the Delaware, ' why do you suffer these dogs in red clothing
to enter your country and take the land I gave you ? Drive
them from it, and when you are in distress, I will help you.'
" The speech of Pontiac, and the dream of the Delaware, pro
duced a powerful effect upon the wild and reckless multitude, who
listened eagerly to the tale of their wrongs, and the offer of revenge.
A plan of operation was concerted, and belts and speeches were
sent to secure tbe co-operation of the Indians along the whole line
of the frontier." —
Thus discoursed General Cass to the Historical Society of Mich
igan. Of a capacious mind, and unusual retentive memory, he
has made it a rule of his life, when not otherwise engaged, to busy
himself in acquiring information and knowledge from reading,
observation, and mingling with his neighbors and friends. The
history of the western country he had garnered iri his mind.
Whatever there was of tradition, to the minutest detail, was his ;
whatever of value had been written by the early travelers, he had
attentively perused, and reflected upon. As with the imperfect
history of other countries, so with this ; the searcher after truth
finds much chaff, and much judgment was requisite to-separate the
truth from imposition. He had improved the many opportunities

218 LIFE AND TIMES
that came in his way, to unriddle many a curious story; and, on
the occasion of this anniversary, the society had the full, benefit
of all this. His discourse was, of itself, a concise and beautiful
history of the great region in which its members dwelt; and, as
such, was most sacredly treasured up in the archives of the society.
General Cass was now frequently invited to deliver addresses
in the Territory where he resided, and in the adjoining States,
and very frequently gratified his admirers by an acceptance., In
the following year of 1830, the Alumni of Hamilton College, in
the State of New Tork, gave him a very urgent invitation to de
liver an address at their anniversary meeting, on the twenty-fifth
of August. This, in those days, was some distance for him to go
for such a purpose. The invitation, however, was warmly urged
by the graduates of that institution, and he accepted it. He ful
filled the appointment on the designated day ; and in the address
which he delivered on that occasion, displayed an affluence of
reading and reflection, which evinced an elevated literary taste,
and proved his intimate, acquaintance with most of the depart
ments of human knowledge. A stranger to his earlier history
would have supposed it to have been a difficult task for him to
perform, with any degree of credit to himself or them, employed
as he had been then, for upwards of twenty years, in the life and
cares of the wilderness, and its savage tenants. But when the
reader is informed that he had been previously admitted an hon
orary member of the American Philosophical Society, in Phila
delphia ; of the New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Indiana His
torical Societies ; of the American Antiquarian Society, and the
Columbian Institute, the only surprise wilL, probably, be that the
children of this Alma Mater were so fortunate in their selection
of an orator.
"Your favorable regard," said he, "has called me from the
land of Pontiac and Tecumseh, to this ancient seat of Iroquois
power and ambition. The generation has not wholly passed away t
Which beheld that fierce confederacy in possession of your fair and
fertile regions ; which saw the war-flag upon your hills, and heard
the war-song in your valleys. And there are many, yet in the
vigor of manhood, who recollect, at a much later period, that, in
the country beyond you ; in that great plain which still stretcheg
onward as we follow it, and which now teems with industry and
enterprise and civilization, the wandering Indian held undisputed

OF LEWIS CASS. 219
dominion, and made bis home and his grave where there was'rio
pale man to claim the one, nor to disturb the other. But now- the
feeble remnants of this primitive race are strangers in the. land
of their fathers. In their own language, they are traveling to the
setting sun, leaving their inheritance to us and our children. The
fall of a high spirited people always presents a subject of melan
choly reflection. But the causes which, for generations, have been
exerting their influence upon our aboriginal population, are yet in
active operation ; and regret them as we may and must, they will
go onward to their work. Our solitary rivers will yet be ascended,
our forests subdued, our prairies reclaimed, and civilization and
improvement will assert their empire, until they are checked, as
in other times and countries they have been checked,. by great
social or political revolutions."
Speaking of the power of education —
" But as the great mass of mankind is instructed, and public
opinion enlightened, a moral force is exerted, wliich governments
dare not resist. The schoolmaster is a more powerful antagonist
than the soldier, and the alphabet a more efficient weapon than
the bayonet.- The nations of Christendom are members of one
great family. Such is the intercourse of commerce and science,
that the proceedings of every government are obtained, discussed,
arid judged throughout the civilized world. If a hostile gun is
fired upon tbe Ganges, tbe echo is heard upon the Mississippi.
If the Egyptian, reversing the tide of ancient conquest, plants the
crescent upon the Parthenon, sweeping over the land of Miltiades
and Aristides with a spirit of ruthless barbarism, which leaves to
Greece neither the evidence of her past civilization nor the hopes
of her future, neither her monuments nor her children, her suf
ferings are felt arid deplored, wherever our countrymen have sub
dued the forest or reclaimed the prairie.
" Where is the man so elevated as not to quail before this uni
versal gaze ? Even tbe wayward child of fortune, who was insu
lated in his career and fate, no less than in the scenes of his birth
and death, fell before the public opinion of Europe, which he had
despised and provoked. The banners of the continental princes
would never have crossed the Rhine had not the spirit of their
people been roused ; and among the remarkable events of that
portentous era, when Europe arrayed itself against France, there
was nothing which marked the aspect of the times more strongly

220 LIFE AND TIMES
than the zeal everywhere displayed by the people. They marched
in the van of their governments, and actually forced their way to
war." Of the periodical press, he remarked :
" The wish of Archimedes is realized, and a place, is found
where the world can be moved. Only a century and a half has
passed away since the introduction of newspapers, and, during
many years, their progress was slow and doubtful. In their in
fancy there was little to commend them to public regard. They
were mere chronicles of passing events, recording everything with
equal gravity, whether trifling or important. There were no en
larged views, no interesting speculations, no elaborate discussions,
political or statistical. But as they attained, maturity, their char
acter gradually changed, and they became what they now are —
the repositories of all that is important in the progress of- human
affairs, and of much that is valuable in science and literature.
Their duration is now beyond the reach of fraud or force. In
India, in Iceland, in Australia, at the Cape of Good Hope, in
regions first known to history, and in those which history has yet
to visit, these periodical messengers are sent abroad to instruct, to
restrain, and to punish. Knowledge is diffused with certainty,
promptness, and accuracy.- The conduct of rulers is scrutinized ;
the course of their policy is investigated ; a moving map of the
world is spread before the community ; and literature, science,
and the arts, are carried to the remotest verge of civilization. In
republics they are the safeguards of freedom ; in monarchies they
are jealous sentinels, prompt to discern and fearless to announce
approaching danger ; and, in all governments, they are the nerves
which convey sensation through the political body. Benefits, when
common, are rarely appreciated, and the natural elements around
us are among the choicest blessings of life, which we enjoy without
reflection, but which we could not lose without destruction. If
the periodical press, witb its rich treasures of intelligence and
science, were struck from existence, we should then know how
much we had possessed by feeling how much we had lost.
"Had this great source of public instruction and information
existed in the old world, how different might have been its des
tiny, and how rich the lessons of experience transmitted to us !
How precious would be a newspaper, printed at the epoch of
some of the memorable events which have come down to us in

OF LEWIS CASS. 221
'thoughts that breathe and words that burn.' A gazette of
Sparta or Athens, wheri Xerxes was upon the Hellespont, or
Leonidas at Thermopylae, would be a treasure far beyond the
marble monuments which yet look out upon the ruins around
them. The hopes, the fears, the efforts, the sacrifices of Greece,
would be before us, not disguised in the impassioned strains of
her poets, nor in the eloquent but partial narrations of her histo
rians, but as they marked the approaching danger and the alter
ations of popular feeling. And with equal interest should we
gaze upon a similar monument of the literature and fortunes of
Rome, when domestic discord or foreign armies shook her power
but not her resolution ; when her citizens retreated to the sacred
mount, or her great Carthagenian enemy swept her eagles from
the field of Cannae. It is impossible to look upon those great
events, familiar to us. from infancy, but seen through a mirage
which distorts while it magnifies, without being sensible of the
absence of many of those peculiar traits which give life to the
picture of modern times. The orators, statesmen, and philoso
phers, are actors upon a stage, dressed in theatrical costume, and
performing the parts assigned them. But of their private lives,
of their peculiar opinions and feelings, and of the moving inci
dents which appealed to all and swayed all, little has been
recorded, and little can be known. Of general facts, we have
enough, and more than enough. Armies, and battles, and victo
ries, are forever before us, as though we had nothing to learn but
the splbndor of conquest and the utter disregard in which human
life was held. All that is wanting to complete our knowledge of
antiquity, these publications would have furnished. We should
have entered the private dwellings of thbse who, twenty centuries
ago, were as anxious about the cares of this life as we are. Their
domestic circles would have been open to us, their conjugal and
parental and filial relations disclosed, and the whole constitution
of their society revealed. The meagre details of manners and
customs, now gleaned from the comic writers, would be dis
regarded in the general view presented to us. Time would
be annihilated, as the steam engine is annihilating space, and
nations, as remote in age as in position, would be brought
together. "But these are advantages peculiar to the age in which we
live. The invention of Cadmus still retains all its value, but it is

222 LIFE AND TIMES
almost the only debt which the diffusion of modern knowledge
owes to the genius of antiquity. And when we recall the circum
stances which formerly retarded the progress of letters, we may
well be surprised that so much was done for the great cause of
literature ; and that in history, in poetry, in elocution^ the works
which have descended to us yet excite the admiration of man
kind. They are models for imitation, rather than efforts to be
equaled. The slow and expensive process by which alone manu
scripts could be multiplied, necessarily limited tbe circulation of
works to the wealthier portion of society ; and it is recorded, that,
for three small treatises, Plato paid a sum equal to sixteen hundred
dollars of our money. When the field of fame was thus limited,
only an arderit devotion to literature could stimulate to exertion.
Greece indeed affords, in one of her institutions, a noble theater
for display : and when all that was wise, and learned, and vene
rable, through her confederated states, assembled at the Olympic
games, and listened to the poets and historians who recited their
admirable productions, life could afford no reward more grateful
or enduring.
"In our own country, we may attribute the general progress
of political information to the introduction of periodical publica
tions, and to the admirable system of posts by which theyi are
distributed to every portion of the republic. Our country is
intersected in all directions by routes, along which the deposit
ories of intelligence are conveyed. From the Lakes to the Gulf
of Mexico, and from the Penobscot to the Missouri, these avenues
of knowledge are pouring out their rich treasures before the com
munity. The tenant of the remotest log cabin, upon the very
verge of civilization, is within the reach of newspapers recording
the passing history of the world. The able debate which, at the
last session of Congress, fixed the eyes of the nation upon the
Senate, was watched with equal anxiety in every part of the land.
The talents and opinions of those who mingled in the controversy
were as well known upon the frontier as at the capital. Tho
grave questions of constitutional law, so elaborately discussed,
furnished topics of conversation and argument throughout the
confederacy. The general spirit of inquiry, co-operating with
the facility afforded for its indulgence, renders the whole body
of our citizens spectators of the proceedings of the government.
The walls of the capitol are, in effect, broken down, and the

OF LEWIS CASS. 223
national representatives perform their duties upon a vast arena,
where their .measures are all visible to those who gave, and can
take from them, their political life. It is difficult to estimate
too highly tbe effect of this surveillance upon tbe character and
duration of our country."
Turning his attention to the power of knowledge and education
upon tbe political institutions of the various nations of the world,
he proceeds to say :
" Representative bodies are gaining strength where they exist,
and they are coming into existence where they have heretofore
been unknown. With the knowledge of their rights, comes the
feeling of their strength. The uses and abuses of governments
are now freely investigated, and men begin to wonder that they
hive so long submitted to unjust pretensions, founded neither in
reason nor utility, neither in the good they promise nor in that
which they perform. Time and opinion sanctify many errors;
and the 'pomp and circumstance' of a throne have often pre
served the authority, if not the life, of the occupant. But he
who raised thrones and demolished them as easily as he fought
battles and gained them, said (and the lesson is now spreading
through the world) that 'they were wooden seats covered with
velvet.' Their splendid drapery can not much longer conceal
tbe truth. It would be arrogant for us to judge what forms of
government are best suited to the condition of the European
States; and we should contradict many of the lessons which
history has furnished, were we to affirm that monarchies, pro
perly administered, can not protect the rights and promote the
happiness of their people. . But we may well look forward to
the tinie when such- governments, restrained by limitations they
can not pass, and acknowledging the influence of public opinion,
shall exercise their powers in a spirit of justice and forbearance. ¦
And that tiriie must come, and come speedily. It has been said,
and with some truth, that the affairs of no nation can be very
badly administered, where a body of men, no matter how consti
tuted, or by whom elected, have the right to assemble^ and freely
and publicly investigate the proceedings of the government. But
how much more efficacious are the general extension of education
and the productions of the press ? Instead of receiving impres
sions from those who are too often interested in the prevalence of
erroneous ones, an enlightened community forms iftipressions for

224 LIFE AND TIMES
itself. For a time, the ramparts erected in many countries against
this great enemy of arbitrary power, may prevent the approach
of instruction and information. But these defenses must give
way. They will fall as many prouder monuments have fallen ;
and knowledge, freedom, and science will march over them, not
as northern nations entered the capital of the world, to enslave
and destroy, but to redeem, to enlighten, and to protect. Even
the great Russian Iceberg, which is already, the terror of Europe,
has felt the genial influence of knowledge and science; and let
us hope that it will dissolve beneath their power, before it reaches
the plains of France and Italy, Signs of approaching change
begin to be visible among the votaries of Islamism : and happy
will it be for the nations possessing that faith, if they can be
brought to perceive their moral and political degradation; to
exchange the pilgrimage to Mecca for excursions into the regions
of knowledge and science. We might then hope that the stern
character of Mahomet would regenerate the descendants of those
mighty warriors who subdued the empire of the east, and carried
the horse tails to the capital of tbe west. Nor can we be indif
ferent to the progress of the fortunate soldier who sits upon the
throne of the Pharaohs, Centuries of darkness and servitude
have rested upon the land of the Nile ; the cradle of the arts and
sciences, it has long been their tomb. Its history, like the source
of the mighty river which gives it fertility, eludes our research,
and its monuments have survived the memory of their founders
and the objects of their construction. Even here, the light of
knowledge is penetrating ; and its pyramids may yet be gilded by
the setting rays of the sun of science, as in the infancy of, the
world they were gilded by its rising beams.
"And Greece, too, is awakening from the slumber of ages. She
has cast from her the incubus of Turkish despotism, and is again
displaying that standard which triumphed at Marathon and Sala-
mis. .And who has not deplored her sufferings, and rejoiced at
her emancipation ? And what prouder triumph have knowledge
and science ever gained, than the imperishable fame which the
deeds of her statesmen and warriors, the works of her artists, and
the productions of her poets, and historians, and philosophers,
have conferred upon the land of Homer, of Aristides, and of Epam-
inondas ? A region of country not larger than some of our coun
ties, has riveted the attention of the world for twenty centuries.

OF LEWIS CASS. 225
To this day our earliest recollections are giveri to ber history, our
earliest associations to her fame and fortune. In boyhood we
study the story of her rise and fall ; in manhood we deduce from
it lessons of practical wisdom ; and in age we revert to it as an
interesting chapter in the general history of the human family."
He pays a passing tribute to enterprise and commerce :
" Stimulating all to exertion, and every portion of the habitable
globe has been explbred. The causes of war are decreasing, and
the desire to engage in it, by princes and people, diminishing.
Ambition, indeed, is as reckless as ever, but no future warrior
will reach an Indus, beyond which there are no worlds to conquer.
And national glory is a meteor, yet mistaken by many for the
fountain of light. National glory! The glory of destruction, and
not of preservation ; of want, of suffering, of misery, and not of
abundance, of enjoyment, of prosperity ; of death, and not of life.
We may hope that this splendid pageant is passing from before
the eyes of mankind. It will leave impressions not less sad than
salutary. Of the productive industry of the ancients we have
very imperfect notions. Their historians seem unwilling to leave
the great highways of war, and battles, and splendid national
affairs, and explore the by-ways which led to private life, and
manners, and employments. Statistical researches were almost
unknown, and exactness in political science unheeded."
In commenting upon the various improvements and discoveries
in the arts and sciences, and contrasting the present with former
ages, he finally reaches astronomy ; and of this he says :
"There is nothing within the whole range ofthe human imagi
nation which so forcibly impresses upon us just conceptions of the
infinite power of Him who made, and preserves, and may destroy
these works of bis hands ; perhaps for purposes unknown to us, and
to be replaced by others, as these may have succeeded a more
ancient creation. The telescope has drawn these worlds towards
us. It has shown that points of matter, many of them scarcely
visible to the naked eye, are among the most stupendous works
of Providence ; while a kindred instrument baa revealed to us a
World of animated beings, near us, indeed, and around us, but
utterly unknown till the invention, of the microscope. Where
these discoveries are 'to end no man can tell. Already have we
passed the boundaries prescribed to unassisted nature, and brought
the greatest arid the smallest, the nearest and the most remote of

226 LIFE AND TIMES
God's works within our view. , We may yet ascertain that many
portions of matter, apparently inanimate, are congeries of living
beings, performing the functions assigned to them, and each en
joying his allotted share of happiness. But the mind withdraws
from these speculations, overpowered by their immensity and
infinitude, and seeks relief in the contemplation of other objects."
But of these arts and sciences be observes :
" They do not constitute the only irielioration which has taken
place in the condition of human life. Pestilence, famine, and
conflagration were vials of wrath which were poured out upon the
ancient world, but which have been rendered almost innoxious by
the progress of useful knowledge. I will not hold up to your
view such facts, scattered over the records of history, as show the
sufferings formerly inflicted upon mankind, bythe frequency and
extent of these terrible calamities, through the successive eras of
human woe ; from the famine ' which was over all the face of the
earth,' when the sons of the patriarch went down to Egypt to buy
corn, that they ' might live and not die ; ' and the contagion which
carried death into every family of Israel, while the messenger of
divine wrath punished the pride of the ruler and the people, down
to the memorable conflagration of Rome, kindled by the imperial
monster, who then filled the throne, that he might sing upon his
lyre the destruction of Troy, while a greater than Troy was burn
ing around him. These visitations mark every chapter of the
•history of nations, , and their baleful effects have been felt in mod
ern times. But science and the arts have interposed themselves
between these destructive agents and their victims ; they stand
between the living and the dead, mighty to protect, if not to
overcome." He unrolls the historical canvas of the middle ages, and. geo
graphically describes the low condition of man and mind in that
benighted period of human existence. He speaks of the dawn of
another sun in the intellectual firmament, and the fresh impulse
given to mutual improvement ; but adds :
" Let usindignantly discard the utilitarian doctrine which would
teach us to estimate the value of all improvement by its power of
application to the acquisition of wealth, or to the business pursuits
of life. There is already enough of selfishness in human nature,
without making this principle of action the foundation of our
knowledge, and the object and reward of moral and intellectual

OF LEWIS CASS. 227
cultivation. To eradicate this great motive of exertion would be
impossible were it attempted, and injurious were it possible. But
it is the part of true wisdom to circumscribe tbe sphere of its
operation, and to guide and control its application^ that it may
furnish a moral stimulus in the performance of the duties of life,
and not an intoxicating draught, paralyzing the faculties, or pre
senting but one object for their contemplation.
" The powers wbicb Providence has given have been wisely
given for action and enjoyment. Judgment, taste, genius, imagi
nation, these endowments : were bestowed that they might be
employed, cultivated, and improved. They are among the purest
elements of human happiness, and the pleasures they bring are
rational, innocent, and enduring. They quicken and invigorate
that sensibility which is one of the best safeguards of virtue ; which
adds to the power of conscience and tbe fear of responsibility, the
restraining dread of self-abasement."
Omitting no topic which naturally came within tbe proposed
scope of this intellectual effort, be expresses the opinion that this
country has little to fear from overgrown fortunes and general
luxury ; and that we may look, without apprehension, to the
progress and cultivation of every branch of literature and all the
departments of the arts. His own language is preferable.
." The state of society in our own country, as well as some of
the fundamental principles of our political institutions, is happily
opposed to this, tbe last and worst calamity of decrepit nations.
Distinctions of rank are unknown among us, and the distinctions
of wealth, where wealth confers them, are soon scattered to the
winds by that tendency to distribution which is one Of the origi
nal laws impressed upon our system. No legal barriers are
erected, behind which imbecility and profligacy can secure them
selves from tbe just consequences of their improvidence. Estates
are left to be preserved or lost, as those who possess them may
be prudent or profligate. Our statutes of conveyance, and of
inheritance, and distribution, are some of the peculiar character
istics of our condition, which promise permanence and stability
to our government and institutions. They are not indeed among
the declarations of natural rights and political principles which
our fathers, in the hour of trial and danger, committed, with
their own lives and fortunes, to the course of events, and which
have since been engrafted into our own written constitutions ; but

228 LIFE AND TIMES
arribng all these splendid truths, there is, perhaps, not one des
tined to produce a more permanent effect upon the character and
prospects of our country and countrymen, than the regulations
which govern the conveyance and descent of property. Wise in
their principles, and more salutary in their operation, than the
septennial reversion of the Jews, or the agrarian law of Rome;
they leave to individuals proper motives for exertion, and the just
rewards of their industry and enterprise in the accumulation of
wealth ; while, in the freedom from all restraint, except the will
of the owner, they ensure its distribution among the community
in good time and without violence. The innumerable streams of
private wealth, as they pass along to fertilize the land, succes
sively increase, and diminish, and disappear, leaving new foun
tains to spring up and new channels to be opened."
And as he draws this profound and beautifully written address
to its close, he proceeds tq say :
" The works of genius, the noble inheritance which antiquity
has bequeathed to us, furnish objects of study and models of
thought for our youth. Long may they continue to appreciate
their value ; to draw intellectual wealth from these rich treasures
of taste, and learning. There is a period in human life when the
memory is plastic and the judgment weak; when facts can be
Collected and deposited in the great mental store-bouse, to be ex
amined, and selected, and combined, after the other faculties
have gained strength and maturity. This is the time for the
acquisition of the ancient languages — time which may be profit
ably devoted to these and kindred pursuits, without any sacrifice
of those other great objects of education which require the co
operation of the higher powers of tbe understanding.
*' The philosophy of speech is itself one of the most interesting
objects of human contemplation, and the structure of languages
is intimately connected with the character and condition of the
people by whom they are spoken. Greece and Rome have left
in the modern; tongues many witnesses of their own, and it will
not be denied, that a full knowledge of the English language can
not be; obtained without a general acquaintance with these ancient
languages. Their artificial and transpositive arrangement, render
ing many inflections necessary to their comprehension, and sacri
ficing simplicity to euphony, is a curious subject of. speculation,
and exhibits one of the most striking characteristic differences

OF LEWIS CASS. 229
between ancient and modern nations. These views are sufficient
to redeem our schools from the imputation of an unprofitable ap
plication of their time to barren and useless pursuits. But their
justification, if justification be necessary, rests' upon other and
higher considerations. The learning of the ancient world, its sen
timents, experience, and feelings, are embodied in those imperish
able productions of Grecian and Italian genius which have come
down to us as fresh and green as when they first excited the ad
miration of mankind, , Those fortunate and favored regions, kin
dred indeed in the bounties which nature has given them, but
rivals in arts, in arms, and in fame, were the repositories of
much tbat was valuable in human life, and the theater of almost
all that was splendid in human action. They are yet the high-
places of the earth, where pilgrims from every land go up to sur
vey the dilapidated memorials of taste and genius which adorn
their solitary spots, and to meditate upon the instability of hu
man power where the foundations of power were tbe deepest and
strongest. "But there are monuments of Grecian and Roman power
which no barbarism can overthrow, and where no tainted breeze
can carry desolation. These are the trophies of peace and not of
war : the triumphs of opinion and not of force. To us and to our
youth, who inhabit a land beyond the world of Strabo and
Ptolemy, these meinorials of departed greatness and knowledge
are the more precious because tbey furnish the only bond of con
nection between this western hemisphere and the early abodes of
science and freedom. We can not survey the plains of Marathon,
and strengthen our patriotism by its glorious recollections. Nor
can we view the scenes of ancient martyrdom, and there find our
piety elevated by the contemplation of the faith arid courage
which sent many of the early Christians through tortures to
death, and through death to their reward. These associations are
wisely giveri, and where they may, let them be profitably em
ployed. But we can recall the events which laid those lovely
regions desolate, and can bless God tbe more fervently for the,
country, and government, and religion He has given us. We
can draw lessons of wisdom from the past, and if the future is
beyond our view, we may still learn to indulge in useful
anticipations. " As time passes over us, it will consecrate the scenes of our

230 LIFE AND TIMES
own memorable events, where courage, and constancy, and pa
triotism devoted themselves nobly and generously to the cause
of their country, in the days of her trial and dangetr. Your State
contains its full share of these sacred spots, and not the least in
teresting is in your own vicinity. The stream which gives
beauty to the landscape around, and which now flows through a
peaceful and prosperous region, once saw the advance of a Chris
tian banner, surrounded by civilized and savage forces; prepared
to do those deeds of horror which, we may trust, will never again
desolate our. frontiers. The great lakes which stretch along your
borders have been the scenes of desperate conflicts ; and even
now, as the traveler proceeds up Lake Erie, be points to its west
ern islarids as the Greek patriot points to the Gulf of Salamis ; to
the place where the lamented Perry gained his victory with Spar
tan courage and made his report with Spartan brevity. There
no monument can be erected, in its freshness to gratify our pride,
nor in its decay to hallow our recollections. The waves roll, and
will roll, over it ; but whoever passes by with no kindling emo
tion, novdesire to recall tbe glorious story, nor to associate its inci
dents with the islands and shores around him, no determination
to follow the bright example of those who there triumphed in
life and death, let him distrust his own heart, and let his country
distrust him."
The attendance of the Alumni of Hamilton College on this oc
casion was numerous ; and in the evening, Gerrit Smith, presi
dent, in the chair, tbey unanimously passed the following
resolutions :
'¦'¦Resolved, That the thanks of the Association be presented to
His Excellency Governor Cass, for the able and eloquent address
this day delivered by him.
'¦'•Resohed, That Governor Cass be requested to furnish a copy
of the address for publication.
'¦'¦Resohed, That Theodore S. Gold, Charles P. Kirkland, and
Samuel D. Darkin, be a committee to communicate the preceding
resolutions to Governor Cass." -
As a further token of respect, he subsequently received from
Hamilton College the honorary degree of LL.D.

OF LEWIS CASS. 231

CHAPTER XY.
General Cass resigns the Office of Governor — President Jackson invites General Cass to the Head
of the War Department — His Acceptance — Public Demonstration at Detroit— Address pf Major
Biddle in behalf of People of Michigan— The Reply— Ihe Congratulations.
In July, 1831, General Cass resigned his office as Governor
of Michigan. He had administered the government for a period
of nearly eighteen years, with signal ability. He had been
appointed six tiriies, — running through the presidency of Mr.
Madison, Mr. Monroe, and John Quincy Adams, — without a
single i representation againgt him from the people in all that
time, or a single vote against him in the Senate. Our terri
torial history contains no ' similar mark of confidence. As his
first appointment in 1813 was wholly unexpected, so was each
renewal entirely unsolicited. In fact, his administration was con
ducted with so much wisdom, and gave such universal satisfaction
to the people, that tbey regarded his continuance as a matter of ,
course. He had faithfully discharged the duties of bis Indian
Superintendency, of a wider circuit of country than any man
before or since has had under his direction, commencing with
over forty thousand Indians, and quite nine thousand warriors.
He had concluded nineteen treaties with the Indians, and acquired
large cessions in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin,
to an amount equal, perhaps,, to one-fourth part of the area of those
States, and each productive of important results to the government.
In all their villages, his name was familiar; and, in all his trans
actions with this wandering, peculiar race of people, he acted with
a just and enlightened regard for their interests, and took good
care that they should not suffer wrong. No treaty negotiated by
him was ever rejected by the Senate, nor was a representation
ever made against one of 'them by the Indians — a rare occur
rence, and one which is no doubt owing to the great fairness and
justice of the proceeding. He was often pained to listen to their
tales of suffering, resulting from the avarice of the trader, and
frequently interposed tbe executive arm, to shield them from.

232 LIFE AND TIMES
imposition. He bad been to them, indeed, what he professed,
as the representative of the government, namely, their father. So
they regarded him, and so they meant, when, in addressing him,
they gave him that title. Consequently, bis influence' was un
bounded ; and, by not using that influence for personal purposes,
he retained their confidence and friendship. Had not this been
the case, he would have fallen far short of accomplishing - so
much good for the benefit of bis country. He has had more
official business with the Indians than any other man. Soon an
adept in his knowledge of their character, he knew how to com
port, himself, as we have seen, on any occasion and emergency.
Prompt and punctual in all his engagements with them, it all
resulted to the good of the people, When be began his adminis
tration, he found the country small in white population, without
resources, and in a deplorable state ; the devastations of war
were felt and seen in all directions : he left it with a wide
spread population, and thriving with unrivaled prosperity.
t One other illustrative fact may be worth narrating, as it shows
the difficulties which beset bis intercourse with the Indians, arising, •
out ,of their peculiar opinions. To deceive the whites is a most
justifiable action, in the estimation of the Indians; very little
dependence can be placed upon their statements when they have
the least temptation to deceive. In the Lake Superior country,
in 1820, General Cass was traveling with an interpreter and one
or two other white ;men and some Indians. Ascending a hill,,
they suddenly came upon a large bear, which had been caught
in a trap, — a heavy log, slightly held up, and with a bait, by
touching which- it falls. The bear was held by his hind legs, but'
was very strong and ferocious. One of the Indians immediately
shpt him in the head ; and as soon as he had done so, and ascer
tained that he was dead, he walked up to him, and taking him
by the paw, he shook it, exclaiming, — "It was not me that killed
you ; it was those white men." The Indians have some supersti
tious notion attached to the killing of a bear, fearing that under
some circumstances, when he knows who occasioned his death, he'.
will disturb his hunting-grounds in those regions where they think
bears and Indians must all finally go. The fearlessness of asser
tion, which belongs to Indian character, was strongly manifested
in this contradiction of the truth, made at the very moment of his
own action.

OF LEWIS CASS. 238
Andrew Jacksbn had entered upon the duties of the Presi
dency of the United States on tbe fourth of March, 1829. As
his measures — especially upon tbe subject ofthe tariff, internal
improvements, and finance — would differ from those of bis im
mediate predecessor, be called around him a new list of cabinet
counsellors, and the former heads of Departments retired from
office with Mr. Adams. This new cabinet was selected from
among the many distinguished men who had supported the
claims of General Jackson in the presidential contest of 1828,
and all were members of that political party which, by common
consent, was called the Democratic, having, for its immutable
base, the governmental doctrines enunciated by Mr. Jefferson
thirty years before. It bad been reported in many of the news
papers, that the cabinet of his predecessor had not harmonized
upon all questions ; and to avoid collisions of sentiment, as well
as to give his country the benefit of measures emanating from
many minds, but united in one, General Jackson resolved, at the
outset, that his cabinet must be a unit. With this view, the '
States of New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia,-
Tennessee, and Kentucky, furnished his counsellors. Martin Yan
Buren, who had been inaugurated Governor on tbe first of Janu
ary previous,, came from New York, and took charge of the State
Department. The foreign relations Of our country were in an
unsettled condition ; and to be managed with national pro
priety and honor, great address and unremitting labor were
requisite. There were many complicated questions With the
British government to be adjusted; and the new Secretary of
State diligently endeavored to execute the task. After- the lapse
of several months, as well for the purpose of closing these open
questions more speedily as to dissipate the mist which, quite un
necessarily, seemed to shroud the domestic relations of many of
the officers of government, Mr. Yan Buren, in the winter of 1831,
resigned the port-folio of State, and was appointed Minister to
London. This vacancy disturbed the equilibrium of tbe cabinet
as originally cast, and tbe other members, with the exception of
Mr. Barry, resigned. It, therefore, became necessary for the
President to form a new'cabinet, but its re-construction was not
completed until the August following.
General Jackson was aware that much was expected from him
by a large majority of the American people; and that it was an

234 LIFE AND TIMES
imperative duty to call around him the ablest talent, united to
long tried experience. He- had favorably known General Cass
since 1806. He bad aided Mr. Jeffersori in the south-west, the
same as General Cass had done in the north-west. He^had de
fended New Orleans, when General Cass was defending Detroit.
The former had fought in the war of 1812 in the south-west, while
the latter sustained the flag of tbe nation in the region of the
lakes. And although since then, General Cass had been with
drawn from the arena of party politics outside of his Territory,
yet his political sentiments were well known.
The President was pre-eminent over his cotemporaries in his
ready perception of the character and capacity of others ; and
believing, undoubtedly, that General Cass' mind and experience
would be of paramount service, he called him to the head of the
War Department. The invitation was accepted, and General
Cass entered upon his new duties in August, 1831. With him
was associated in this new cabinet, Edward Livingston, of Louis
iana, in the State Department; Louis McLane,.of Maryland, in
the Treasury ; Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire, in the Navy;
Mr. Barry, of Kentucky, as Postmaster-General ; and Roger B.
Taney, of Maryland, as Attorney-General. All these gentlemen
had been in public life, and were eminent for their business capa
cities, integrity, and devotion to the Union.
But the people of Michigan, over whom be had presided for
so many years, regretted the separation : they preferred, for them
selves, that be should continue with them. He commenced his
official career with them, when gloom covered tbe land : among
them he had lived and associated through many a trying year,
and had served them in the triple capacity of ruler, adviser, and
friend ; and they were adverse to the severance of this personal
and political connexion. The invitation to join the venerable
patriot at Washington was equally unexpected to them and him.;
and General Cass, it is almost needless to add, fully appreciated
the responsibilities of this new position. Yet, the same sense of
duty which induced him, in 1813, to exchange the comforts ofa
civilized home in Ohio, for the hazards and privations of frontier
life v in Michigan, now prompted him to obey the voice of his
cbuntry, through her Chief Magistrate, summoning him to a
more elevated and extended sphere of action.
His fellow-citizens, however, were unwilling that he should go

OF LEWIS CASS. 235
out from among them, unaccompanied by some token of their
approbation and friendship, and on the eve of his departure from
Detroit, they tendered him the compliment of a public dinner.
And the proceedings on this memorable occasion are evidence so
unmistakable of their attachment to him, that a perusal will afford
a more correct view of tbe relations existing between the distin
guished guest and his many friends, than any other mode of
narration. The address of Major John Biddle, who presided on the occa
sion, was as follows :
" Youe Excellency : — Our fellow-citizens have assigned fo me
the office of expressing the sentiments which your intended depart
ure from among them has universally called forth. To be the
organ of conveying to you these sentiments is a most grateful
duty, sympathizing, as I do, very sincerely in the general feeling.
" Many of us have witnessed your administration of the affairs
of this Territory for a series of years, which embrace a large por
tion of the active period of life. The situation is one of the most
difficult to which an American citizen can be called. The public
officer who is delegated, without the sanction of their suffrages,
over the affairs of a people elsewhere accustomed to exercise, in
its fullest extent, the right of self-government, is regarded with
no indulgent feelings. The relation is truly colonial, and the his
tory of territories, like ether colonial historf , has been too often a
mere chronicle of the feuds of the governing and the governed,
exhibiting a domineering and arbitrary temper on the one side,
met by a blind and intemperate opposition on the other.
" From the evils of such a state of things we have been happily
exempted. You have preserved harmony by wisely conceding to
public opinion that weight to which it is entitled under every
government, whatever may be its forms ; thus giving to your
measures the support of the only authority to which the habits
of American citizens will allow them cheerfully to submit. The
executive powers of the Territory haye been administered in the
spirit of republican habits and principles, too firmly fixed to yield
to temporary circumstances, leaving the people nothing to desire
but an occasion to manifest their approbation, by bestowing them
selves an authority so satisfactorily exercised.
" Of the manner in which yourself and most estimable family
have performed the courtesies, as well as the graver duties of

236 _ LIFE AND TIMES
private life, I will permit myself to 6ay no more than ,that it has
been duly appreciated, and has, left an impression not easily tp
he effaced.
lf- The people of Michigan will .long remember your zealous and
successful exertions to promote their welfare, and, if the present
separation should prove a final one, be assured that they will look,
with affectionate interest, to your future career, hoping that in a
more extended field of usefulness it may be as honorable to your
self; and as beneficial to your fellow-citizens, as that' has been
which you are now about to terminate. Allow me to propose :
" Lewis Cass— Health and happiness attend his future course.
May the people of the United States duly appreciate the talents
and integrity which Michigan has contributed to the public ser
vice of the Union."
This sentiment, so felicitously given, was received with vocifer
ous and prolonged cheers by the audience, which now crowded
the large dining-room of the hotel, and filled the doors and win
dows and the adjoining halls. Mr. Biddle struck a chord which
thrilled the heart of that large and intelligent assembly. The
Reading citizens of the Territory, without distinction of party, had
come to bid their Governor, of eighteen years', continuance, an
affectionate farewell., It was not a mere feast, or passing compli
ment; and their speaker, in the most simple and unadorned
language, bad given utterance to feelings and sensations which
alike animated all.
When the applause had partially subsided, their honorable
guest, most naturally affected by these evidences of warm attach
ment and earnest regard, falteringly rose from his seat, almost
wishing that his sense of public duty would permit him to remain
continually with his neighbors and friends, and responded as
follows :
" Fellow-Citizens : — I return my sincere thanks for this dis
tinguished mark of your regard, as well as for the very kind man
ner in which your sentiments have been conveyed to me by the
gentleman who has been called to preside at this festive board.
This numerous and respectable assemblage furnishes but another
manifestation of that kindness which has never deserted me,
during the period of eighteen years in which I have administered
the executive department of the territorial government, and under
many trying circumstances, both in peace and war. At the

OF LEWIS CASS. 237
Oommencement of that period, the Territory had just been rescued
from the grasp of an enemy. Its population was small, its
resources exhausted, its prospects cheerless. The operations , of
the war had pressed heavily upon it,, and scenes of suffering and
oppression had been exhibited, to which, in the annals of modern
warfare, we may vainly seek a parallel. We have only to look
around us to be sensible how great is the change which has since
taken place in our condition. The Peninsula has been explored
in every direction, and its advantages ascertained and developed.
" The current of emigration has reached us, and is spreading
over our forests and prairies. Settlements have been formed, vil
lages founded, and roads opened in every direction. All tbe
elements of social order and prosperity have been called into
action, and are combining to form another republic, almost pre
pared to ask admission into that confederacy which, protecting all
in its hour of security, may appeal to all in its hour of danger,
should danger ever approach it. This great advantage ,is due to
the intelligence, industry, and enterprise of our countrymen.
These causes will continue to operate, until the vast plain extend
ing from Lake Erie to Lake Michigan, shall furnish through its
whole extent, another example of the powerful effects of free
institutions upon the progress and prosperity of a country.
" I have been called, fellow-citizens, to another sphere of action.
To one where your generous confidence can not alone support me,
and where, I am apprehensive, I shall find the duties as far beyond
my abilities, as the appointment itself was beyond my expecta
tion. But wherever I may go, or whatever may await me, I shall
cherish with unfading recollection the events of this day, and the
sentiments you have expressed towards myself and towards those
whom nature and affection have made the nearest and dearest
to me. In severing the connection which has heretofore united
me to the Territory, permit me to thank you for all the kindness I
have received from you. I can claim only the merit of having
endeavored faithfully to execute the trust reposed in me, and if,.
at the termination of my long period of service, I leave you without
a party for or against the executive, tp your partiality, far more
than to my services, must this result be attributed. For that
forbearance, as well as for all other marks of your favor, and
especially for this, the latest and the last, I beg leave to express
my feelings in a sentiment :

238 LIFE AND TIMES
" The citizens of Michigan— May they be as prosperous as they
have been to me kind and generous.''
The great regret manifested by the inhabitants, on this occasion
of parting, ought not to be forgotten, and is, in itself, one of the
most convincing proofs bow eminently fit their friend was for
discharging the duty of a chief magistrate.
Seldom has it been the good1 fortune of a territorial governor,
clothed with the extraordinary powers conferred by the ordinance
of 1787, to retire from tbe station without some murmur of disap
probation reaching his ears, or without having afforded opportu
nities for tbe indulgence of unpleasant feelings. In this instance,
neither existed, and with that generosity of heart common to the
people of the west, which prompts them to render justice, did the
people of Michigan unhesitatingly proclaim their approbation of
the administration just closed.

OF LEWIS CASS. 239

CHAPTER XYI.
General Cass assumes the duties of Secretary of War— The Cabinet— Reforms Introduced— His Family
--His Indian Policy— His first Report— Indian Difficulties in Georgia— General Cass reviews the
Decision of the Supreme Court.
General Cass reached Washington with his family early in
August, 1831, and entered upon his duties of Secretary of War.
The successor of John H. Eaton, by resignation, his appointment
was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, on the thirtieth: of
December following.
This post of duty under the general government, was full of
responsibility and labor on all occasions ; but, as we shall soon
see, it was destined to be much more so for a few years to come.
Party spirit had reached an alarming hight, far exceeding any
that had hitherto occurred in the political annals of our country.
Men of solid intellect, far-reaching sagacity, and commanding
popular influence, were arraying themselves in formidable strength
against that man of single purpose and incorruptible integrity;
whom the sovereigns of tbe Republic had called from his lowly
home in Tennessee to the cares and responsibilities of the presi
dential mansion. Unfortunately, all will admit, as he was fairly
putting the ship of state on the democratic tack, it became neces
sary to exchange his crew, and tbat, too, in the midst of his voyage.
With what firmness and philosophy be met such an unexpected
crisis, is already embalmed in the eternal remembrance of the
civilized world.
Mr. Livingston had been one of the earliest and most efficient
advocates of the views of the democratic party, and the zealotis
co-laborer of Mr. Jefferson in its formation. General Jackson
was much attached to him, as well from early political association
as from later intercourse growing out of the campaign of New
Orleans, when Mr. Livingston was his volunteer aid-de-camp,
but in fact his trusted adviser in the difficult questions, legal and
others, growing out of the events of that stirring period. He was
a man of extensive information, of great powers of application,
of much simplicity of character, with acknowledged probity of

240 LIFE AND TIMES
purpose, and was, withal, a learned jurist. He had much to do
in the preparation of the celebrated proclamation of General
Jackson against nullification, and it is probable tbat that memo
rable state paper owes much of its arrangement to his cultivated
taste and vigorous style. But the views it embodies, and the
train of reasoning it pursues, are those of General Jackson,
marked with that power and clearness which were prominent
traits in his character, and many of its expressions betoken him
to be their author. His master-spirit pervaded the whole doc
ument. Mr. McLane enjoyed the confidence of General Jackson, and
merited it. He belongs to- the great statesmen of our country.
A prompt and fearless debater, a close reasoner and a sagacious
observer, joined to high intelligence, he had attracted public atten
tion by his efforts in Congress, and by bis diplomatic services
abroad, and he carried to, the two executive departments, over
which he presided in succession, the fruits of much experience,
and one of the clearest heads, and soundest hearts, that ever
entered the public service, and he well fulfilled the expectations
formed of him. He had great firmness of purpose, as well as
independence of character, and these were precisely the mental
traitsto attract the attention, and to ensure the esteem, of General
Jackson. When the question of the removal of the deposits was
under consideration, Mr. McLane and General Cass opposed the
measure in the cabinet deliberations, and upon all occasions,
when the subject came up, expressed to the President their disap
probation of the proposition. The argument prepared by Mr.
McLane, at General Jackson's request, was marked by strong
reasoning and extensive information ; but, as it found, so it left his
resolution, unshaken ; and it is a proof of his magnanimity, that
he never manifested the slightest disapprobation at the course of
Mr. McLane and General Cass in opposition to a favorite measure,
to the accomplishment of which he devoted all the energies of a
powerful will, aud of a mighty understanding. Both of these
gentlemen requested him to permit them to leave his cabinet, lest
their knowri opposition to the project might weaken the strength
of the administration. Their position is well known ; for all the v
circumstances were fully developed by Mr. Duane, then Secref
tary of the Treasury, in a publication made by him, and the coun
try was therefore fully aware of the diversity of views whieh

OF LEWIS CASS. 241
prevailed among the official advisers of the President upon this
subject, and of the discussions, not to say differences, to which
they gave rise. But General Jackson would not listen to a prop
osition for their retirement. He met the application with the
sternest refusal. He expressed the fullest confidence in the dis
sentients, and said that in calling for their opinions he did so in
good faith, and because he wanted their views upon so important
an occasion. These be had obtained, though he should follow his
own opinions and carry out the measure; he wished from them
neither the sacrifice of place nor opinion, but only when the
project was determined upon, its execution should be no longer
opposed. The deposits were removed, and time has pronounced its judg
ment of approval upon the course of General Jackson. Few can
now be found who will deny the wisdom of the measure, and
among the converts whom experience has made are the two mem
bers of General Jackson's cabinet who took ground against it.
General Cass, after his return from France, in conversation with
Mr. McLane, found that the conduct of the Bank of the United
States had satisfied them both that it had become an improper
depository of the public revenue, and that the separation of the
government from all connection with it, was dictated by a just
concern for the interests of the country. Not long after, General
Cass visited the Hermitage, where be had much conversation with
its venerable possessor, whom he found, though frail and in
feeble health, unimpaired in his faculties, and retaining that
ardent temperament which had marked his earlier years. Among
other topics, the removal of the deposits was adverted to, and
General Jackson expressed much gratification when he learned
that Mr. McLane and General Cass had become satisfied that the
measure was a wise one. And especially was he gratified at the
change of views in Mr. McLane, of whom he pronounced this
high eulogium, that he had never known a man for whom be had
more personal respect.
The present universally esteemed Chief Justice, and his late
associate upon the bench of the Supreme Court, Judge Wood
bury, added much by their characters and services to the confi
dence of the country in the second cabinet of General Jackson.
As for the President, the judgment upon himself and his ad
ministration has been already pronounced beyond tho power of
10

242 LIFE AND, TIMES
appeal. History will confirm the favorable opinion of bis con
temporaries. He carried to' his high station some of the best
qualities of our nature. Promptitude of action, vigor of intellect,
honesty of purpose, fearlessness of purpose in a just cause, and an
intuitive sagacity which led to correct conclusions by a process
almost unknown to himself, — these were the elements of power
which gave him a hold upon his countrymen second only to that
possessed by Washington. He was often charged with rashness,
with action without due deliberation. But this was a false view
of his characteristic habits. Few men surveyed the ground
around him more carefully than he did. No important ques
tion was presented to him for decision which he did not maturely
examine, looking at its bearing and its consequences. During
the process of forming an opinion, he often passed whole nights
revolving the subject in his mind. He told Gerieral Cass, while
coriversing upon this subject, tbat bis state of feeling was some
times painful when the matter was surrounded with difficulties
and involved important consequences. But all this anxiety
Ceased the moment he decided upon bis course ; he never went
back in his purposes, but pressed forward to their execution
when once resolved upon. Inquiry then gave way to action,
and deliberation to execution.
The War Department at that day embraced a wider range of
duties than any other department. The business of the army
proper, with its multiplicity of xelations, in its entire circuit of
distance and service, was large, even in time of peace, and de
manded the constant care and attention of the head of the depart-
irient. But, in addition to this, his time was necessarily much
occupied in the adjudication of constantly occurring and never
ending private claims. Contracts, without number or limit, in
tbe management of Indian affairs — the clearing out of riveraiid
harbor obstructions — the erection of breakwaters and other; pub
lic works, it was his province to make, and he was responsible
to the people for their execution in conformity to law. The pen
sion list it was his duty to supervise ; claims for extra labor, and
materials, outside of contracts, fell under his notice to look after
and settle. These duties — in addition to those of a more delicate
and responsible character, as the confidential adviser of the
President — were herculean, and calculated to try most thoroughly
the strength of the Secretary. The disposition of the many

OF LEWIS CASS. 243
claims, so as to do justice to all concerned, was frequently
attended with embarrassment and procrastination — insomuch,
that it would have been strange if the individuals interested, to
whom, of course, the case was always clear, did riot sometimes
complain and express wonder at delays, and, perhaps,, sometimes
talk of indecision and want of firmness. And to this be might
have frequently interposed, in reply, the memorable remark of
Lord Chancellor Eldon, when some of the London journals said
he was too slow in coming to his decisions — one of them remark
ing, that it was as easy to decide most of his Cases as to tell the
difference between black and white. " Yes," said the old Chan
cellor, " if they were black or white ; but I find most of them
gray f" So it was with the Secretary. He found many cases
no easier to decide off-hand, and all calling for careful investi
gation, in order to do justice between the government and the
parties. This to the impatience of the latter may sometimes have
indicated indecision ; but to the disinterested, the only wonder is,
that, unlike many of his predecessors, amid the performance of
duties more primary, because more national, he left so few for
the consideration of his successors.
General Cass appreciated the responsibilities thus so unexpect
edly thrown upon him, and with a fixed determination to perform
his whole duty, he brought to the work all his energies and the
experience of an active and practical mind. Accustomed, for
thirty years, to rise early for the labors of the day, and to retire
early for the repose ofthe night, he resolved to continue so to do,
despite the calls of gayety and festivity. This was accomplished ;
and, with a clear head and fresh energies, he was enabled to per
form more official labor and transact more official business than
most persons in official station. The reader, however, should not
suppose that either himself or family were unmindful of what be
longed to their position. None were more scrupulous in their
observance of all the politeness which a sense of common pro
priety may have introduced from time to time among the visitors
and sojourners at the capital of their country. None were more
hospitable, none were more strenuous in their efforts to make
the society of Washington pleasant and agreeable.
Familiar with the general affairs of the nation, and intimately"
acquainted with all that appertained to the army and the In
dians, — the two leading points of attention, — General Cass

244 LIFE AND TIMES
comprehended his duty ; and when the time arrived for Con
gress to convene, he was ready to submit the condition of his
department to the President, and through him to the National
Legislature. In his report of December, 1831, he called the attention of the
President and Congress to the necessity of certain reforms, calcu
lated, in his judgment, to facilitate the transaction of business, and
give more efficiency to the arm of national defense committed to
his care. The great question of Indian policy was more directly
under his control than when acting as Governor of Michigan. To
the examination of this subject he brought the knowledge acquired
by the experience of many years of personal intercourse with the
Indians. He was, therefore, fully prepared to give an extended
view of their condition and the duty of the government towards
them. His sentiments on the policy of removal were well known,
and the observation of a series of years had confirmed his early
formed opinion, that the removal of the great body of Indians to
"the sunset side" of the Mississippi, must ultimately be consum
mated. This question was of momentous consequence to the peo
ple of the United States, and not unfrequently was the subject of
angry discussion. Misrepresentation and recrimination against
the justice and honor of the government were sometimes indulged
in, in high quarters. No man was more qualified to explain the
difficulties and perplexities, or to devise means to avoid them, than
the Secretary. He was, accordingly, invited by the President to
make that subject a feature of his annual report; and he
remarks :
" The condition and prospects of the aboriginal tribes within the
limits ofthe United States are yet the subjects of anxious solici
tude to the government. In some of the States they have been
brought within the operation of the ordinary municipal laws, and
these regulations have been abrogated by legislative enactments.
This prbcedure renders most of the provisions of the various
enactments ofXCongress upon this subject inoperative; and a
crisis in our Indian affairs has evidently arrived, which calls for
the establishment of a system of policy adapted to the existing
-state of things, and calculated to fix upon a permanent basis the
future destiriy of the Indians. Whatever change may be con
templated in their situation or condition, no one will advocate
the employment of force or irnproper influence in effecting it. It

OF LEWIS CASS. 245
is due to the character of the government and the feelings of the
country, not less than to the moral and physical imbecility of this
unhappy race, that a spirit of kindness and forbearance should
mark the Whole course of our intercommunication with them.
The great object, after satisfying Ourselves what would best ensure
their permanent welfare, should be to satisfy them of the integrity
of our views and of the wisdom of the course recommended to
them. " The Indians who are placed in immediate contact with our
Settlements, have now the alternative of remaining in their pres
ent positions or of migrating to the country west of the Missis
sippi." The Secretary then, in an able, and ample manner, considers tbe
question, whether the Indians could maintain their existence as a
nation so long as they remained in contiguity with the settled
portions of the country ; and reaches the conclusion, that removal
from the contact of civilization is their, only alternative to ensure
perpetuity. " A change of residence, therefore, from their present positions
to the regions west of the Mississippi, presents the only hope of
permanent establishment and improvement. That it will be
attended with inconvenience and sacrifices, no one can doubt. The
associations which bind the Indians to the land of their forefathers
are strong and enduring, and these must he broken by their mi
gration. But they are also broken by our citizens, who every day
encounter all the difficulties of similar changes, in pursuit of the
means of support. And the experiments that have been made
satisfactorily show that, by proper precautions and liberal appro
priations, the removal and establishment of the Indians can be
effected with little comparative trouble to them or us. Why then
should the policy of the measure be disputed or opposed ? The
whole subject has materially changed, even within a few years,
and the imposing consideration it now presents, and which is
every day gaining new force, calls upon the government and the
country to determine what is required on our part, and what
course shall be recommended to the Indians. If they remain,
they must decline, and eventually disappear. Such is the result
of all experience. If they remove, they may be comfortably es
tablished, and their moral and physical condition ameliorated.
It is certainly better for them to meet the difficulties of removal

246 LIFE AND TIMES
with the probability of an adequate and final reward, than, yield
ing to their constitutional apathy, to sit still and perish.
" The great moral debt we owe to this unhappy race is univer
sally felt and acknowledged. Diversities of opinion exist respect
ing the proper mode of discharging this obligation, but its validity
is not denied. And there certainly are difficulties wbieb may well
call for discussion and consideration.
" For more than two centuries we have been placed in contact
with the Indians, and if this long period has been fruitless in useful
results, it has not been so in experiments, having in view their
improvement. Able men have been investigating their condition,
and good men in improving it. But all these labors have been
as unsuccessful in their issue as many of them were laborious and
expensive in their progress.
" The work has been aided by governments and communities;
by public opinion, by the obligation of the law, and tbe sanction
of religion. But its history furnishes abundant evidence of entire
failure, and everything around us upon the frontiers confirms its
truth. The Indians have either receded as our settlements ad
vanced, and united their fragments with some kindred tribe, or
they have attempted to establish themselves upon reservations, in
the vain, hope of resisting the pressure upon them, and of preserv
ing their peculiar institutions. Those who are nearest to us have
generally suffered most severely by the debasing effects of ardent
spirits, and by the loss of their own principles of restraint, few as
these are, without the acquisition of ours ; and almost all of them
have disappeared, crushed by the onward course of events, driven
before them. Not one instance can be produced, in the whole
history of the intercourse between the Indians and the white men,
where the former have been able, in districts surrounded by the
latter, to withstand, successfully, the progress of those causes which
have elevated one of these races and depressed the other. Such a
monument of former successful exertion does not exist.
" Indolent in his habits, the Indian is opposed to labor; improv
ident in his mode of life, he has little foresight in providing, or
care in preserving. Taught, from infancy, to reverence his own
traditions and institutions, he is satisfied of their value, and dreads
the anger of the Great Spirit if be should depart from the customs
of his fathers. Devoted to the use of ardent spirits, he abandons
himself to its indulgence without restraint. War and hunting are

OF LEWIS CASS. 247
his only occupations. He can endure, without complaining, the
extremity of human suffering ; and if he can not overcome the
evils of his situation, he submits to them without repining. He
attributes all the- misfortunes of bis race to the white man, and
looks witlj suspicion upon the offers of assistance that are made
him. These traits of character, though not universal, are yet gen
eral, and the practical difficulty they present, in changing the
condition of such a people, is to satisfy them of Our sincerity, and
the value of the aid we offer ; to hold out to them motives for
exertion ; to call into action some powerful feeling, which shall
counteract the tendency of previous impressions. It is under such
circumstances, and with these difficulties in view, that the govern
ment has been called upon to determine what arrangements shall
be made for the permanent establishment of the Indians. Shall
they be advised to remain or remove? If tbe former, their fate is
written in the annals of their race ; if the latter, we may yet hope
to see them renovated in character and condition by our example
and instruction and their exertions."
The Secretary then proposed the basis of a plan for the removal
and establishment of the Indians in their future home :
First. — That the country assigned to them should be guaran
teed to them and their descendants, so long as they should con
tinue to occupy it, and that it should be protected from the
encroachment of the settlements of the whites.
Second. — That ardent spirits should be excluded from the new
country. Thied. — That the United States should be at all times prepared
With sufficient force to suppress hostilities which might occur
among the different tribes.
Foueth. — Encouragement to severalty of property, and such
provision for its security as- might be necessary for its enjoyment,
not afforded by their oWn regulations.
Fifth. — Assistance and instruction iri the prosecution of agri
cultural pursuits.
Sixth. — The enjoyment of their peculiar institutions not incom
patible with their own safety and that ofthe people ofthe United
States near them, and with the objects of their prosperity and
improvement. Seventh. — The eventual employment of persons to instruct
them in the acquirement of civilization.

248 LIFE AND TIMES
This plan was approved of by the President, and received the
assent of every member of the cabinet. Congress, however, divi-
ded upon it. In the end there were but few of those who devoted
attention to the subject, that were not satisfied with the arguments
of the Sesretary of War, and believed that his views should be
adopted. It was evident that, as a people, the Indians could not
be civilized, and tbat they could not be permitted to live as an
independent community, governed by their own regulations,
within the limits of a sovereign State. If permitted, a conflict
would finally occur between them, and the State authorities, and,
worse than that, between the States and the general government.
To avoid all this, removal was the sole alternative, and to General
Cass belonged the accomplishment of this great and humane
measure. The Indians were made fully acquainted with the wishes and
intentions of the government. No unfair dealing was permitted,
and no coercive measures were adopted. Their agreement to
remove was voluntary, and obtained by negotiation with them as
beings capable of understanding their own interests.
The Indian question was assuming a most alarming aspect at
the commencement of the administration of the War Department
by General Cass. It was, to a considerable degree, involved in
party politics, and the political difficulties attending it were
increased by a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States,
in the controversy between the Cherokees and the State of Geor
gia. This decision was adverse to the State, and confirmed the
Indians in the opinion tbey had formed of their entire independ
ence of the authorities of that State. The Secretary of War
believed that the principles upon which it was based were erro
neous, and, if practically carried out, would lead to the most dan
gerous consequences. He, therefore, in accordance with the
request of the President, prepared a temperate review of the
whole subject, as well to enlighten the people at large, as to pro
duce a favorable effect upon Congress. If the principles of the
decision were to prevail in the final judgment ofthe Court, when
ever the naked question should be presented, whether State sov
ereignty was paramount as against the Indians, it was folly to
expect a removal of the Indians in any section of the country,
during the present century, at least, and this apprehension was
beginning to be felt among the members of the two Houses.

OF LEWIS CASS. 249
The review was prepared with great care, and was read, in
manuscript, to the cabinet. Every member coincided with the
sentiments therein expressed, and it was published in the Wash
ington' Globe, on the thirty-first of March, 1832, and filled one
half of that paper. The Secretary was understood by the people,
generally, to be the author, and it immediately attracted univer
sal attention all over the country. It was highly approved by
those who took similar views of the question, and all admitted it
to be unexceptionable in the manner in which the investigation
was pursued. It was then supposed, and the reader- is now
informed, that this review was an authoritative exposition of the
views of the Administration upon the subject involved in tbe
general inquiry.
This remarkable paper thus commenced :
"It must be. consolatory to every American, and in fact to all,
wherever they may be, who regard with anxiety the progress and
prospects of free principles through the world, that there is a san
itary influence in our institutions, which, if it can not prevent,
can heal without difficulty or danger, those maladies to which all
public bodies are from time to time liable. In looking back upon
the history of our career and prosperity, and the generation has
not yet disappeared which laid the foundation of both, many
questiones vexat appear, each of which agitated the community
in its own brief day, and some of which, either from the magni
tude of the interests involved, or from the excitement that pre
vailed, threatened the most serious consequences to the stability
of the government, and the prosperity of the country. But by
the favor of Providence, one after another these have passed away,
leaving our Union and our institutions unscathed. The present
day is not without its own share of doubtful and difficult ques
tions. Let us hope that they will be discussed in a spirit of mu
tual forbearance, and arranged in a spirit of mutual accommoda
tion. Our national motto should remind us that we have become
one from many, and if the example and the blessings which this
Union has produced are to be perpetuated, we must seek, in a sense
of interest and safety, and in a feeling of patriotism, the true
power of cohesion. Upon the virtue and intelligence of the peo-
,ple we must rely in our seasons of danger. They have thus far
been the ark of safety. It were presumptuous to doubt that they
will be most efficacious when they may be most wanted.

250 LIFE AND TIMES
" The ' Cherokee Question,' as it has been familiarly called, is
one of those which has divided public opinion. It may be exam
ined without offense to aify one, either to the State which claims
jurisdiction, to the executive of the general government, which
has submitted its sentiments to Congress and the people, or to the
judicial tribunals, which have been called upon to investigate it,
and to adjudicate cases arising under it. We propose, with that
freedom which is the privilege of an American citizen, but at the
same time with that respect which is due to these high authori
ties, to review and discuss this subject. Truth is always valua
ble, and it is best attained by diligent inquiry. The public mind
will eventually decide this matter, as it has decided so many
others, wisely and safely, and in the meantime, every contribu
tion, however bumble, to the general stock of information, may
be useful, and, at any rate, will be harmless. With this convic
tion, we proceed to the task before us."
The question is then stated :
"Without narrowing the controversy to a single point, we un
derstand it, in general terms, to be this : Has the State of Georgia
a right to extend her laws over the Cherokee lands within her
boundaries ? The consideration of this subject will lead to the
investigation of those principles of intercourse which have been
established between civilized and barbarous men, and to a retro
spect of the practice and professions of the different nations who
have planted colonies in America."
An historical and political examination of the whole subject
then followed, which concluded with this summary :
" From this general review of the doctrine, the commentaries
and the practice, these conclusions may be deduced :
"1. That civilized communities have a right to take possession
of a country inhabited by barbarous tribes, to assume jurisdiction
over them, and ' to combine within narrow limits,' or, in other
words, to appropriate to their own use, such portion of the territory
as they think proper.
" 2. That in the exercise of this right, such communities are
the judges of the extent of jurisdiction to be assumed, and of terri-.
tory to be acquired.
" In the preceding investigation the attempt has been made to
show that the rights of jurisdiction and soil, with such modifica
tions as circumstances might require, were the necessary results

OF LEWIS CASS. 251
of tbe discovery and settlement of America. The proposition
embraces the power over persons and things, because these sub
jects are closely connected in the elementary discussions, and in
the historical review, and because the consideration of both was
convenient for the course of tbe argument.
" But this union is not necessary for any purpose which has
required the present examination. And in its further progress,
tbe connection will be dissolved, and the inquiry will be confined
to the question of political superiority. It will be conceded tbat
tbe Indians are entitled, sub modo, to all their rights of property,
and can not be divested of these without their own consent,
" But in the application ofthe general principles to the United
States, and to the Indians in contact with them, a preliminary
question arises, resulting from the peculiar form of government
established in this country. Is the general controlling authority
over the Indians vested in the federal government, or in the
respective States?"
The Secretary then proceeds to discuss the question, whether
the controlling authority, under the Constitution of the United
States, is vested in the general government, or in the respective
State governments, within whose jurisdiction the Indians live;
and it is remarked :
?c It is obvious that, in the solution of this question, the Indians
have no concern. Their rights, whatever these may be, whether
natural or conventional, are wholly independent of this inquiry.
It is one which affects the parties to our own government, and it
is to be decided by the Constitution which they have established.
And whether that portion of sovereign power which regulates the
rights and duties of the Indians, resides in "the members of this
Union, or in the united body itself, the relation which the two
parties bear to one another will remain unchanged.
" It may be observed, in the investigation of this subject, that
this attribute of sovereignty once belonged to the several States,
and still belongs to them, unless they have ceded it to the general
government. In tbe constitution of tbe latter, therefore, this evi
dence of cession must be found, before the power itself can be
exercised. " There are but three provisions in that instrument which have
'the remotest connexion with this subject.
"1. The power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and

252 , LIFE AND TIMES
regulations respecting the territory or other property of the United
States. " This clause evidently refers to territorial rights ; to the power
to control and regulate these, and not to the exercise of jurisdic
tion over Indians living within the country claimed by them. It
is, at all events, inapplicable to tbe Cherokee country in Georgia,
to which the United States have relinquished all their pretensions.
Under this clause of the Constitution, Congress passed laws to pre
vent intrusions upon the public land ; while, at the same time, the
intruders are subject to the ordinary jurisdiction of the States
within which such lands are situated. The power to dispose of,
and make needful rules and regulations respecting the property
of the United States, and the power to exercise general jurisdic
tion over persons upon it, are essentially different and independent.
The former is general, and is given in the clause referred to. The
latter is special, and is given in another clausej and confined to
the federal district, and to ' places purchased by consent of the
Legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erec
tion of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock yards, and other needful
buildings. . " 2. The power ' to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and
among the several States, and with the Indian tribes.'
" It will be recollected that the subject of the present branch of
the inquiry is, where the ultimate jurisdiction over the Indian
tribes resides. Is it given to the United States by this clause?
Certainly not. This is a power to regulate commerce, and not to
exercise jurisdiction. There is no necessary connexion between
the two subjects, and the effort, in this instance, to unite them,
leads to the one or the other of two absurdities — either that Con
gress has jurisdiction over foreign nations, or that entirely dif
ferent meanings are to be given to the same words in the same
sentence. The power granted is to regulate commerce with whom.
With foreign nations amd-with the Indian tribes, and among the
several States. Can any reasonable version be given to this sen
tence, by which it shall, in fact, read : — Congress shall have power
to prescribe the mode in which commerce shall be carried on with
foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian
tribes, and shall also have jurisdiction over the Indian tribes ?
The greatest latitudinarian, in the construction of the Constitution,
will scarcely contend for this interpretation. We need not stop

OF LEWIS CASS. 253
to investigate the meaning of tbe word ' regulate.' Whether it
gives more or less power over the subject matter, or over the white
persons engaged in the trade, it gives none over the Indians them
selves, unless it also gives power over the Englishman and the
Frenchman, with whose countries our commerce may be regulated
by Congress. But this will not be contended, and the conclusion
is inevitable, that this ' regulation,' whether by treaty or by law;
can give no political power and no rightful jurisdiction. It must
be confined to the object to which it is limited by the Constitution.
" Arid, still further, if tbe idea of general jurisdiction be included
in the term ' regulating commerce,' the general government may
annihilate the whole State laws, and bring within its own authority
all the people and property of the country. Constructive powers
can scarcely go beyond this.
" After recapitulating certain provisions of the Constitution,
which cede to the general government rights incompatible with the
absolute sovereignty of the States, Mr. Justice McLean asks :
" ' Has not the power been as expressly conferred on the federal
government, to regulate intercourse with the Indians, as any of
the powers above enumerated ? There being no exception to the
power, (that of regulating the intercourse,) it must operate on all
communities of Indians exercising the right of self-government,
and, consequently, include those who reside within the limits of
a State, as well as others.'
" To the question here put we answer, No. If such provision
can be found in the Constitution, we will agree to abandon the
whole argument. There is indeed a provision for regulating
commerce with the Indian tribes, but we need scarcely undertake
to show that between commerce and intercourse there is a wide
difference, far too wide to render them convertible terms in the
investigation of the delicate question of conflicting jurisdiction.
To speak logically, the former is a species, and the latter a genus.
One existing at all times, in a greater or less degree, both in
peace and war ; the other, like the spirit of laws, becomes silent
amid arms. Intercourse includes commerce, but it includes,
also, many other relations, political and personal, of which com
merce forms no part.
" The Chief Justice also remarks, that ' the whole intercourse,
between the United States and this nation, (the Cherokees,) is, by
our Constitution and laws, vested in the government of the United

254 LIFE AND TIMES
States. They,' speaking of the acts of Georgia, ' interfere forcibly
with the relations established between the United States and the
Cherokee nation, the regulation of which, according to the settled
principles of our Constitution, is committed exclusively to the
government of the United States.'
"This, as it appears to us, is assuming the very point upon
which the controversy turns. We can find in the Constitution no
clause giving the United States the right to regulate the inter
course or relations with the Indian tribes. We ask for that clause.
It is not to be found. We then ask for the fair deduction of that
power from some express grant, and we are met by the opinion,
that the exclusive control of the intercourse and relations, with the
Indians is given to the general government. -
" If this opinion is founded upon a belief that intercourse, and
relations, and commerce, are synonymous, tbe conclusion would
still involve us in inextricable difficulties. This regulation of
commerce or intercourse, if it gives the United States ' exclusive
jurisdiction over the, Indians,' gives, as we have said, exclusive
jurisdiction over all foreign nations, and over the whole Ameri
can people. We surely need not pursue this subject farther.
" Were such an inquiry useful, it would not be difficult to show
that there were very sufficient reasons for granting to the general
government this power to regulate commerce, arising out of the
situation of the various tribes, some of them extending into- seve
ral States, and all of them powerfully affected by the influence of
the traders, and by the supplies rendered necessary to their com
fort and subsistence. But it is an investigation into which we
need not now enter.
" 3. The power of Congress to declare war, and the power to
make peace, furnish the only remaining authority, by virtue of
which this jurisdiction can be assumed and exercised.
" As no war has ever been declared by Congress against an
Indian tribe, and as all our wars against these people have been
prosecuted by executive authority, it is unnecessary, at present,
to embarrass the discussion with any observations upon the war-
making power. The treaty-making power includes within it, the
power to make peace. It is vested by the Constitution in the
President and Senate.
" Treaties in national law are compacts made between sov
ereigns. In monarchical governments the power to conclude

OF LEWIS CASS. 255
them is generally a branch of the royal prerogative. It is so in
England. No treaty, in this acceptation of the term, was ever
negotiated with an Indian tribe living under the dominion of the
English Crown. No ministers were ever appointed to conduct
such a negotiation, no instrument was ever submitted for the sov
ereign's approbation, nor were any ratifications ever exchanged.
All these proceedings are essential to the constitution of a treaty,
without which, according to modern practice, no compact can
assume that high character, nor be construed to be a recognition
of mutual independence. And even if they were waived, still
tbe express assent of the sovereign is indispensable.
" It is clear, from what has been before stated, that as we recede
from the. period ofthe discovery, the practice, if not the doctrine,
of tbe Europeans, in their intercourse with the Indians, becomes
meliorated, and humanity asserts her claims in favor of the latter.
At first, all rights of persons and property and jurisdiction were
disregarded. But, by degrees, the true principles of intercom
munication were investigated and acknowledged, and the civilized
governments found that as much land should be assigned to the
primitive people as was necessary for their comfortable subsist
ence, and that the jurisdiction to be exercised should depend upon
their situation, disposition, and other circumstances.
"In the Spanish laws of the Indies it is provided, that 'the
Indians shall be left in tbe possession -of their lands, heredita
ments and pastures, in such a manner that they shall not stand
in need of the necessaries of life, and shall be allowed all the aid
and facilities for the sustenance of their household and families.' "
- The steps taken by the Colonies to procure cessions and ob
tain control are stated, and then the reader's attention is directed
to tbe action of the federal government under the present Con
stitution. " Upon the dissolution of the confederation, and the establish
ment of the present Constitution, one of the first objects of the
new government was to conciliate or subdue the Indian tribes.
The whole inland frontier, from the lakes to tbe St. Mary's, was
exposed to their incursions and depredations, and a crisis had evi
dently arrived demanding the most vigorous measures. Many
of the tribes were in open hostilities, and the power of the Union
could alone successfully contend with them. ' To provide for the com
mon welfare,' was one of the great objects for the accomplishment

256 LIFE AND TIMES
of which the new government was instituted. In the exe
cution of this paramount duty important relations necessarily
arose between them and the Indians. Hostilities were continued
or commenced, and it was not until the decisive victory of Gen
eral Wayne, in 1794, that the power of the savages was broken]
and the ' common defense ' secured. As a necessary incident to*
the power of ' defense ' is the right to make peace, bringing into
action the treaty-making authority, and a special jurisdiction over
all matters fairly connected therewith, as far as they are actually
required for the purposes of safety and as long as the general
government is responsible for that safety ; that is, till the various
tribes are so reduced in strength, or so improved in morals and
habits, that the respective States may safely assume jurisdiction
over them without calling upon Congress ' to provide for the com
mon defense,' when the posse comitatus may be substituted for
a military force, and when citizens venturing to engage in hos
tilities will become traitors.
" This is the only real and visible foundation upon which the
power of the general government to conclude a treaty with any
Indian tribe living within the boundaries of a State, can rest,
except so far as the proeess may be thought expedient in the pur
chase of their possessory right by the United States, and where
the United States have the ultimate domain, and, consequently,
the right to make ' needful rules and regulations respecting ' it ;
and also in the ' regulation of commerce ' with the Indians, if it
is necessary and proper that this regulation should be made by
conventional arrangements. And in either case the extent of the
power must be limited by the objects to be attained. Neither of
these have any connection with civil or criminal jurisdiction, and
can therefore neither confer it upon the Indians, if they have it
not, nor take it from the States, if it is vested in them.
"We must, however, carefully separate the treaty-making
power from the power to ' regulate commerce with the Indian
tribes.' The former is given to the President and Senate, and
the latter belongs to Congress. The authority, therefore, to make
treaties with the Indian tribes, whatever this may be, derives no
support from the power to ' regulate commerce,' but exists inde
pendently of it.
"To prevent misconception, we may add, that, without the
boundaries of the respective States, and within the boundaries of

OF LEWIS CASS. 257
the Republic, the United States have a general jurisdiction over
the Indian tribes, as a necessary attribute of sovereignty, and in
conformity with acknowledged principles of the laws of nations.
" Conceding now, what, however, is not required, that, under
the Constitution, and for the purposes of defense and security, the
general government had control over the Indians, that control
must, of course, be limited by a just construction of the grant
of power and by the duties of the government. -It is not essen
tial to its .existence or exercise, that it should include every
' attribute of sovereignty,' and it. will cease when danger is no
longer to be apprehended, and when the ordinary civil power of
the community is sufficient to govern and restrain the Indians.
And the States must necessarily judge when this period has
arrived; when the relative strength of the parties and the cir
cumstances and improvement of the Indians render such a
measure proper. The portion of jurisdiction till that time en
trusted to the general government may then be assumed, and
the whole subject left to the State authorities.
"This gradual change has taken place in almost all the original
States, and the principles connected with it are not only obviously
just, and such as will alone reconcile the difficulties of the subject,
but are supported by respectable authorities.
"'We do not' mean to say,' observes the Supreme Court of
New York, ' that the condition of the Indian tribes, at former and
remote periods, has been that of subjects' or citizens of this State.
Their condition has been gradually changing, until they have lost
every attribute of sovereignty, and become entirely dependent
upon and subject to our government.'
" At the time this opinion was delivered, there were probably
six thousand Indians in New York. How many there were at
the termination of the ' former and remote periods,' when they
retained their quasi independence, there are no materials at band
for ascertaining. No doubt the number was then double. Brit
the strength of the tribes constitutes only one of tbe elements for
the determination of the question of incorporation. Of that, and
of the others, each State has judged and must judge.
" ' The condition of the Indians,' 6ays the Abbe Raynal, ' has
not always been the same. At first they were seized, sold in the
markets, and made to work like slaves upon the plantations.'
" 'In some of the old States,' says Mr. Justice McLean,
17

258 LIFE AND TIMES
' Massachusetts^ Connecticut, Rhodelsland, and others, where small
remnants of tribes remain, surrounded by white population, and
who, by their reduced numbers, had lost the power of self-goveim-
ment, the laws of the State have been extended over them, for the
protection of their persons and property.'
" It is obvious that the limitation of the power of self-government,
here alluded to, must depend upon the opinion of the State,- and
not upon numbers merely, for numbers are not essential to self-
government, and, v?e may add, are unimportant, except so far as
relates to their necessary defense. Arid it is equally obvious that
the argumentum ab moonvenienti can not operate to divest from
the general government, and confer upon any of the States, an
authority given to the former, and, particularly, when such author
ity, if necessary, may be as well exercised by the one as by the
other. If, under the Constitution, the United States alone have
jurisdiction Over these tribes, and if, in consequence of reduced
numbers or other circumstances, the tribes become unable to exer
cise that portion of jurisdiction entrusted to them, it is for the
United States to provide a remedy, and not for a third party, who,
upon the principles-assumed, have ceded all legitimateiauthority
Over the persons and objects. Certainly no claim of State juris
diction can rest upon this foundation.
" It may be observed that, with the extinction of that portion
of jurisdiction arising OUt ofthe duty of general defense, will also
terminate the power of regulating commerce. That power, it will
be recollected, is to regulate commerce with the Indian tribes, and
not with the Indians. They will then cease to be 'tribes,' or, to
take the definition instead of the term, will cease to be, in the
language ofthe American lexicographer, ' a body of rude people,
united under one leader or government, as the tribes of the Six
Nations, the Seneca tribe, in America,' and will become citizens,
with such ' privileges and disabilities as the laws of the respective
States may provide.' Having endeavored " to show the general
nature of the jurisdiction over the Indian tribes, and that, in the
United States, that jurisdiction belongs to the several State, gov
ernments, whensoever and howsoever they may choose, to exercise
it, it is necessary now to inquire how far the exercise of this right,
by tbe State of Georgia, is controlled or prohibited by any conven-
tional arrangements made with the Cherokee Indians. If the
general government has entered into engagements inconsistent

OF LEWIS CASS. 259
with this right, and if such engagements were within the scope of
its legitimate authority, nothing remains but to regret these stipu
lations and to execute them, even if they perpetuate the inconve
niences which must attend the permanent establishment of the
Indians in their present places of residence. If, on the other hand,
the United States have contracted obligations .which tbey can not
-fulfill without a violation of preceding and paramount duties, they
must then compensate the Indians,. who . are the injured party,..to
their full satisfaction, unless their demand is, upon the face of it,
exorbitant and unreasonable. If it is, the commutation should be
measured by tbe party thus involved in contradictory obligations,
in a spirit of liberality, and tendered with a full explanation of
the circumstances. We think, however, it will be found that
neither of these alternatives is before us, but that, all the compacts
made with the Indians may be, executed fairly and in good faith,
and consistently with the jurisdictional authority of the State, of
•Georgia. "The extension of the laws of the respective States over tho
Indians involves their personal and political rights. The former,
under any state of things, will no doubt be amply .secured, and
all proper rights and remedies extended to 'them. . How far they
shall participate in political privileges, must depend on their
advancement in improvement and knowledge. While passing
through that probationary .situation which- their previous habitsand
circumstances have rendered necessary, they must remain in the
¦state of ' pupilage ' described by Judge Kent. And .without
suffering the question to be, influenced ,by pre-conceived notions,
not, applicable to the relations of the parties, nor by those roman
tic delineations of Indian character and condition, more creditable
-to the heart than the judgment, , which have misled many wprthy
men, let us inquire what must be the actual effect of subjecting
•to, the ordinary jurisdiction iof. the laws,; those . tribes which have
already. commenced the great career of improvement, and made,
-as is represented,, such,, progress :as to qualify them. for the task
of self-government. To one who is ignorant of the controversy
-which has recently arisen, out of this .subject, , the,, answer will
appear disproportioned to the fearful consequences,, which, it^s
apprehended, or alleged, will result, from this change. These half -
•civilized Indians .will become subject to the common , law of
England, with such temporary disabilities as the respective State

260 LIFE AND TIMES
legislatures may impose, till they are prepared by education and
habits for its full enjoyment. And is not/this preferable to their
present system of polity ? All history teaches that no free gov
ernment can exist among half-civilized people. It must become
a despotism, ruled by one or a few. And if we are not wholly
misinformed, the experience of our own Indian tribes confirms the
general lesson. If the southern Indians have made those advan
ces in improvement which many so confidently assert and believe,
they can not be injured by the operation of just laws. If they
have not, they are unfit for the ' task of self-government, and to
become the founders of an independent state."
The Secretary then proceeds to an elaborate examination of the
question, whether the form of the treaties and stipulations, and
the descriptive epithet, " nation," applied to the Indians, are a
full recognition of their independent position, precluding the gen
eral government from denying the legitimate consequences flow
ing from such admissions. He clearly establishes, by authority
and argument, that they are not, and terminates this branch of
the controversy with this potential observation :
" We can not express the true doctrine as well as it was
expressed at' Ghent, where this very objection was urged, and
pertinaciously repeated. 'The treaty of Greenville,' say the
Ambrican Commissioners, ' neither took from the Indians the
right which they had not, of selling lands within the jurisdiction
ofthe United States to foreign governments or subjects, nor ceded
to them the right of exercising exclusive jurisdiction within the
boundary line assigned. It was merely declaratory of the public
law in relation to the parties, founded on principles previously
and universally recognized?
" The position of the Indians is no doubt anomalous. Europe
presents nothing similar. To demand that the principles of inter
course which have been adopted, shall be reconciled with the
received maxims of public law, which govern the relationstbf
civilized and independent nations, is to reject the universal prac
tice of all governments who have founded colonies in the new
world, and is to sacrifice the true interests of society to a defini
tion and a deduction."
Approaching the material inquiry in this great case, namely,
whether the treaties with the Cherokees contain stipulations incom
patible with the exercise of jurisdiction by the State of Georgia

OF LEWIS CASS. 261
over them, the Secretary, examining the entire field of controversy ^
commencing with the treaty of Holston, in 1731, and terminating
with that of Tellico, in 1798, which was the last treaty, prior to
the execution of the compact between the United States and
Georgia, in 1802, announces the irrefragable conclusion, that the
relations of the general government with the various Indian tribes
living within the boundaries of the United States, do not extend to
prevent the legislatures from subjecting those Indians, whenever
they please, to the operation of State laws.
. Thus far, he had discussed the rights of the several parties. He
now leaves that field, and briefly considers the expediency of
their just exercise, on tbe part of the legitimate authorities. ; -(
"In the previous discussion we have confined ourselves to the
question of right, avoiding all those considerations which render
it expedient that these Indians should remove to the country, west
of the Mississippi, assigned, for their permanent residence. No
false philanthropy should induce us to wish their continuance in
the situation they now occupy. . The, decree has gone forth ; ,.it is
irreversible; that the white and the red man can not live together.
He who runs may read. He, may readmit in the past and in the
present, and he may discern it in the signs of the future. With
out attempting to investigate the causes, moral and physical,
whieh have enacted this law of stem necessity, it is enough for
our present purpose to know, that, it exists, and to feel that its penr
alty is destruction to one of these parties ; a penalty only to be
avoided by their migration beyond tbe sphere of its influence.
The longer this salutary measure is delayed, the greater will be
the injury to them. Their state of excitement and Uneasiness will
continue, the collisions and 'difficulties with their white neighbors
will multiply, and surrounded, aB they must be, with dishearten
ing troubles, their habits and prospects may be wrecked in this
hopeless conflict. Had they not better go, and speedily ? Go to
a climate which is known to be salubrious, to a country fertile and
extensive ; beyond their wants now, and for generations to come ;
and to a home which promises comfort and permanence.
" Can they expect to maintain their present position? To estab
lish an independent government, having undefined and undefina-
ble relations with the State of Georgia ? To add another imperium
m impend to our complicated system? Such an expectation
appears to us vain and illusory, practically unattainable, and

262 LIFE AND TIMES'
fraught with their destruction if it could be obtairied. They
would be exposed to the operation of all those evils which have
swept over their race, as the fatal simoon, the blast of death,
sweeps over the desert."
Thus was the ability and discretion of General Cass displayed,
at this signal period of the Indian controversy. This review —
in fact, as the reader was apprised a few pages back',* a state' papetf
-—-was a luminous and powerful refutation of the doctrine of the
Supreme Judicature of the land. He dissented, not as a faction1
ist resisting authority, or as a sciolist unable to comprehend, it,
but as a patriot,- a jurist and a scholar. Its effect upon the public
mind was prodigious, and thd signs- of returning reason, ori this
vexed subject, to mariy of the accomplished intellects in Congress,
were unmistakable.
The policy of the administration prevailed, and to the Secre
tary of War belongs the glory, as its efficient,' learned, and
enlightened expounder and defender. Congress appropriated Jive
hundred thousand dollars for the removal of the Indians from
Georgia, Alabama, and other States, to a territory west of the
Mississippi, without the limits of any State' or organized territory,
and belonging to the United States: The Indians were removed,,
under every humane care, to places better fitted for their future
homes ; the high claim of Georgia to be sovereign within her own
borders was fully vindicated against those disorganizing counter-
principles, subversive of the first' elements of civilization that
would have denied it; and with such, an approving voice did th©
people of Georgia regard the conduet of General Cass, that the
Legislature of that State unanimously named a county- after him,
which, since its creation, has been noted for its undeviating
adherence to the cause of the Democratic Republican party. ,

OE LEWIS CASS. 263:

CHAPTER XYII.
Black Hawk War— Peace— Treaties -of cession with Winnebagoes, Sacs and Foxes— General Cass' efforts
to effect Reforms in the- Army — The United States Bank — Nullification — Letters to General Scott—
The action of South Carolina. — Letter to Mr. Ritchie — The Virginia Legislature — The Mission of Mr.
Leigh — The happy Termination.
In the summer of 1832, the aggressions bf the Sac and Fox
tribes of Indians were daring and extensive — so much so as to
demand the interposition of the government. The Secretary of
War was too well versed in Indian character, and their invariable.
mode of warfare, not to adopt prompt and active measures for
their subjugation, and punishment. The Indians were under the
lead of a noted chief, called Black Hawk, and personally known
to General Cass.
The executives of the States of Missouri, Illinois, and, Indiana,
and of the Territory of Michigan, co-operated zealously and effi
ciently in the protective measures of the department. The regu
lar troops in the vicinity of the theater of hostilities were concen
trated under Brigadier General Atkinson, and brought into the
field", and the militia of Illinois, and that part of the Territory of
Michigan exposed to danger, promptly repaired to the defense of
the frontier. Such was the nature of the warfare and of the,
country, that it was difficult immediately to protect the long line
of scattered settlements, and to bring the enemy into action. As
a precautionary measure, and to place the result of the campaign
as far beyond tbe reach pf accident as possible, the garrisons at
some of the posts upon the seaboard, and upon the lakes, were
ordered to Chicago, under the command of Major General Scott,
to co-operate with the force already employed under Brigadier
General Atkinson. The tropps moved with the greatest, despatch
— one of the companies reaching Chicago in eighteen days from
Old Point Comfort, a distance by the route necessarily traveled of
more than eighteen hundred miles. At this place they met a foe,
far more to be dreaded than their Indian foe, and their hopes
were, suddenly arrested, when highest, by that worse than Athen?
ian plague — the cholera; and probably few military expeditions

264 LIFE AND TIMES
have presented scenes more appalling in themselves, or calling
for the exereise of greater moral courage. The occasion, however,
was met by General Scott, the commanding officer, in a manner
worthy of bis high character ; and the example which he gave to
the American army, in that trying period of responsibility, is not
less important than was his gallant bearing in the presence of the
enemy at Lundy's Lane and Bridgewater. The mortality was
great ; • and of about fifteen hundred officers and men of the reg
ular troops ordered to that frontier, not less than two hundred fell
victims to the pestilence.
The United States soldiers stationed in the vicinity of the scene
of outrage, together with the militia from the State of Illinois and
of the1 western part of the Territory of Michigan, were concentrated
under the command of General Atkinson, and marched to the
locality of the enemy. When they reached the spot where it was
supposed Black Hawk and his forces were encamped, it was found
that the Indians had withdrawn upon their approach. General
Dodge was dispatched in pursuit. He overtook them on the eve
ning of the twenty :first of July, and engaged in battle with a band
of about three hundred Sacs, at a place called Petit Roche, near
tbe Wisconsin river, and about thirty miles from Port Winnebago '
The Indians retreated towards the river, after fifty of their number
were killed. On the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth of July,
General Atkinson, with thirteen hundred men, crossed the Wis
consin, and followed the trail of the enemy until the second day
of August, when they came up with the main body of the Indians
on the left bank of the Mississippi, opposite the mouth of the Iowa
river. A battle ensued, in which the Indians were routed and
driven from their position. One hundred and fifty of them were
killed, as repotted to the War Department. The residue crossed
the river; and fled into the interior bf the country. The Indians
were completely vanquished. Black Hawk, with his family, and
the Prophet, his brother, were not among the conquered. Itf
turned out to' be the fact, that they had fled up the Mississippi,
and sought refuge among the Winnebagoes, who, in a short time,
brought forth Black Hawk and the Prophet, and delivered them
up to the army.
The ample and' effective arrangements, under the direction of
the War Department, were prompt and judicious, and probably
saved the country from the expense and horrors of a protracted

OF LEWIS CASS. 265
Indian war. The campaign terminated in the unqualified submis
sion of the hostile party, and in the adoption of measures for the
permanent security of the frontier. Black Hawk and the Prophet
— the real instigators of the troubles — were delivered to the Presi
dent, and were, for some time, held as hostages for the faithful
observance, on the part ofthe Indians, of their treaty stipulations.
Treaties of cession were formed with the Winnebagoes, and with
tbe Sacs and Foxes, under the direction of the Secretary of War,
by which the title of the former was extinguished to all the country
south of the Ouisconsin and east of the Mississippi, and, the title
of the latter to an extensive region west of that river. These ces
sions were highly important to the peace and security of that
distant frontier, and were, in a- short time, followed by such settle
ments as placed it beyond all danger from the aggression and
hostilities of their Indian neighbors. The result of the ,Black
Hawk war, as it is commonly called, was a severe lesson, and
attended with the sacrifice of life, but it insured the preservation
of tranquillity, and rendered a resort to similar measures, on the
part of the United States, unnecessary.
The Secretary of War, in his annual report of this year, recom
mended many salutary reforms in the personnel of the army. Well
aware, from his own experience and observation, that much good
might be effected for the soldier while on actual service, and for
his own welfare in time of peace, by a slight attention, on the part
of the head of the department, to apparently trivial evils, he did
not consider it a condescension, but a duty, to point tbem out and
name the remedy. In the subsistence of the army he had made
an important change, whichyhe believed would prove salutary to
the health and morals of the troops. In lieu of the_ spirituous
liquor, which bad composed a part of each ration, a commutation
had been established, by which its value was paid to each soldier
in money, but, at the same time, he had permission to purchase
the article from the sutler of the post. General Cass modified
this regulation, substituting coffee arid' sUgar for tbe money. Four
pounds of coffee and eight' pounds of sugar were directed to be
issued with every one hundred rations, and thus increasing the
expense of the army subsistence to a sum of about six thousand
dollars. Simultaneously with this arrangement, a regulation was
adopted prohibiting the sale of spirituous liquor by the sutlers to
the troops, or its introduction, under any circumstances, into the

266. LIFE. AND TIMES
forts and camps, of theUnited States; with the exception, of hospital
stores;, and of the quantity necessary to issue under that, provisipnj
of the law which allows an extra gill to every soldier engaged .in
fatigue duty. As there was- no authority vested in the executive.
to dispense with this issue, the Secretary asked Congress to inter
pose the necessary remedy. He believed that the great cause of
public morals, as well as the discipline and efficiency of the army,
would be promoted by an entire . abolition of these issues. He
stated that an addition of three cents to the. sum allowed for extra
daily labor, would, be more than an adequate, pecuniary compen
sation for the deprivation recommended, and would increase, bijt
in a very inconsiderable degree, the public expenditure. He con
tended that to habits of intemperance, might be traced almost all
the evils of our military establishment, and that it was high time
that an enemy, so insidious, and destructive should be met and
overcome ; tbat all palliatives be abandoned, and that a system
of exclusion, entire and unconditional, be introduced and enforced.
He developed tbe advantages to be derived from a thoroughly
disciplined mounted force,: and urged an increased and more effi
cient organization of. the; Topographical Corps. In advance of
public opinion he abolished the custom, of- parade and inspection
on the Sabbath, thus enabling, the troops to observe the day more
in accordance with its sacred duties ; and recommended that a
suitable, building be provided at. West: Paint* as a place of public
worship, so that the pupils of the. academy might have the, benefit
of religious instruction. These recommendations, at first, view
apparently of inconsiderable moment, have<been mostly adopted,
and were productive of important results^
But, during the year 1832, General Cass had other and higher
duties to perform, as one ofthe confidential advisers, of the Presi
dent. The question of. a re-charter of that mammoth financial
institutionr-T-the United States Bank — was before the authorities
of the nation. It had become incorporated into and constituted
the leading and controlling topic, in, tbe politics of the country.
Having an unbounded credit, with branches in all quarters, of the
Union; possessed, of' large pecuniary resources, and wielded, by
sagacious and never-tiring managers ; defended and advocated,^
the massive minds of such men as Henry Clay and Daniel Wetfc
ster in the Senate, and citizens of wealth, distinction,, and influenqet
in every n»ok and corner ofthe land ; appealing, with unblushing

OF lewis cass; 267'
Effrontery, to the basbstpassions of which man is sttseeptible ; and,.
by its recklessness of management, in too many instances, giving
cause for the suspicion, that its agents were ready, with unscru
pulous gifts- and largesses, to subsidize the ballot boxes of the
people ; — this monster power had made its way through the legis
lative halls of Congress; and now, With all the swaggering audacity
of the brigand in some lonely recess ofthe Alps, apprdached the
chief magistrate of the nation, in the honest discharge of his
executive functions at the presidential mansion.
Never was an adrninistration so peculiarly situated. Questions
were looming' up iri tiie distant horizon, that threatened the dis*
fuptioB of the confederacy of republican States. It was supposesi
that the President, as the represeritative of the democratic party,
could not approve of the bill. When this' bank- was originally
chartered, finance was disordered and^fedit depressed ; when it
was re-chartered at: the close of the second war, the State banks
had deprived the people of a currency; and in both instances;
the constitutional objections tb its existence were lost sight of in
tbe desire to secure temporary relief. Brit now the exigencies
which bad called it into existence, and once renewed the lease,
bad ceased, while the objections to it subsisted: in increased force.
Democrats who never believed that such an institution could be
tolerated under a democratic construction of the Constitution,
now renewed their objections' to its re-charter. And as for the
fiscal service it rendered; to the government, they rightly believed'
that such service could ; conveniently, and with far more virtue
and safety, be performed }iy a government agency-, to be called
an Independent Treasury. But its1 friends: flattered themselves
with the fallacious hope that the action Of many members of that
party in Congress, together wittr the recurrence this year of the
presidential election, would remove from the President's mind
the objections he entertained, and induce him to acquiesce.
Unfortunately for themselves* they had overlooked the fact, that
the watch-tower of the Republic was tenanted by a man of
lofty patriotism and inflexible purpose, unaffected by intimida*-
tion, clamor, or blandishment,- and as for gold, that the whole
kingdom of nature did not contain enough to debauch, his' incor^
ruptible heart. With characteristic firmness;, advised and suss-
tained by the United voice of his cabinet, he interposed the power
ef his- vet®; Under' the Constitution, and, in; respectful terms;

268 LIFE AND TIMES
returned the bank charter to tbe House of Legislation in which
it originated.. After the adjournment of Congress, South Carolina considering
herself aggrieved by " the acts and parts of acts of the Congress
of the United States, purporting to be laws imposing, duties and
imports on the importation of foreign commodities," and particu
larly by " two acts for the same purposes, passed in May, 1828, and,
July, 1832," threatened secession from the Union, and began to
make preparations to resist the operation of those laws within her
limits. A convention assembled in that State, on the nineteenth
of November, 1832, and passed an ordinance which declared all
the aets of Congress imposing duties on imported goods., more
especially the laws of May, 1828, and July, 1832, to be null and
void within the limits of South Carolina, and the Legislature
authorized the governor to call out the militia to resist any
attempt on the part of the government of the United States to
enforce the revenue -laws.
¦ These proceedings on the part of, that State, brought on an issue
between the State and the federal government that could not be
neglected; The very existence of the latter depended upon its
decision. A single State had set at defiance its authority, and
declared that no umpire should be admitted to decide between
the contending parties. The federative principles of the Consti
tution, and the whole authority of Congress and the federal
judiciary, were put in issue by this question. This movement
received the support of Mr. Calhoun, General Hayne, and, indeed,
of all her master minds. They expected that it would be counte
nanced by other southern States, and however unwilling the lead
ers might be to destroy the Union, still experience had too clearly
shown the difficulty of restraining an excited people, not to create
apprehension as to the result of these efforts to discard the author
ity of the general government.
The nullifiers asserted that the federal Constitution was a com
pact between tbe people of the several States as distinct and
independent sovereignties, and not between tbe people of the
United States at large ; that when any violation of the letter or
spirit of that compact took place, it is not only the right of the
people, but of the State legislatures, to remonstrate against it, and
that tbe federal government was responsible to the people when
ever it abused or injudiciously exercised powers entrusted to it,

OF LEWIS CASS. 269
and that it was responsible to the State legislatures whenever it
assumed powers not conferred.
In this state of the case, the administration considered that the
path of duty for it to pUrsue was plain, and determined at once
to bring this question of nullification to an issue. With this view,
tbe Secretary of War assembled all the disposable military force
of tbe United States at Charleston. The proclamation of the
President was issued, placing the1 powers of the general govern
ment on the broad ground that the federal judiciary was the
only proper tribunal to decide- upon the constitutionality of its
laws, and to enforce the revenue acts with an entire disregard
to the pretended rights of sovereignty assumed by South Carolina.
• ; As coming more immediately within the province of the War
Department, it became necessary for General, Cass to conduct the
correspondence. His instructions to the commander of the Uni
ted States troops were dignified and appropriate, and although
positive as to tbe rights and duties of the general government, he
was scrupulously mindful of State rights, and his language for
bearing and conciliatory. He was impressed witlT the grave
importance ofthe question, and with the mournful agpect it had
given to the political horizon of America.
The cautious forbearance of the Secretary, as well as his unal
terable determination to forward the true interest of the nation,
fully appear in the following letters to Major General Scott.
(Confidential.) " Washington, Nov. 18th, 1832.
" Sir : — The state of affairs in South Carolina has occasioned
much solicitude to the President. He indulges the hope that the
intelligence and patriotism of the citizens will prevent any infrac
tion of the Constitution and laws of the general government.
But while he anxiously looks for this result, he deems it possible,
from the information he has received, that, in the -first efferves
cence of feeling, some rash attempt may be made by individuals
to take possession of the forts and harbor of Charleston. The
possibility of such a measure furnishes a sufficient reason for
guarding against- it, and the President is therefore anxious that
the situation and means, of defense of these fortifications should
be inspected by an officer of experience, who could also estimate
and provide for any ; dangers- to which he may be exposed, &c. <

270 LIFE, AND TIMES
" Tour duty will be one of great importance, and of great
delicacy. Tou will consult freely and fully with the Collector
¦oi the port of Charleston, and with the District Attorney of
South Carolina, and you will take no step, except -what relates
,to the immediate defense; and security of the posts, without their
advice and concurrence. The execution of the laws will be
enforced through the civil authority, and by the mode pointed out
by the acts of Congress. Should, unfortunately, a crisis arrive,
¦When the ordinary power in the hands of the civil officers shall
not be sufficient for the purpose, the President will determine the
course to be taken and the measures to be adopted. Till, there
fore, you are otherwise instructed, you will act in obedience to
the legal requisitions of the proper civil officers of the United
¦States. (Signed,) " Lewis Cass."
:< Department op War, * .,
" Washington, December 3d, 1832. y :
" Sin : — Tour letter of the 27th ult. has been received and laid
before the President. He is pleased at the discretion and judg
ment manifested by you.
" The course of the government will be regulated by the prin
ciples stated in the personal interview I had with you. I can not
but hope the, good sense and patriotism of the citizens, of South
Carolina will still prevent an occurrence which would make it
necessary to enforce the ordinary act recently passed by the con
vention of that State. In any event, the President will perform
his duty, under the Constitution and laws ofthe United States.
(Signed,) "Lewis Cass."
"Department op War, ,\
"WASHraaio^,, January 36th, 1833. J
" Sie : — All your dispatches have been communicated tothe
President, and your ;general views and proceedings have h^n
, approved .by him. The three orders to- which you specially refer,
I shall briefly advert to.
" It is the most earnest wish of the President that the present
unhappy difficulties in South Carolina should be terminated
without any forcible collision, and it is his determination, if such
collision does occur, it shall not be justly imputable tothe United

OF LEWIS CASS. 271
¦States. He is therefore desirous that in all your proceedings,
wbile you execute your duty firmly, you act with as much discre
tion and .moderation as possible, and this course he has never
doubted you will adopt. Self-defense is a right as much belong
ing to military bodies as to individuals, and officers commanding
Separate posts are responsible, at all times, for their defense, and
are bound to use all due precaution to avoid danger. If a body
-of men approach Sullivan's Island with apparent hostile, views,
it will be proper to pursue the course indicated by you 'to Colonel
Bankhead — that is, to warn their commanding officer to retire,
and to inform him of the course which you will be compelled to
-adopt, in the event of his continued approach. Should this warn
ing be ineffectual, and the armed body attempt to land, you will
be justified in resisting such attempt. But, before this unfor
tunate alternative is resorted to, I rely upon your patriotism and
discretion to endeavor, by all reasonable and peaceable means, to
induce any such armed body to abandon their enterprise. The
-subject is committed to you, in the full conviction that while you
discharge your duty as an officer, you will be mindful of the
great delicacy of the subject, and the anxiety of the President to
avoid, if possible, a resort to force. But, whatever the just rights
of self-defense require, must be done, should a case occur involv
ing such a question. (Signed,) "Lewis Cass."
This correspondence is the key to the action of the administra
tion on the grave issue at stake between the federal government
and one of its members. It will be perceived that the,sovereignty
of the State was not to be invaded in any event; but that its
power was invoked to see that the laws of the land were enforced.
If individuals interposed obstacles to their execution, they were
to be treated as trespassers, and dealt with accordingly. If, in
that contingency, the State authorities declined to act, then the
federal government would with promptitude exercise its reserved
¦rights. The President, however, could not shut his eyes to the stubborn
-fact, that clouds, portentous of trouble, darkened the. Southern
skies, which might end in collision, bloodshed and rebellion. The
newspapers teemed with inflammatory articles ; turbulent assem
blages of the people were constantly being held; and -violent,

272 LIFE AND TIMES
treasonable speeches delivered, calculated, if allowed to go on
unchecked, to subvert all order and good government, and, spread
ing to other States,' terminate in a dissolution of the Union. It
was evident that South Carolina awaited the co-operation of all
south ofthe Potomac. Some of the leading organs ofthe Demo
cratic party began to evidence weakness and vacillation, and
paused to calculate the value of the Republic. Weak-minded
men were appalled,' and grew timid. Patriotism, in many unex
pected quarters — the American citizen of to-day will blush to
hear — was ebbing, and no one could foresee how soon its last
wave would recede from the land of Washington.
The Legislature of South Carolina acted as if the bond of glo
rious memory was already sundered. Steps were taken to re
organize her militia and prepare for active hostilities. Her citi
zens were to be classified from sixteen years of age and upwards,
and placed upon a war footing. The governor was directed to
purchase ten thousand stand of small arms, with the necessary
accoutrements ; and effective means provided to procure all the
munitions of war. This was something else than mere bluster
and bravado. It indicated that, a lion-hearted spirit was aroused
in all her borders, ready to burst into an uncontrollable tempest
of treason. No one could say what the next month, week or day
might bring forth ! And has it come to this ? might the President
well have exclaimed, — that my own dear native State shall be the
first to raise her parricidal arm to strike down in blood the sacred
flag of liberty ! He would make one more effort to stay the im
pending storm ; and casting about for some other member of the
confederacy to interpose her kind offices in this great extremity,
his eyes fell upon Virginia — the mother of them all. Could she
forbear to use all the influence to which she was entitled ? Would
she stand aloof and wait till the hurricane of disunion swept the
fair fields of the Palmetto,,as it surged madly onward to the Gulf
and the Mississippi ? Could she not throw herself between the
contending parties, and contribute whatever of moral force she
might exert to save the Union and avert the calamities of
nullification ?
In a day or two, under date of December 13, 1832, the follow
ing article appeared in the editorial columns of the Richmond
Enquirer — then the loading political paper in all the South :
" These reflections have been suggested .to us by the news of

OF LEWIS OASS. 273
yesterday, and by a letter we have received from one of tbe ablest
men in the country. We ask his pardon for laying extracts from
it before the Legislature, keeping his. name striothj to ourselves.
The members of the Legislature will weigh them for what they
are worth. From the high character of their author — from the
deep importance of the subject — from the momentous crisis which
we are approaching, we respectfully think them entitled to serious
attention. Now 's the day, and now 's the hour.
. " Extract of a Zetter from Washington.
" ' The impending crisis is a fearful one. What is to be the
result ? The question is before me day and night. As you have
justly observed, we are between Scylla and Cbarybdis. If the
general government succeed, is there not reason to fear that State
rights will be in danger, and that the federal arm will become too
6trong at some future period ? On the other hand, if South Caro
lina succeed, either in the project of nullification or in that of se
cession, the Union is virtually dissolved, and we shall follow the
fate of the other republics tbat have checkered the eventful map
of history. What, then, is to be done ? If South Carolina pro
ceeds as she has begun, the shock must be met, and our institu
tions may be demolished in tbe conflict. There is scarcely time,
even were this Congress perfectly well disposed, to settle such a
question between now and the first of February next ; and if there
were, it is not in human nature that the whole protective system,
enormous as it is in its appllcation^should be instantaneously
abandoned. And this, and this alone, would satisfy the South
Carolina politicians ! Under these circumstances, it has occurred
to me that Virginia might, interpose most efficaciously, and add
another leaf to tbe wreath which adorns her civic chaplet. Sup
pose tbe Legislature should appoint a committee of four or five of
the most eminent citizens to proceed to South Carolina and to en
treat her convention and her Legislature to recall her late steps,
and at all events to delay her final action till another trial is made
to reduce the tariff. Possibly the measure would be more cer
tain, if Virginia should call upon North Carolina, Georgia and
Alabama to appoint similar committees to meet hers at Columbia,
and to join in the good work. In all political fermentations, time,
if not a positive cure, is almost sure to lead to one. Suppose Vir
ginia, too, should address Congress in one of those forcible
18

27i LIFE AlTD TIMES
appeals she so well knows bow to make, and urge an immediate
commencement as well as a great reduction of the tariff, stating
all the great considerations which require it, and should, at the
same time, address the State of South Carolina, as a sister suffer
ing under the same system, and entreat her, out of regard to Vir
ginia, to the other Southern States, to the integrity of the Union,
and, in fact, to the cause of free government through the world,
to delay her action, and to try to procure a modification of the
tariff, &c. ,
" ' Would not the result be favorable ? At any rate, is there
not such a probability of it as to justify the attempt? Events are
pressing so rapidly upon one another, that we hardly know what
the next hour will produce ; of course, no time is to be lost. The
times are portentous ; and satisfied I am, that if Virginia does
not put her shoulder to the wheel, our fate hangs by a thread.
The President will do all that wisdom, firmness and integrity can
effect ; but still, without zealous aid from real friends, even he
may not be able to carry us through unscathed.' "
The letter above referred to was written by General Cass, by
the request of the President, and addressed to Thomas Ritchie.
It speaks for itself; and scarcely had it been published, when and
on the same day, the committee of the Legislature of Virginia, to
whom the whole subject of the tariff had been referred, took up
the mission suggested, and after various propositions had been
duly weighed, both in the committee and in the Legislature-
after long debates and various amendments had been made — the
whole matter terminated in a series of resolutions worthy of the
calm, con sider ative, prudent, but firm character of the Old Domin
ion, and in electing Benjamin Watkins Leigh as a Commissioner
to the State of South Carolina.
Mr. Leigh accepted this delicate and responsible post, and went
forth on bis mission of peace. He was received with distinguished
honors by Governor Hayne, by General Hamilton, and all the
authorities of South Carolina. The Legislature and the conven
tion were called together to meet him. He addressed them in the
spirit of peace, and appealed to them as the sons of the land of
Marion and Sumpter. His voice was not unheeded. The positive
action of Virginia produced a deep impression upon the public
mind of the South, and exercised a controlling influence in con
tributing to the suspension of the ordinance of nullification, in

OF LEWIS CASS. 275
inducing South Carolina to pause, and in giving peace to the
country. The movement of the administration to compass the interposi
tion of Virginia, was a masterly stroke of policy, and dictated by
the purest patriotism. The great object in view was effected with
out tbe expenditure of blood or treasure; and to no one — save the
President — are tbe people more indebted than to the Secretary
of War, who, with pride, shared the manly, vigorous and triumph
ant resistance by which tbe usurpations of South Carolina were
thus encountered and prostrated.

276 LIFE ASD TIMES

CHAPTER XVHI.
General Cass calls the attention of Congress to Intemperance in the Army — Richard M. Johnson mores
formation of National Temperance Association — State of society in Washington — General Casfl
invited to deliver an Address in the Capitol — Accepts — Extracts from the Address — Entire interdic
tion — Genera] Jackson Re-inaugurated — General Cass offers to vacate — General Jackson refuses
permission — The Alabama trouble — Letters.
The Secretary of War having brought to tbe attention of Con
gress, in his annual report, the subject of intemperance in the
army, many members of Congress, awakened still more to the
importance of giving a good example to their countrymen, pro
posed an assembly of public men in Washington, for the peomotioit
OF THE CAUSE OF TEMPERANCE IN THE UNITED STATES.
Upon the application of Richard M. Johnson, member of Con
gress from Kentucky, the House of Representatives granted the
use of the hall for the purposes of the meeting. It was held on
the evening of the twenty-fourth of February, 1S33, and was the
first of the kind that had ever been held at the Federal Capitol.
On motion of Felix Grundy, United States Senator from Ten
nessee, the Secretary of War was called to tiie chair, and invited
to introduce the proceedings of the evening, and to explain the
objects of the assemblage, and the views and motives of those who
had called it. He did this with less reluctance — even in that hall
of legislation — because the evils of intemperance had passed, like
the blast of the desert, over the land. Experience, during the
preceding year, had furnished a memorable lesson on this inter
esting subject. That desolating pestilence — the cholera — borne
on the wings of the wind, had traversed the Old Continent from
the frontiers of China to the western limits of Europe ; it had
passed the ocean which separates the hemispheres, and with it
had come despair and death. But with it also came the triumph
of temperance. For,' though many a sacrifice was made among
the virtuous and exemplary, still the stroke had fallen chiefly upon
those whose constitutions had been impaired by habitual indul
gence, and who were thus prepared for the disease.

OF LEWIS CASS. 277-
General Cass was willing to give his fellow Citizens the benefit
of his example and views. — having abstained all bis life from tbe
use of spirituous liquors. Whilst he had not been an enthusiast
on the topic of temperance, he had quietly been abstemious,
because it was, as he thought, promotive of his health and happi
ness. But his experience and observation satisfied him that much
suffering might be alleviated, and the evils of a profligate life
averted, and that, too, without over-stepping the bounds of deco
rum, if men — no matter what their position was> — frankly ex
pressed their sentiments, and favored associated effort. He thought,
likewise, that a movement at the Capital would be beneficial. The
great avenues of communication diverged from that seat of empire
to every section of our extensive republic, and the most salutary
impression might, therefore, be there made upon the public mind,
by efforts founded in benevolence and directed by wisdom.
In Washington, it need hardly be said, scenes of dissipation
were coristantly occurring, but not the more so than in other great
capitals. The bulk of tbe people who thronged there consisted
of citizens and foreigners on pleasure and business, sojourning for
a brief period, and then hieing away to their homes. Frolic and
merriment, of course, were indulged, but its never ending contin
uance could not be otherwise than injurious to the permanent
residents. If so disposed, their example might be beneficial, in
checking its unlimited indulgence. At any rate, many members
of Congress who had sons and daughters, and other relatives and
friends, residing in the District of Columbia, bethought, themselves
of its importance.
General Cass, in the performance of the duty assigned him,
stated that he did not come to the meeting to call out and discuss
the general statistics of intemperance.
"I have no disposition to count the number of ruined men, of
wretched families, of lost estates, which this prevalent vice has
occasioned in our country. It is an inquiry full of instruction,
but full, likewise, of dismay. Calculations have been made,
showing the enormous quantity of ardent spirits annually made
and consumed,, and the waste of time and money entailed upon
the community. It is- difficult to appreciate the value of quanti
ties and numbers which are far beyond our accustomed range of
observation. Their very immensity becomes overpowering. In
genious men have, therefore, presented this subject in different

278 LIFE AND TIMES
aspects, that we may separately survey the members of a group
which, collectively, is beyond the reach of our faculties. For the
result, I must refer you to the many statements and expositions
which have appeared in the periodical publications of the day.
Tou will find ample food for contemplation and regret. I can not,
however, but advert to one fact which has been stated, and which
will bring the subject to a standard that is familiar to us. The
excise, which is levied upon ardent spirits in England, furnishes
the means of ascertaining tbe quantity tbat is sold. And, not
withstanding the consumption, there is far less, in proportion to
the population, than here, yet it has been estimated that the quan
tity of gin alone annually consumed in that country would form
a river three feet deep, fifty feet wide, and five miles long. Well
may such a stream be called the river of death ! Death to our
duties and hopes, to our health and happiness, to our fate and
prospects, on this side of the grave and beyond it.
" No man can indulge in this habit with impunity. Begin as
be will, be may go on increasing. What is now enough to pro
duce the desired effect may soon become insufficient and inopera?
tive. The quantity must be increased and the intervals diminished.
The necessary tone can be preserved only by gradual additions,
and then comes all the train of evils which marks decaying facub
ties and a ruined constitution. All who have eyes to see must
have seen them. They need no description here. Unfortunately!
they are too common and too disgusting to require or to admit
enumeration in sueh a place as this. If, in the whole crea
tion of God, there is one subject, more than all others, to be
pointed .at by the finger of scorn, it is he who abandons him
self, and all he has and expects, to this destructive propensity:
The animals around us, ministering to human comfort ; every
being into wbicb the Creator has breathed the breath of life — all
fulfill their destinies and perform the parts allotted to them ; while
man, man alone, placed immeasurably above them, reduces him
self far below, renounces the high duties assigned to him) and
perishes miserably, hopelessly.. Were the wreck thus cast upon
the strand of life, solitary and unconnected, much as we might
deplore the evil, there would be less to regret than at present. But
these unhappy men are united to society by all the ties which bind
society together. They are sons, or brothers, or husbands, or
fathers. With what little remorse tbe duties of these relations

OF LEWIS CASS. , 279
are disregarded, tbe experience of every day sufficiently demon
strates. The husband and father seeks, in unhallowed pleasure,
those enjoyments his own home would furnish. The means wbicb
should be destined to tbe support of his wife and children are dis
sipated. His time is consumed, his usefulness destroyed, his
temper and habits ruined, and all who depend upon him share in
the calamity.
"Who ventures to say there is no cure for this malady of
mind and body ? No signal of safety which can be lifted up, like
the brazen serpent of old, and whereon the afflicted may look and
be healed ¦ No power of conscience — no regard for the present
— no dread of the future, which can stay the progress of this deso-
la ting calamity ? It is indeed a disorder which falls not within
the province of the physician. Empyricism has prescribed its
remedies, and various nostrums have been administered with tem
porary success, calculated ' to nauseate the patient, and thus, by
association, to create a revulsion of feeling. But little permanent
advantage has attended this' process. As the habit of intoxication,
when once permanently engrafted on the constitution, affects the
mind and body, both becomes equally debilitated. And restora
tion to health and self-possession can only be expected from a
course of treatment which shall appeal to all the better feelings of
our nature, and wbicb shall gradually lead the unhappy victim of
bis passions to a better life and to better hopes. The pathology
of the disease is sufficiently obvious. The difficulty consists in
the entire mastery it attains, and in that morbid craving for the
habitual excitement, which is said to be one of the most overpow
ering feelings that human nature is destined to encounter. This
feeling is at once relieved by the accustomed stimulant ; and when
the result is not pleasure merely, but the immediate removal of an
incubus preying and pressing upon the heart and intellect, we
cease to wonder that men yield to the palliative within their
reach; tbat they drink and die; that often, in one brief nigbi, they
lie down in time and awaken in eternity.
" It is now conceded, by the most profound observers who have
made this subject their study, that ardent spirits are never re
quired in a state of health. They are not merely useless, but inju
rious. Ingenious physicians, who have watched their operation,
upon the human system, and with the express purpose of ascertain
ing whether their administration be proper in cases of exhaustion

280 , LIFE AUD TIMES
from cold or fatigue, have borne testimony to their utter inefS-
cacy. Our eminent countryman, Dr. Rush, coincides in this
opinion, and asserts that a small quantity of food restores the sys
tem to its usual vigor, far better than these destructive stimulants,
after it has been debilitated by exertion or suffering. And in
some of the most terrible shipwrecks recorded in naval annals, it
has been found that the persons who refrained from the use of,
spirits, were better enabled to resist the calamities impending
over them than those who sought strength and consolation .in this
indulgence. Experience is as decisive on this subject as it is sat
isfactory. And in the disastrous retreat from Moscow, which
broke the scepter of Napoleon, and wrested the nations of Europe
from his iron grasp, it is recorded by the historians of the expe
dition, that the soldiers who were perfectly temperate resisted the
elemental war around them when the general ' pulse of life stood
still,' and when a scene was presented which, in terrible sublimity,
surpasses all that the wildest imagination has . ever shadowed
forth, when the spirit of the storm was abroad, and the chivalry
of Europe fled or. fell before the northern blast.
w Too long have those who are yielding to this propensity de
luded themselves and others with this pretense of the necessary
use of ardent spirits. It is time the foundations were broken up
and the superstructure demolished. What was the state of the
ancient world where the process of distillation was unknown?
The Arabian chemists were the first to introduce it, and not all
the drugs of Arabia ,have been able to counteract its pernicious
influence. There is nothing, which leads to the belief that men
were less able to endure fatigue, or that the average duration of
human life was shorter. On the contrary, some of the most stu
pendous monuments of human power were erected in the early
age of the world, and have come down to us unimpaired, surviving
the memory of their founders and the objects of their construction.
Extreme longevity was one of the characteristics of that period,
and many of our most fatal disorders were unknown. A Roman
soldier carried a weight of sixty pounds, besides his arms, and
usually marched twenty miles a day. Every night he labored to
enclose his encampment with a parapet and ditch. No fatigue
nor exposure exempted an army from this duty, enjoined by the
fundamental principles of their military service. Could an
American soldier* with his daily allowance of spirits, or I may

OF LEWIS CASS. 281'
rather say, bis daily temptation to drink, do more than this ?
Carry eighty pounds upon his back, march twenty miles a day,
and then fortify his encampment ! To the Roman soldier ardent
spirits were unknown. To the American they have been the bane
of his life, and their destructive effects may be traced in every
platoon of our army. Away, then, with this idle pretense of
necessity. The necessity exists nowhere but in the apologetic
answers of those who, determined not to relinquish this darling
habit, are yet desirous of presenting some excuse to themselves
and others for its indulgence. But there is, fortunately, one safe
and plain method, by which all danger may be avoided, and
tbat is by entire interdiction. Abstinence, and abstinence alone,
from ardent spirits, will shield us from their injurious conse
quences. , And this, in fact, is the only effectual safeguard within
our power."
Thus boldly did, General Cass speak, over twenty years ago,
on the evils of intemperance. Entire interdiction was what he
recommended to others, and adopted for himself. The regulations
wbicb he made, in this particular, for the observance ofthe army,
introduced a new era into our military history.
' On the fourth of March, 1833, General Jackson was inaugura
ted President of the United. States, for; his second term. . After
one ofthe most malignant political contests in the history of our
country, he was triumphantly sustained by a large majority of
the people,- and their approving voice given to his important
measures. . This incorruptible verdict re-invigorated him, and
his hosts of resolute and unflinching friends, and paralyzed in
astonishment bis tireless foes. On the day after, General Cass
remarked to the President that the, Secretaryship of War was in
his hands. " No," said the old hero, " it is not. I can not do
without you." And that department of ^he government moved
on as usual.
In a few months a question similar in character to that of South
Carolina, arose within tbe State of Alabama, which again brought
the federal and State authorities to the very point of collision. It
was in consequence of trespasses by emigrants on tbe lands of
tbe United States, acquired from' the Choctaw, Chickasaw and
Muscogee or Creek Indians. The United States was under obli
gations, by treaty, to prevent intrusion upon lands that had
belonged to these Indians within the State of Alabama, until they

282 life And times
could be removed fo their new homes on tbe other side of the
Mississippi. Emigrants, nevertheless, intruded upon their grounds,;
It was the duty of the federal government to drive them off, and
proceeded to do so. Alabama demurred, and called upon her
judiciary to protect the settlers. The peaceful relations of that
¦State with the United States were thus menaced. But the energy
and prudence of the Secretary of War, throughout the whole
exigency, happily averted all collision. His regard for law and a
scrupulous observance of the rights of the judiciary, in the pros
ecution of this matter, is manifested in the following letters writ
ten by him, and addressed, the first to Colonel Mcintosh, then a
major in the army of the United States, and the latter to F. B.
Key, Esq. " Depabtment of War, October 29£b, 1833.
" Sir : — Your letter of the 21st instant, to General Macomb, has
been laid before me, and, in answer, I have to inform you that you
will, interpose no obstacle to the service of legal process upon any
officer or soldier under your command, whether issuing from the
courts of the State of Alabama or of the United States. On the
contrary, you will give all necessary facilities to the execution of
such process.
" It is not the intention of the President that any part of the
military force of the United States should be brought into collision
with the civil authority. In all questions of jurisdiction it is the
duty of the former to submit to the latter, and no considerations
must interfere with that duty. If, therefore, an officer of the State,
or of the United States, come with legal process against yourself,
or any officer or soldier of your garrison, you will freely admit him
within your post, and allow him to execute his writ undisturbed.
(Signed,) "Lewis Cass."
[Extract of a Letter to F. B. gey, JRy.]
" Department of War, October 31st, 1833.
" Let all legal process, whether from the courts of the United
States or from those ofthe State of Alabama, be submitted to with
out resistance and without hesitation. The supremacy of the civil
over the military authority is one of the great features of our insti<
tutions, and one of the bulwarks of the Constitution.
(Signed,) "Lewis Cass,"

OF LEWIS CASS. 283

CHAPTER XIX. ,
Eemoval of the Deposits — Popularity of the Administration-^Mr. Clay's Resolutions— Their Effect on
General Jackson's Mind — The American Historical Society— General Cass delivers an Oration —
Extracts — The Auditory — Their Feelings on the Occasion.
The re-election of General Jackson decided the fate ofthe United
States Bank. It was the paramount issue involved, and the chief
staple of acrimony at all the polls. Canvassers and orators spoke
to that question on the hustings and in the committee rooms. The
decisive fiat of the unshackled freemen of America had gone forth
— the institution must die — and the herculean monster was now
writhing under this annihilating sentence of a court from which
there could be no appeal. It had been for years tbe custodian of
the people's money, and yet had it in its coffers. The bank must
now give up the money, and the President ordered bis financial
officer to make the demand. Mr. Duane, at the head of the Treas
ury Department, declined to do so, and Mr. Taney was substituted
in his place. The deposits were removed, and the government,
for the first time, became its own banker.-
The people pointed with pride to the administration of their
affairs, under General Jackson and his constitutional advisers.
Long pending negotiations with England were being brought to a
successful tennination ; the indemnities of the French government
obtained ; claims, hoary with age, against Denmark, Sweden, and
Naples, were adjusted, and commercial treaties, opening new and
advantageous sources of trade, were made with many foreign
countries. The sails of our commercial marine whitened almost
every sea, and went on their way unmolested. In every foreign
court, in all countries, and upon every ocean, our flag was respected,
and the administration steadily and successfully directed its efforts
to the promotion of public interests and the maintenance of the
national faith and honor. In the eye of the Civilized world the
government of the United States stood upon the highest pinnacle
of fame.
In all these measures, and in all the councils of the cabinet,

284 LIFE AND TIMES
General Cass was, in fact, what the word signifies, the adviser of
the President. He never missed his attendance at consultation.
Of long experience, and thoroughly conversant with the rights and
duties of nations, and, above all, devoted in his attachment to the
President, his views were always listened to with attention. Ee-
spected, in all his personal relations, as a man of stern integrity,
the President never failed to give him his ear in all matters of
public concern. Op many an occasion, during the sessions of Con
gress, when turbulence was at a furious bight, and grave senators
even seemed to be willing to tear in pieces tbe Constitution, and
invade, with pistol and bowie knife, the domicil of their chief
magistrate, did General Cass repair to the executive chamber, at
the urgent summons of its occupant, and, on more occasions than
one, at the dead hour of midnight, and there talk and counsel for
hours what course to pursue and what measures to bring forward
to preserve inviolate the sacred ark of the covenant, and keep the
ship of state proudly on her course.
The President, in the course of an eventful life, had passed
through many a trying scene, and had often been assailed with
pen and tongue, but the action of the Senate, in placing upon its
immortal records the famous resolutions of Mr. Clay, in Decem
ber, 1833, was a fearful shock to his strong nervous system. It
produced more than anger. This word, faintly conveys the idea'.
The universally acknowledged patriot felt that his sacred love of
eountry, and in which was concentrated all his pride, had been
vitally attacked ; and for months this rough treatment was his
first thought in the morning and his last at night. With this in
remembrance, the reader can better appreciate with what unal
loyed satisfaction, years' afterwards, he greeted the intelligence
that the same august body, in its calmer moments, had endeavored
to repair the outrage, and blot the saeriligious chronicle from the
memory of mankind.'
General Cass, as has already been perceived, was a man of
letters, of varied information, and an elegant writer ; and fre
quently was he called upon to gratify his admirers. It is remark
able that be could find time to do so, amid the cares of office, and,
especially, during the stirring times he resided in Washington.
It must be attributed to bis unwearied industry, regularity of life,
and, as a quaint scholar says, " his concoction of reading into judg
ment." Honored, time and again, with notices in this way from

OF LEWIS CASS. 285
various sources, be frequently was constrained to decline. But,
whenever he yielded to the wishes of his fellow countrymen, his
efforts were replete with instruction — " with words that burn and
thoughts that breathe."
On the twelfth of October, 1835 — the anniversary of the discov
ery of America — a society was formed in the metropolis of the
Union, under the title of the American Historical Society, the
object of which was to discover, procure, and preserve whatever
related to the natural, civil, literary, and ecclesiastical history of
America. The society made a draft on the Secretary of War to
deliver the introductory discourse, and be honored it dn the thir
tieth of January following.
There was a vast audience gathered in the Hall of Representa
tives, on Capitol Hill, to hear him. The number in attendance
exceeded the accommodations, and, for two hours, many members
of Congress and foreign ministers stood in the aisles and listened
with rapt attention.
He introduced himself to this learned assembly by saying that :
*' In looking back upon the history of man, it was obvious that
different ages of the world haye been distinguished by different
characteristics. Tbe progress of events has, from time to time,
been marked by some predominating trait, communicating its
impress to the moral circumstances around it ; and the aspect of
human life is brighter or darker, as this controlling principle is
worthy or unworthy of the race of beings placed, by the creation
of God, in their present stale of accountability, and endowed with
powers, whose extent, after an existence of sixty centuries, is un
known to us, but whose use or abuse constitutes the advancement
or retardation of individuals and of societies. It is thus that pris
matic rays tinge with their hues, while they illumine with their
light, the objects upon which they are cast.
" In the contest for this ascendency over the great world of
mind, sometimes the passions of mankind have gained sway and
held it for ages ; and wars, social, political and religious, have
spread desolation over the earth, and have marked their progress,
not less by moral than by physical evils. Then the intellectual
powers have asserted their supremacy ; at one time, for purposes
merely speculative, and at another, for practical action. The one
state is illustrated by that wonderful but puerile system pf logom
achy, which so long passed for philosophy, and which has come

286 LIFE AND TIMES
down to us as a splendid monument of human wisdom and of
human folly ; and tbe other, by those efforts at rational improve
ment, whose full 'operation has been reserved for our days. These
social paroxysms, though unequal in their intensity and duration,
are yet sufficiently perceptible in their operation, whenever we
look out upon that ocean of the past, on tbe brink of which we
stand, and where we must soon be."
After referring to the innumerable stimulants to exertion in the
ages of the past, he observes :
" Our own age has been denominated tbe age of movement; of
advancement in the intellectual faculties; of improvement in all
those principles, and pursuits which are most essential to the hap
piness of man, and most conducive to the dignity of human nature.
Onward is the great word of our time. In the story so beautifully
told by the historian of the Roman empire, the seven youths of
Ephesus laid down to sleep, and awoke, after the lapse of two
centuries, in the midst of a changed world, but unchanged them
selves. He who should fall into such a slumber, in this period of
moral acceleration, might arise, after a much briefer interval, and
walk abroad into a world far more transformed than that which
met the wondering view of the Ephesian sleepers when their trance
was broken, and they looked out from their living cemetery upon
the fair face of nature.
"Another agent in this process of advancement, and one with
which we are here intimately connected, is the system of associa
tions, that have been, formed for the cultivation of particular
branches of knowledge. These co-operative societies are the in
vention of modern times ; and, in tbe form in which they now
exist, they came into being at the end of tbat long night of ignor
ance and imbecility, which shrouded the intellect of the world,
from the decline of the Roman empire till the revival of learning
in these later ages. There were, indeed, celebrated schools where
the principles of ancient knowledge were taught; and two of
these, the Academy and the Lyceum of Athens, are well known
to all scholars, from the peculiarity of their doctrines, the high
reputation of their masters, and the number and celebrity of the
pupils. But the teachers were lecturers, expounding their peculiar
viewsto disciples and partial admirers; and their lectures were
didactic essays, too often intended to display the pride of the

OF LEWIS CASS. 287
rhetorician, rather than to advance the purposes of science, or to
afford instruction th inquirers after truth.
" In these voluntary associations the members are animated with
a kindred spirit, and devoted to kindred pursuits; and their or
ganization is admirably adapted to promote the objects of the
institutions. An esprit de corps is created, which ensures a unity
of purpose and of action, while an emulation is excited, which
stimulates^ the exertions of individuals. A repository is thus
formed for the preservation of useful collections. The public
attention is awakened, and its favor lightens tbe toils and aids the
researches of the members. It is in the practical sciences, in his
tory, and in the fine arts, that these combinations have been most
usual and most useful. Our own country has given her full share
to the general stock of these contributions, and we have this night
assembled to add another to the number."
He spoke of the duty of the historian:
"History, indeed, when justly estimated, is not a mere record
of facts. These, certainly, are essential to its truth,, which is the
first and' greatest virtue of an historian. But he must have a
higher and nobler aim, if he seek to interest or instruct mankind.
He must tra.ce tbe motives and causes of actions to their results.
He must delineate the characters of those master-spirits, whose
deeds he portrays, and hang them upon the outer wall, as specta
cles for admiration or reprobation. ' Nor am I less persuaded/
said the patriot first called to administer the present Constitution;
' nor am I less persuaded tbat you will agree with me in opinion,
that/ there is nothing which can better deserve your patronage
than the promotion of science and literature.'
" ' Knowledge is, in* every country, tbe surest basis of public
happiness. In one, in which the measures of government receive
their impressions so immediately from the sense of the community
as in ours, it is proportionably essential.' Wonderful man ! Time
is the great leveler of human pretensions. The judgment, which
be pronounces upon men and their actions, is as just as it is irre
versible. How few of the countless throng, who, in the brief day
of their pride, looked down upon their fellow-men, or were looked
up to by them, now live in the memory of mankind ! And as we-
recede from tbe periods in which they lived and flourished, their
fame becomes dimmer and dimmer, till it is extinguished in dark
ness. The world has grown wiser in its estimate of human worth,

288 LIFE AND TIMES
and the fame of common heroes has become cheaper and cheaper.
But we have one name, that can never die. One star, wbich no
night of moral darkness can extinguish. It will shine on, brighter
and brighter, till it is lost in the effulgence of that day, foretold in
prophecy, and invoked in poetry,
' When Heaven its sparkling portals shall display,
And break upon us in the flood of day; ,
No more the rising sun shall gild the morn,
Nor evening Cynthia fill her silver horn ;
But lost, dissolved in thy superior rays,
One tide of glory, one unclouded blaze
O'erflow thy courts ; the light himself shall shine
Revealed, and God's eternal day be thine.'
" Happen what may to our country, this treasure can never he
reft from her. Her cities may become like Tadmor, her fields like
the Campagna, ber ports like Tyre, and her hills like Gilboa, but,
in all the wreck of her hopes, she may still proudly boast that she
has given one man to the world, who devoted his best days to the
service of bis countrymen, without any other reward than their
love and bis own self-approbation ; who gladly laid down his
arms, when peace was obtained ; who gladly relinquished supreme
authority, when the influence of hi* character was no longer want
ed to consolidate the infant institutions of the Republic; and who
died, ripe in years and in glory, mourned as few have been mourn
ed before -him, and revered as few will be revered after him.
Here, in this hall, whose foundations were laid by his own hand;
here, under this dome, which looks out upon the place of his
sepulchre; here, in this city, named from his name, and selected
for its high object by his choice, let us hope that his precepts will
be beard, and his example heeded through all succeeding ages.
And when these walls shall be time worn and time honored, and
the American youth shall come up, as they will come up, to this
temple of liberty, to meditate upon the past, and to contemplate
the future, may they here find lessons and examples of wisdom
and patriotism to study and to emulate. And when the votary of
freedom shall make his pilgrimage to tbe tomb of Mount Vernon,
and lay his hand upon the lowly cemetery, let him recall the
virtues and bless tbe memory of Washington.
" When the diffusion of knowledge is recommended to the con
sideration of the government by this authority, I may well- be

OF LEWIS CASS. 289
spared all effort to illustrate its importance. But its effects I may
briefly advert to, in one splendid example of literary distinction,
which exhibits the triumph of intellect during the long period of
twenty centuries. The little territory of Attica, containing about
thirty miles square, and half a million of inhabitants, furnishes a
pregnant lesson for the world. There literature flourished^ free
dom prevailed, the arts and sciences were cultivated, and genius
•was honored and rewarded. She sent out her armies and navies,
wherever her interest or honor required. She repelled the Persian
hordesfrom her land ; she gallantly maintained her independence
for a long series of years, and she became tbe school of antiquity,
imparting to all other countries the treasures of her knowledge.
How proud a monument she now is, even in her desolation!
From the Ganges to the Saint Lawrence, where is the man of in
telligence who does not look upon her fallen fortunes with sorrow ;
and upon ber future fate with solicitude ? The Turk has ruled in
the habitation of Pericles ; and the horse-tail has waved where
the aegis was displayed. But the Parthenon still stands, though in
ruins, yet in glory ; a fit emblem of tbe country it adorned in its
pride, and now hallows in its decay. And whence this triumph of
the feeble over the strong ? How happens it, that this small spot
is, and bas been, the revered one of the earth ? The school-boy,
upon the Missouri, talks of the Illissus. The ardent youth, who,
at Bunker Hill and New Orleans, gazes with intense interest upon
those fields of blood and renown, bas room also in his heart for
the stories of Marathon ahd Salamis. The lover of the fine arts,
who surveys the works of the chisel, which already in our country
have almost fashioned tbe marble into life, still thinks of Praxiteles,
and concurs in the universal opinion of artists, that the Yenus de
Medieis is yet the model of statuary beauty. And the patriotic
citizen, while he blesses God that he was born in the country of
Warren, and Hancock, and Franklin, and Jefferson, casts a look
of reverence upon the land of Socrates, and Plato, and Aristides.
" All this is tbe triumph of intellect ; the monument and the
reward of public spirit and intelligence, and the evidence of pri
vate devotion to all those pursuits Which give to mind its ascend
ency over matter.
" The true province of the historian is now better understood
than formerly. Time has been, and not long since, when all nar
ratives were considered as entitled to almost equal credit ; when
19

290 LIFE AND TIMES
the habit of severe investigation was no part of the qualification
of the historian ; and more especially in the annals of antiquity
which have come down to us. In this spirit Rollin compiled his
voluminous work, and he gravely relates incidents as he found
them, without any discrimination between the degree of credit due
to an eye-witness, who records events as we might expect to find
them, andto the relator of incredible traditions, worthy of perusal
as evidences of human credulity. Herodotus himself, whose his
tory was composed for the purpose of being recited, not read, and
whose dramatic manner and imaginative mind prove the early age
in which he wrote — Herodotus, who recorded the early fables of
his country, and the strange tales he had heard' in other lands;
who believed the occurrence of all the events repeated through a
succession bf ages, from sire to son, and who recited his work to a
believing people — this father of the art furnished, for centuries,
not the outline only, but all tbe details of early profane history ;
and kindred authors, who wrote later, but still with the same
credulity, were received as unerring guides in exploring the mazes
of human actions, in distant regions and ages. The charm of
style, the splendor of eloquence, the grace of rhetoric abound in
these compositions, and they are inestimable as pictures of early
manners, and as vehicles of early opinions ; but no scholar wonld
now trust these narratives without proper scrutiny, whenever the
incidents are improbable in themselves, or whenever there is rea
son to believe the proper sources of information were not within
the reach of the writers. The philosophy of history requires labo
rious investigation and deliberate decision.
" In all researches into the history of this continent, we have one
advantage over every other people. Our origin and progress are
within tbe reach of authentic history ; we have no fabulous nor
doubtful eras to perplex investigation and to provoke discussiiii.
We have, indeed, one remnant of antiquity, one surviving memo
rial of a former and unknown state of things — one race of men,
whose origin is as doubtful as their fate. Their past and future
are equally closed to us, and it were vain to attempt to penetrate
the one or the other. They were here when Christian banners
were first displayed.
" There are six periods in tbe history of the United States, sepa
rated by epochs, which resemble the elevations in the journey of
a traveler, that enable him to stop and contemplate the country

- OF LEWIS CASS. 291
he has passed. These periods are different in interest and dura
tion ; but each is marked by an historical unity, necessary to bind
together detached portions of any great course of events. It is by
this distribution into groups that the human mind finds itself able
to grasp tbe vast variety of incidents which make up the annals
of a country. These divisions may be denominated the< period of
the discovery, extending from the time this part of the continent
became known to Europeans, to their first permanent establish
ment; of settlement, including the long interval between this
establishment and the conquest of Canada ; of civil dissension,
commencing immediately thereafter, and terminating in open re
sistance; of revolution, including the war of independence; of
tho confederation, reaching from the conclusion of peace to the
adoption of the- present government ; and of the Constitution.
extending to our own times. These, designations have no claim
to actual precision. Tbey indicate only the leading features of
each period, those which gave to it its peculiar characteristics."
Passing tbe reader on to the period of settlement, be says ;
"The period of settlement embraces an interval of about a cen
tury and a half. And while its progress was marked by extraor
dinary vicissitudes, it was still advancing with a celerity before
unknown in the march of society. Never was the prophetic
declaration, that a little one should become a thousand, and a
small one a strong nation, more wonderfully fulfilled than in the
planting and rearing of these colonies. A few hardy adventurers
seated themselves upon tbe shores pf the ocean, in a distant and
unexplored region. An interminable forest. was around them, and
a fierce and treacherous foe occupied its recesses. In the provi
dence of God they were sent out to suffer in their day, but to
become glorious in their generation. And well did they fulfill
their destiny. We are now a community of fifteen millions of
people, and yet I have often conversed with a venerable relative
who was a cotemporary of tbe first child born to the, pilgrims, after
.they landed upon this continent. What an almost overpowering
image does this simple fact present of the progression of this fed
erated empire ! And where is the forest, which then shut in the
adventurers upon tbe brink of the sea? And where are the noma
dic tribes, tbe untamable warriors, who stood up in their path,
and said, ' You shall go no further!' Let our fields and villages,
our towns and cities— let our cheering prospects, the evidence and

292 LIFE AND TIMES
the effect of human industry and enterprise — let the peace, and
plenty, and prosperity of a happy land, covered with a busy pop
ulation, enjoying the blessings of equal government, of a benign
religion, and of intellectual improvement — let all these explain
how the forests have been brought low, and bow the great circle
of cultivation has spread itself, even to the vast lakes of the North,
and to the trans-Mississippi regions. And let the feeble remnant
of the primitive race pronounce their father's fate, and their doom.
" The character ofour ancestors took its impress from the stormy
events which surrounded them from the cradle to the grave. They
were nurtured in hardships and exposures ; their manhood was
devoted to the fields of labor and of battle ; and their old age,
when they lived to attain it, was too often interrupted by the
Indian war whoop, that signal of death, which, once heard, is never
forgotten. This school of exertion and exposure, during six gene
rations, produced those distinctive traits of character which be
longed to our fathers. The Indians are suspicious, neither seeking
nor yielding confidence with facility, incapable of abstract specu
lations, or aiding the incredulous, and too often insensible to the
obligations of veracity. The difficulty of penetrating the recesses
of such a people is obvious, increased as these are by the 'incom
petency of the usual medium of communication. Under such
untoward circumstances, what has already been done, instead of
discouraging, should stimulate us. Our military posts furnish
excellent places of observation, where the best materials for Indian
history can be collected ; and the graduates of the Military Acad
emy, who are sent there, could not devote their leisure to a pursuit
more interesting in itself, nor richer in the rewards it offers.
Their education gives them the proper qualifications, and the
whole philosophy of the Indian condition is open to their investi
gation. A proper series of inquiries, prepared with a view to a
common operation, and transmitted to these aboriginal observa
tories, would furnish a most interesting subject of inquiry ; and,
if prosecuted with zeal, would lead to the collection of a mass of
materials far more valuable than bas heretofore been procured.
The traditionary legends of the Indians are passing away. All
that is not arrested within a few years will be beyond the reach
of recovery. Although their tales of former ages can not be viewed
as authentic -materials for history, yet they may dimly shadow out
events wbich have left no other memorials ; and they are valuable

OF LEWIS CASS. 293
as the monuments bf a rude people, illustrating their peculiar
opinions." He spoke, in the voice of eloquence, ofthe comparative exertions
of many of tbe nations in the fields of literature, arts, and arms.
He contrasted, in vivid language^ the motives of these exertions ;
and coming to our own favored land, most happily remarked :
" Characters are sometimes best ' described by a single sketch
presenting that ruling passion ' Where alone
The wild are constant and the cunning known.'
Such a sketch is furnished by tbe debarkation of the Puritans
upon the coast of New England, and bythe descent of Oortez upon
the Mexican shore. When the English colonists left the old world,
their last act was to implore the Divine blessing upon their enter
prise, and, when they reached the new, their first act was to return
their thanks to tbat Providence wbicb bad protected them in their
voyage, across the ocean. Before tbey left their vessel, they pre
scribed and established a form of government, in which they de
clared tbey had undertaken to plant the first colony in the northern
parts of Virginia, forthe glory of God and the advancement ofthe
Christian faith, and for the honor of their king and country.
"What a contrast is presented between the humble appearance
and the lowly and subdued spirit, but firm purpose of these self-
expatriated men, and the Spanish invasion, with
' The neighing steed and the shrill trump,
The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife,
The royal banner, and all quality,
Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war.'
The English colonists were impelled by their high regard for the
rights of, conscience; the Spanish conquerors, by their thirst for
gold. The bible and the magna charter were borne by the one,
and the sword, the cross, and papal decrees by the other. The
physical and moral results are before the world, and promise ;to
go down to after ages, furnishing one of the most impressive les
sons in the whole history of man."
, And further on, in passing this period in review, he remarks :
" I do not mean to say that the white man was always right,
and the red man always wrong. I do not mean to deny that the
ancient possessor bad too often -just cause to complain that his

294 LIFE AND TIMES
inheritance was violently reft from him or craftily obtained. And"
the tradition, that the first settlers upon a part of the coast asked-
for a seat which could be covered by a buffalo robe, and then,
cutting this into thongs, took possession of all the land it would
encircle, if false in fact, was certainly true to the feelings of the
Indians. " Ancient chronicles have brought down to us a similar tradi
tion respecting another barbarous people, separated by a wide
interval of time and space from our aboriginal inhabitants. The
legend of the flight of the Tyrian colony under Dido, and its
establishment upon the African coast, says that they purchased
of the indigenous people as much land for the site of Carthage as
could be covered by a bull's hide, and then dividing this into
tbe smallest strips, claimed all embraced within it. Virgil has
recorded the purchase, but omitted the deception, out of tender
ness, perhaps, to tbe memory of the deserted and disconsolate
queen : ' Mercatique solum, facti de nomine Byrsarfl,
Taurino quantum possent circumdare tergo.'
But the piece of land as big as a hide was the purchase, as
described both by tbe eastern and the western primitive possessor*
However or wherever the traditions may have originated, the
coincidence of sentiment is interesting, as is the proneness of bar
barous people, while they feel the superiority of civilized men, to
attribute all the difference which results from the intercourse, to
cunning rather than to wisdom."
When he reaches that bright era in American history devoted
to the investigation and assertion of human rights ,
" Many a fervid mind was at work upon the foundation of soci
ety. Many a received dogma was swept away with contempt.
It is not a little curious to compare the advance of society in some
of the most important elements of human knowledge, at different
stages of its existence* It will be found that sometimes centuries
roll away, while certain great departments of science are station
ary, if not retrogressive. At other times these are pushed forward
with wonderful rapidity, like the spring that has long been coiled
and is suddenly unbent. Who can point out a single advance in
the most important of mere human institutions, tbat of governing
society, during centuries of the most enlightened period of antiq
uity ? Wherein was the theology of the Roman empire better

OF LEWIS CASS. 295
than the religious fables of Greece, or their prototypes, nourished
under the shade of the pyramids ? In the philosophy of the
intellect,, who was ever made wiser by the metaphysics of Aris
totle ? And who does not know that his system of dialects ruled
tbe world of mind, from bis own era down to the very dawn of
our day . — ruled it with absolute sway, affecting not only to teach
tbe way to knowledge, but to contain within itself the very cycle.
of all that was known or could be known. Studying nature in
tbe closet, instead of walking abroad and surveying her works ;
not proceeding by induction, and deducing general laws from the
operations of the world, but rashly advancing theories, and then
boldly promulgating them, as the laws impressed by tbe Creator
upon universal matter."
His large and learned auditory was charmed with the discourse.
It displayed an intimate knowledge of the social and political
institutions of his country, and of the world. It showed him to
be a man of thought as well as of research, and that his disposi
tion and inclination was to overlook the vices of other ages and
nations, and retain only their virtues. The gentlemen of the His
torical Society felt themselves honored by the production, and
resolved to perpetuate it among their archives.

296 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER XX.
The Florida War^-Its Origin— Its Conduct, -whilst General Cass was Seoretairy of War— An Examina
tion of Testimony given before a Military Court of Inquiry/ at Frederick.
The Florida War — as it is familiarly called — occurred during
the second term of General Jackson. The events that gave rise
to it, however, date farther back. In September, 1823, a treaty
was made at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, between the United
States and the Seminoles,, by which those Indians relinquished
their claims to large tracts of land in Florida, with a reservation
of a small portion for a residence. Subsequently, disputes arose
respecting the ..construction of this treaty, the Seminoles insisting
tbat it gave them undisputable possession for twenty years. This
dispute resulted in another treaty made at Payne!s Landing, in
Florida, by Colonel Gadsden, agent of the "United States, by which
the Seminoles stipulated to cede their reservation, and remove
beyond the Mississippi. A delegation of their chiefs, appointed
by the treaty, was sent, at the expense of the United States, to
examine the country assigned them, and also to ascertain whether
the Creeks, who had already emigrated, would unite with them
as one people. If the Seminoles were satisfied on these points,
then' tbe treaty was imperative. Tbe Indian delegation, after
examining, concluded a treaty with the American commission
ers, rendering absolute the treaty of Payne's Landing, To .this
transaction some of the Indian nation objected, and contended
that the delegation had exceeded their powers, and that they
should have reported the result of their mission to them and taken
a vote ; and unfairness and treachery were charged. The Indi
ans, as the final stipulations in tbe treaty now stood, were to
remove within three years, and to commence emigration in 1833.
The Indian nation at large, however, objected so strongly, that
their removal in that year was not attempted.
But the policy of the administration was fixed, and although a
short delay was granted, with the view of producing a more wil
ling disposition to remove, there was no radical modification of

OF LEWIS CASS. 297
the policy. Hence, in 1$34,_ the President appointed General
Wiley Thompson an agent for superintending the removal, and
sent him to Florida to make the necessary preparations. Captain
Russell, of the army, accompanied him as disbursing officer.
General Thompson soon found, and so reported to the government,
that most of the, Indians evinced an unwillingness to leave their
homes, contending again, that the treaty gave them twenty years
undisturbed possession, and also alledging that though the lands
beyond the Mississippi might be good, the Indians there were
bad. On reporting this to the Department of War, a reply was
promptly forwarded that they were to be removed for. their own
benefit, and would not be permitted to remain ; that the military
force in the neighborhood of these Indians would be increased ;
and General Thompson was directed to inform them that the
annuity, under the treaty of Fort Moultrie, would be withheld
until they consented to emigrate ; and he was also required to
communicate freely with Brigadier General Clinch, by brevet, of
the army, who owned a plantation near. the Indian reservation.
The President, also, sent a conciliatory " talk " to the chiefs, who
assembled to hear it on the twenty-eighth of December, 1834.
They ..discussed, With the government agent,' their intended de
parture, seemed much gratified with the President's talk, and their
principal chief, Osceola, or Powel, with others, parted apparently
in perfect good humor. General Clinch wrote to the War De
partment, inquiring if it would not be better to let them remain
until the next spring, proyided they would consent to remove
peaceably on the first of March. " I believe," sai^ he, " t^e whole
nation will readily come into the measure, and it is impossible not
to feel a deep interest, and much sympathy, for this people." The
answer was, peremptorily to proceed without delay to their re
moval. The Indians, on tbe twenty-second of April, 1835, acknowl
edged the validity 'of the treaty of Payne's Landing, and agreed
to carry it into, effect.
In November, 1834, upon the receipt of the first intelligence,
by the War Department, that difficulties might possibly occur with
tbe Seminoles, General Clinch was directed to assume the com
mand in Florida, and the necessary instructions were given him
for his government.
Some two years afterwards, a military court.ofinquiry convened
at Frederick, in the State of. Maryland, in consequence of the.

298 LIFE AND TIMES
Florida war ; and in answer to the main question before that
court, " What in your opinion prevented the subjection of the
Seminole Indians in the campaign conducted by General Scott, in
Florida, in 1836 ? " General Clinch, in substance, asserts that it
was owing to the neglect of the head of the War Department in
not having, made more adequate preparations in 1835, and early
in 1836. In other words, because there were not troops enough
in Florida to prevent tbe Indians from commencing hostilities ;
therefore, the campaign to reduce them was unsuccessful. A
strange answer to a most sweeping inquiry.
The causes of the Indian hostilities, or the measures taken by
the government to prevent them previously to the assumption of
the command by General Scott, in 1836, were not subjects before
the court. They were questions of public policy, properly cogEb
zable by Congress alone, and which had more than once engaged
the attention of that body. But between them, and the nature of
the military operations, there was no just connection ; and whether
there were in the country, before the war, ten men or ten thousand,
was a question having no relation to the duties of the court, or the
conduct of General Scott.
From the accounts given of a dinner to General Clinch, in
Florida, shortly prior to the assembling of this court, it would seem,
from the address made by him on that occasion, that he enter
tained unpleasant feelings towards General Cass. He attributed
to the latter bis being suspended in command, and to the Presi
dent the return, of his commission, which he had tendered
to the government. To this it is sufficient, here, to say that a
morbid sensibility, or some other motive .not more worthy of tol
erance, led him, it would seem, to mistake his own claims and
situation, and to become the vehicle of unjust imputation.
Two reasons produced a change of command. The occurrences
in Florida, in the month of December, 1835, information of which
reached Washington in January, 1836, led to the conviction, that
measures upon a more enlarged scale had become necessary ; and
at the same time reports were received, indicating that the Creeks
had manifested a determination to join the Seminoles in hostilities.
As two series of operations, under different officers, against ene
mies near enough to co-operate, and with the same habits, and
feelings, and objects, were to be avoided, if practicable, and as the
amount of force to be called into service might be such as to justify

OF LEWIS CASS. 299
the States furnishing troops, in sending into the field major gen
erals with their requisitions, it was obviously necessary to vest the
principal command in an officer of the highest rank in our service.
It was very desirable to have an officer of established character
and experience, particularly in a duty involving such a heavy re
sponsibility in its' expenditures ; and not to leave the command to
fluctuate, as general officers of the militia might be called into or
retire from service. General Clinch was a brevet brigadier-gen
eral, and therefore liable to be superseded by a major-general of
the militia.
But there was a still stronger reason for this measure. The
ambush of Major Dade, and his command, on the twenty-eighth of
December, 1835, the battle of Witblacoochie, on the thirty-first*
tbe massacre at Camp King, and the exposed Condition of Florida,
painfully excited tbe public mind, particularly in the Southern
States. Spontaneous movements were made in that quarter for
raising troops, and the patriotism of the country called into ser
vice many corps, before tbe state of affairs could be known at
Washington. There were no telegraphic wires for the lightning
to travel upon. The government was required by public opinion,
as well as by the higher obligation of duty, to take the most im
mediate and efficient measures for the suppression of hostilities.
General Clinch was isolated in the heart of Florida. In fact, his
true position was necessarily unknown, for events were every mo
ment changing, and the aspect of affairs becoming worse. His
communications might at any moment have been intercepted,
himself remain ignorant ofthe measures of the government, and
they of his situation and designs. General Scott was in Washing
ton. No time would be lost in giving him the necessary instruc
tions,, and his route would necessarily lead him through South
Carolina and Georgia, whence most of tbe force had to be drawn.
While a dispatch was traveling to General Clinch, General Scott
could be in the Southern country, or joining his force and plans.
And besides, such a dispatch might have failed or been inter
cepted, and then in what •condition would the country have been ?
and to what just censure would the government have been ex
posed? And even should the necessary authority reach- General
Olincb, much time must be lost in returning upon the route with
his communications. He could not leave his command : affairs
were too critical. And it must be obvious, that the arrangementm

300 LIFE AND TIMES
for such a campaign as was contemplated, could not be made
Without the presence and personal co-operation of the officer des
tined to command. The remedy forall this was obvious. And
was the government to be deterred from adopting it, because Gen
eral Clinch might choose to consider it a reflection upon him?
There were much higher considerations involved in this affair than
General Clinch seems to appreciate. He never-had the sbghtest
reason to consider himself injured. A just sensitiveness is an
honorable feeling in a military man ; but if carried too far, it de
generates into mortified vanity. All governments have at all
times assumed and exercised the right of changing their command
ing officers at pleasure ; and especially so when the sphere of
operations is enlarged. It is evident, therefore, that the change
of command was not intended to cast, nor did it cast, the slightest
reflection upon General Clinch.
As to the selection of his successor, it may safely be said, that
General Scott had won his way to this command by high and hon
orable services ; and with respect to the return of General Clinch's
commission, it is only necessary here to say, that General Cass
proposed the measure to the President, by whom it was cordially
approved, as well as was the assignment of General Scott to the
command. It was intimated before the court, that time was lost by the War
Department in putting General Scott in motion. The most cur
sory attention to dates, as recorded in the Adjutant General's
report of February ninth, 1836, published by order of Congress,
will show tbat the action of the department was not less prompt
upon that occasion than upon all others.
Unofficial information of General Clinch's action reached Wash
ington on the seventeenth of January ; and on the same day a
plan of operations was devised, and the necessary instructions
given to General Eustis for its execution, to provide, as far as
seemed necessary, for the vigorous prosecution of the war. Three
days later, to wit, on the twentieth, reports were received that the
Creeks meditated hostilities ; and it was, therefore, considered
necessary to enlarge the sphere of operations, and to call General
Scott to the command ; and this was done, and detailed instruc
tions prepared and delivered to General Scott on the next day.
General Scott, in bis defense, said : "I do not mean to intimate,
Mr. .President, that any time was lost by the War Department in

OF LEWIS CASS1. 301
putting me in motion, after tbe news of Clinch's affair of Decem
ber thirty-one, which preceded at Washington the account of
Major Dade's melancholy fate on the twenty-eighth." In view of
the facts as above stated, if it was necessary for him to allude to
the matter at all, it would have been more just, more noble, more
ih consonance with his own chivalric character, to have said
plainly and explicitly, that never, in his experience, were more
prompt or decisive measures taken than on that occasion — meas
ures, whose discussion and consideration extended far into the
night, and broke upon bis rest as well as that of the Secretary of
War. Rumors of Indian disturbances are matters of frequent occur
rence. Sometimes these have been followed by hostilities, but
more frequently they have proved unfounded. It is obviously
impracticable to keep a superior force to tbe Indians upon any
point ofour extended and exposed frontier ; and were troops col
lected upon every rUmor, the country would be subjected to enor
mous expense, and the army and militia to perpetual fatigue. It
is the duty of government to act prudently as well as promptly
upon these occasions ; and while efficient measures are adopted,
where they appear necessary, to withhold them where they do npt,
and to preserve in these measures a just proportion to the strength
of the Indians, and the probability of their hostile designs.
The accounts are conflicting as to the exact amount of the white
population in Florida in 1835. It was agreed on all hands that it
probably exceeded thirty thousand. This is an important fact to be
borne in mind by the searcher after truth, because each part of
our frontier must be expected to supply a considerable proportion
ofthe force at any time required to repel sudden aggression ofthe
Indians. No one estimated the number of Seminoles higher than
five thousand, and the official records of the War Department re
duced it to three thousand. There was, then, near the theater of
difficulties, a permanent force, ready to aid the efforts of the army,
and abundantly sufficient, agreeably to all preceding experience,
to restrain or subdue the Indians.
A treaty had been formed with the Seminole Indians, providing
for their removal west ofthe Mississippi; and from the time which
had elapsed, and the reluctance manifested by the Indians to re
move, it had become necessary to take measures for carrying the
treaty into effect But all the difficulties anticipated with this

302 LIFE AND TIMES
tribe, were expected to result from the^eontemplated movement;
and no one looked to hostile demonstrations on the part of the
Indians until, and unless they were required to emigrate. The
prevailing sentiment in Florida was, that the Seminoles would not
make a hostile movement before tbe arrival of the period fixed
for their departure. Governor Eaton distinctly stated, in a letter
to the Secretary of War, that their hostilities were entirely unex
pected at that time by the people of Florida; and the Secretary
of that territory communicated the same information. The whoje
correspondence of General Clinch, until just before the commence
ment of actual hostilities, indicates the same opinion. The De
partment, therefore, had a right to suppose, as it did suppose, that
General Clinch had time to collect all bis force, and to anticipate
tbe Indians, should he become satisfied of their hostile designs.
It is important for the searcher after truth to know, also, the
amount of the Seminole population. Captain Thurston, in his
testimony before the court, estimated them at the high figure of
five thousand. Lieutenant Harris, a very intelligent officer, and
charged with the duty of providing and distributing the articles
stipulated by the treaty to be given to the Indians, and well ac
quainted with them, estimated them in a report to the War De
partment, as not exceeding three thousand, including negroes, of
which sixteen hundred were females. This was the latest report
upon the subject, when the war broke out, and derived value
from the fact, that as certain articles were to be distributed to each
Seminole, and as Lieutenant Harris had this duty to perform, it
was obviously necessary for him to use his best exertions to ascer
tain the full number, in order to avoid any complaint at the distri
bution; and it was as obviously the policy of these Indians not to
diminish in their repoit their actual number. General Thompson,
the Indian Agent, in a letter to the Commissary General of Sub
sistence, of August twenty-ninth, 1835, says: " I have resorted to
all practicable means of information to ascertain, with a probable
approach to precision, the actual number of tbe Seminole people,
and I am induced to believe it very little exceeds three thousand."
General Scott, in one of bis reports after his campaign, states
that there had never been five hundred warriors collected together
at one time, in Florida. The President supposed their whole
force did not exceed five hundred; and previous circumstances
had given him very favorable opportunities of forming a correct

OF LEWIS CASS. 303
opinion upon this subject, and no person expected tbe whole of
the Indian force would be opposed to us. Because, a consider
able party was desirous of emigrating, and the previous history
of our Indian wars had furnished example after example, where,
on the occurrence of hostilities with any of the tribes Within our
borders, a division of the tribe bas taken place, that tbe seceding
party bad uniformly either remained neutral or joined us; and in
the case of the Seminoles, even, a band of about five hundred
left their people at the commencement of hostilities, and placed
themselves within our lines.
In the report, already alluded to, of the Adjutant General,, is
embodied a report from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs upon
this subject, in which he states, that assuming the estimate of
Lieutenant Harris as correct, and supposing the Seminoles equally
divided on the question of emigration, there would be seven
hundred Seminole males, children, and adults, forming the hostile
party. He supposes that not more than one half of this, to wit:
three hundred and fifty persons, were fit to bear arms; but he
adds, that this hostile party may have received accessions from
the other party, and also from the Creeks. The current accounts
of that day justify the belief ,that but few, if any, of the Creeks
joined the Seminoles.
It was under all these circumstances that the Secretary of War
thought the estimate of five hundred hostile warriors sufficiently
high. He was not answerable for the accuracy of the informa
tion. He was only answerable for the use Which was made of it.
It was the only basis upon which the government could act.
And it may with propriety be added, tbat the number of Indians
is usually over-rated, rather than under-rated; and that in almost
all actions we have fought with them, subsequent information has
reduced the estimate of tbe numbers originally given upon vague
calculation. There were two periods in the progress ofthe Seminole diffi
culties anterior to the commencement of actual hostilities. One
between the origin of these difficulties, and the pacification, if, it
may so be termed, made by General Clinch, General Thompson,
and Lieutenant Harris, with these Indians, in April, 1835, when a
mutual, and apparently a satisfactory arrangement, was made
with them, by wbich tbey agreed to remove during the succeeding
winter, and the government agreed tbat they might remain until

304 LIFE AND TIMES
then. The second period intervened between this time and the
breaking out of the war. '-\
The change of circumstances induced by this arrangement was
overlooked by General Clinch in bis testimony, because he refers,
in proof of the charge he makes of the negligence of the govern
ment, to his letter of January, 1835, to the Department,, asking
for six additional companies. The state of things existing when
he made that application, and to the time subsequent to the above
mentioned pacification, was totally different; and it is wrong to
refer to that application as any step in the series of measures
having relation to actual hostilities. Tbe force in Florida in the
spring of 1835, was found, by experience, to be enough. It ac
complished its object, and led to a mutual arrangement. A person
looking at tbe presentation of this letter, with the others by Gen
eral Clinch, would suppose that it constituted one of a series of
demands made by him, and rejected by the government. He
would never dream that it had a relation to a state of things
which was terminated peacefully and successfully; and after
which the force under "General Clinch was, for some months,
judged sufficient by him for the protection of the country. While
be supposed the Indians altogether unfavorable to a removal, he
estimated the necessary force to control them at twelve companies;
but when they had consented to go voluntarily, he considered a
less force necessary, as his letters and proceedings ^conclusively
show. What are the facts ?
In January, 1835, General Clinch asked for six additional
companies to strengthen his command, with a view to the re
moval of the Seminole Indians " in the spring," say in April or
May, of that year. His demand was submitted to the President,
who decided that four companies should be sent to Florida from
Fort Monroe, and that General Clinch should be authorized to
order the company at Key West to join him whenever he might
think proper. Orders for these purposes were given on the 14th
of February, 1835. When the estimated force of the Indians is
taken into view, tbe just desire of circumscribing tbe expense as
far as was prudent, and the' material fact that, by the treaty, only
about one third of the Seminoles could be required to remove
that " spring " — say Bhort of two hundred disaffected warriors—
the decision of the President must be thought a discreet one.

OF LEWIS CASS. 305
But there is- a still better authority, if possible, upon this occasion,
in justification of tbe measures of the government. Tbat is the
authority of General Clinch himself. He asked, as the maximum
of force wbich could be wanted, eleven companies, or five hun
dred and fifty men. He received nine companies, or four hundred
and fifty men; and he received, also, power to order the company
from Key West to join him, which would make ten companies, or
five hundred men. His requisitions were for companies, and
those requisitions were not neglected.
Well, then, the force sent to General Clinch Carried him through
the spring. He made an arrangement with the Indians which
appeared to be satisfactory with them, and was so with the gov
ernment, which quieted the frontier and induced the general
belief that this troublesome matter was over. His force was found
sufficient because his purpose was effected.
But General Clinch himself evidently considered a less force
than tbat he named — and even1 a less force than that placed at
his disposal by the government — adequate to tbe objects he had
to attain. He did not call to his aid the company from Key West;
and it is very important to remark, that while General Clinch
accused the government, in his testimony before the court, of neg
lecting biB application for a proper force, during that whole season
the company at Key West — placed under his command the pre
ceding February — almost in sight of Florida, and not more than
one day's sail from its shore, was left by him upon that island,
and never reached the sphere of his command till the twenty-first
of December. The order authorizing him to call it to bis aid
must have reached him the beginning of March. During nine
months, then, deducting the few days necessary to communicate
his orders to Major Dade, and for that officer to cross over to the
main land of Florida, General Clinch considered his force suffi
cient, or be was guilty of the neglect which he afterwards vainly
charged to his government. And what stronger proof can be'
given of tbe assertion already made, that the hostile movement
of the Indians was unexpected by him who, of all others, was
charged with watching and restraining them, than this failure to
employ for that purpose all tbe force placed at his. disposal ? But
still further : General Clinch, in his letter to the department of
April first, 1 835, after stating his belief that an arrangement would
be made which would quiet the Indians and be satisfactory to the
20

306 LIFE AND TIMES
government, says that, " should the chiefs come to the conclusion
to remove quietly, it would be still necessary to keeprthe present
force in Florida." The chiefs did consent to remove quietly, and
the then " present force " was kept in Florida ; and nothing more
did General Clinch then demand; In all this, where is the neglect
of the bead of the War Department?
So passed the first period of the Seminole difficulties. Thus,
did matters remain until fall, without any intimation from, Gene
ral Clinch that an additional force would benecessary. The first
suggestion of this nature was made on the twelfth of Octbber, by
Lieutenant Harris, in a personal interview with General Cass, at
the department. But, as General Clinch had not asked for any
increase, it was not judged proper positively to direct it. But he
was, nevertheless, authorized to call for two more companies,, one
from Pensacola, and one from Mobile, if he thought necessary;
and orders were issued to the commanding officers of those com
panies to bold themselves in readiness for an immediate movement.
On the twenty-first of October, a letter was received from Gen
eral Clinch, dated on the ninth of that month, in which he sug
gested the propriety of being authorized to call into service one
hundred and fifty mounted volunteers, to aid in the removal of the
Indians, and suppress any difficulties which might occur. " But,"
says the report of the Adjutant General, before referred to, " as this .
force was required to aid in the removal, and to prevent difficulties
which were anticipated, and not to repel hostilities which had
commenced, or which were then impending, General Clinch was
informed in answer,, on the twenty-second of October, that there
was no, appropriation authorizing the measure, and that the Pres
ident,, under existing circumstances, did not consider that the case
came under the constitutional power to call into service additional
force for the defense of the country."
This was the view of President Jackson respecting , his own
powers. General Cass fully approved of it, and so should any
person who looks at the facts as they were then known at the seat
of government, and at the constitutional powers of the President.
" But he was authorized," continues the report of the Adjutant
General, "to order two more, companies,, viz: those at Forts Wood,
and Pike to join, which, with the two companies placed at his dis
posal on the fifteenth of October, made four companies of regular-
troops, in lieu of the mounted men. On the thirtieth of the same

OF LEWIS CASS. 30T
month, orders were given by the Navy Department to Commo
dore Dallas, to direct one of the vessels of the squadron to co-op
erate with General Clinch in bis endeavors to effect the removal
of Jbhe Seminoles. In a letter received on the thirty-first of Octo
ber, General Clinch requested that three companies of regular
troops might be added to his command. He was apprised, how
ever, by previous orders, tbat four bad already been placed at his
disposal." General Clinch complained, afterwards, that these troops ought
to have been- sent from tbe north, rather than from the points.'
whence they were ordered. This was a question for the proper
military officers of the department at Washington to decide, hav
ing reference to the wants of the service and the position of the
troops. The subject was referred to them, and tbe selection made
of fhe companies enumerated. One leading reason is obvious.
There was still ground to hope that coercive measures might not
be necessary. It was, therefore, thought better to place these ;
additional troops under the orders of General Clinch, at the near
est points to Florida, where they could remain, if not wanted^ or
whence he could speedily draw them when necessary^ than to
order them positively into the country from a great distance. As
to the delay in their arrival, General Cass neither knew anything
of the cause, nor is be responsible. Tbe fault or misfortune was
not in giving tbe necessary directions, but in their execution.
Most assuredly, had proper diligence been used, the companies
from Pensacola, Mobile, Lake Pqnchartrain^-and they, best, could
have reached Tampa Bay before the period of their actual arrival, .
as shown in the report of the Adjutant General, to wit : vthe twenty-
seventh of November, and tbe twelfth, twenty-fifth, twenty-eighth
and thirty-first of December. And it is perfectly eyident that
this delay did not originate in the want of time ; for the Key
West company, which might have been called into Florida nine
months before, did not reach there until the twenty-first of Decem
ber, nearly a month after the, Pensacola company, which was only ¦
placed at General Clinch's disposal on the fifteenth of October,
The last measures directed by, the government before the com
mencement of actual hostilities, are stated in the same reports
"In bis communication from St. Augustine, dated, the twenty-
ninth of November, received on tbe ninth of December, General,
Clinch reported that,, should be find it necessary for the protection

308 LIFE AND' TIMES
of the frontier settlements, be would assume the responsibility of
calling out at least one hundred mounted men, believing that the
measure would be sanctioned by the President and the Secretary
of War. This apprbbation was communicated to him on the same
day; and in addition to it, a letter was addressed to the Governor
of Florida, requesting him to place at tbe disposal of General
Clinch any militia force which that officer might require. Of this
General Clinch was informed. He was also informed that, at the
request of General Hernandez, orders would be given, through the
Ordnance Department, to issue five hundred muskets, and the
necessary accoutrements, to the militia."
Here terminated all the demands of General Clinch for troops,
prior to the commencement of hostilities ; with this exception,
however, that on fhe ninth of December, be suggested the expe
diency of substituting four companies from the north instead of
the four from tbe soutb^ as tbe latter might not reach the country.
But at the moment when the letter was written, one of these com
panies had already been two weeks at Tampa Bay, and all of
rthem were there before the letter reached the War Department.
So that suggestion was evidently impracticable.
Now let us slightly review this matter. We will pass over the
first period, in order not to encumber the subject, and because an
arrangement was made which, for some time, seemed to promise
permanent tranquillity.
General Clinch had eight companies with him, and one more
within his reach ; and these, as has been shown, he deemed suffi
cient. His next demand was for three more companies, and this
was succeeded and met by giving him four. He asked for one
hundred and fifty mounted men, but the President did not feel
authorized, in the then state of affairs, to call for them. He then
subsequently stated he should ask the Governor of Florida for one
hundred men, if he should find it necessary for the protection of
the frontier. The President, believing that circumstances were
then sufficiently menacing to justify this measure, gave his sanc
tion to it ; and, in addition, without any demand from General ,
Clinch, be placed the whole militia of the Territory, through" the
Governor, at his disposal.
Now, as a matter of fact, General Clinch had a far greater force
nnder bis command than be ever required. It is not meant that
be had collected them together. Tbat was not the duty of the

OF LEWIS CASS. 309
head of tbe department. The measures adopted at Washington
ought to have given him the full complement of regular troops
asked for ; in addition to which, he embodied five hundred militia,
and that force was with him, as stated by the Adjutant General, at
the battle of Witblacoocbie, on tbe thirty-first of December, 1835.
Why it was not in the engagement, bas not been satisfactorily
explained. General Clinch's personal conduct on that day was
beyond all reproach, and never was the honor of the American
arms more nobly sustained than by the regular troops. But this
most favorable opportunity of terminating the war, by striking a
decisive blow, was lost. The combat was sustained by about two
hundred regular troops ; indeed, it is said, by twenty-five or thirty
militia. And why was not the whole force in action? A narrow
stream, like the Withlacoochie, ought not to have prevented Amer
ican riflemen from crossing upon logs — upon rafts, by swimming
their horses, to take part in the. struggle, unequally but gallantly
maintained by their countrymen, Within full sight ; more espe
cially as there could be no danger from the enemy in crossing, the
regular troops covering tbe banks of tbe river. The regulars
crossed early, and it was some time after they effected their pas
sage before the action commenced. The enemy was rbpulsed by
two hundred men. Who can doubt but ¦ that there was force
enough, had it been properly directed and employed, to terminate
the war at once? If these five hundred spectators had been
brought into action, and the enemy broken and pursued by tbe
horsemen, the victory might have been as decisive1 as any of those
gained under happier auspices in , the same section of tbe Union.
; If these troops were prevented, by insurmountable obstacles, from
participating in the contest, General Clinch owed to them a full
development of the circumstances. If they were prevented by
any less justifiable cause, General Clinch owed to himself, to the
regular troops, to justice, and to his country, a plain and unequiv-(
ocal disclosure of the truth, bear where it might.
So much for the year 1835. The charge of General Clinch
against the War Department extends to the year 1836 ; and he
continues his accusation of neglect, asserting that a competent
force and competent supplies were not provided " early " in that
year. It will be conceded that the eighth of January may be fairly
said to be " early " in 1836. Well ; then, on the eighth of January,

310 LIFE AND TIMES
authority was given to General Clinch to call for any amount
offeree he might require, from: the States of South Carolina, Geor
gia, and Alabama; and this measure was taken upon the respon
sibility of the department, and without any application from that
officer ; iand the necessary requests were transmitted to the execu
tives of these States. And on the tenth and thirteenth of the same
month, upon the suggestion of tbe War Department, orders were
given for the employment of three revenue cutters, and for the
co-operation of Commodore Dallas' squadron.
The seventeenth of January was "early" in the year 1836.
Well ; then, upon the seventeenth of January, fearing, from the
intelligence, which every day became worse, that the communica
tion with General Clinch might be intercepted, and he thus pre
vented from executing the orders of the government General
Eustis, then at Charleston, was directed to proceed to Florida, and
to take all necessary measures to keep open the communication
with General Clinch, and to report to him for further instructions.
General Eustis was directed to take with him the garrisons at
Charlestons and Savannah, and such a portion of. the South Caro
lina militia as he might deem necessary ; and the Governor of that
State was requested to supply him with that force.
It may be said, again, that the twenty-first of January, 1836,
was " early " in that year. Yery well ; on the previous day the
first intimation reached the department of the unquiet disposition
of the Greeks, and of the probability of their joining the Seminoles.
It instantly became apparent that much more extensive operations
might become necessary than had been contemplated.1' It was
immediately determined to adapt the measures to be taken to this
new- state of things, and General Scott, with ample powers, was,
on the twenty-first, ordered to take the command in that quarter,
and he had unlimited means placed at his disposal. The measures
taken for tbe employment of the proper force is what the head of
the department is responsible for, not the execution of the meas
ures. When a force is directed to any point, the proper military
bureaus of tbe War Department make arrangements with or with
out the conjunction of the officer commanding, for all the materiel
which can be required ; and that officer has, besides, the right to
make his requisitions, and, if necessary, to make the purchases fdr
everything he needs.

of Lewis cabs. 311
f '
These are details info Which no bead of the War Department
can have time to enter, and it is precisely for their execution that
tbe military bureaus are instituted. The Adjutant General states,
in the report before mentioned : " I have not considered it neces
sary to detail, in this report, the orders given by the .various mili
tary bureaus of the War Department, to provide the necessary
means, such as transportation, ordnance, and ordnance stores, and
provisions for the operations in Florida. All the measures in
relation to these subjects, which appeared . to be necessary, were
duly taken." It was, at.no time, alledged that the operations in
Florida were crippled for want of supplies.
The failure of a campaign is an old subject for crimination and
recrimination. In all ages and countries it has been futile in dis-
putes ; sometimes confined .to the officers themselves, and some
times extending to the administration of the government. To
bring these observations to a close, let it suffice, to say that the
Secretary of War1 differed from tbe commanding officer in relation
to the policy to be adopted in carrying out the treaty of Payne's
Landing. When it was intimated that some of the Seminoles
distrusted the good faith of their chiefs, after their return from
their tour of observation beyond the Mississippi, and ' began to
give signs of discontent, General Cass was for urging the removal
at once. He would have the emigration commence in the spring
of 1835, instead of waiting until the fall or winter following. He
bad had too much experience with the Indians, ahd knew their
character too well, not to be at least suspicious^ that,, when fall
came, another postponement would be asked for, and procrastina
tion would become tbe studied, policy of the Seminole nation at
large. By the adoption of vigorous measures of removal, fhe
Indians would be prevented from making much, if any, hostile
demonstration ; and as to the humanity of the measure, if it was
in consonance with right to insist upon removal taking place in
1836, so it was in 1835. Probably, if this policy had obtained,
much blood and treasure would have been saved, and many valu
able lives spared to the country, As it was, after actual hostilities
broke out, all that he could do was to exert all the power which
the government possessed in bringing the war to a triumphant
termination. This was done, and General Scptt to,ok the command,
with carte blanche as to men, means, and plans. His measures

312 LIFE AND TIMES
were left to bis own discretion, and he was a%thorized to call from
the neighboring States such force as he might judge adequate to
the attainment of the objects committed to him ; and tbe various
military departments were directed to provide and furnish all the
supplies demanded. It follows, of course, that the government was
not responsible for results. They did what every wise government
should do in such a juncture. They sanctioned the full employ
ment of alf the means judged necessary by those upon whom was
tb devolve the conduct of the war. Tbe main reliance, after all,
as in most other wars in which our country has been engaged, was
necessarily upon the militia. The small amount of our regular
army, its dispersed condition, and the numerous points it is called
upon to maintain, rendered it impracticable to carry on operations
by its means alone, and, added to these considerations, there were,
during a part of the Seminole campaign, strong reasons which all
will appreciate, having reference to our foreign relations, which
rendered it inexpedient to withdraw all the troops from the Atlan
tic and south-western frontiers.
There was not a report received of the operations in Florida,
from the first apprehension of difficulties, which was not sub
mitted to the President, nor any measure of importance taken,
which was not first approved by him. No confidence is violated
by making this announcement. And it is well known, that from
the practice and organization of our government, the heads of the
departments are in daily communication with the President, and
that all questions of much interest are discussed with him ; and to
those who know the habits of rigid scrutiny wbich General Jack
son carried with him into public life, it is not necessary to sayj
that no question could be presented to him which be did not care
fully consider. In the examination of papers, he was remarkable
for the most patient attention, and it is not invidious to say, that
no man brought to every subject quicker powers of perception, uot
a more intuitive sagacity. This authority is not resorted to for the
purpose of shielding General Cass from responsibility under the
constitutional prerogative' of the President. The Secretary was
ready at all times to acknowledge and feel his own responsibility
to the fullest extent, and is always prepared to meet it. The
measures directed by him became his measures, whether approved
by the President or not ; but the opinion of Andrew Jackson, the

OF LEWIS CASS. 313
Secretary was not inSifferent to ; and his views concerning the
operations in Florida possessed peculiar value, because of bis in
timate knowledge ofSthe country, and of those Indians who inhab
ited that region, acquired during years of service there in a military
and civil capacity, and of those personal claims to consideration
which will be as undying as the history of our country.

314 LIFE 1ND TIMES

CHAPTER XXI.
Battle of New Orleans— Intimacy between General Jackson and General Cass — The IJatter at the re- '
quest of the Former prepares an Authentic Account of the Battle — Appears in the American
Quarterly — Defenses ofthe Country — General Cass' Report on the Subject.
In the December number of the American Quarterly, published
at Philadelphia, appeared an article upon a book published in
London, in 1834, entitled "A Narrative of Events in the South of
France; and of the Attack on New Orleans in 1814 and 1815, by
Captain John Henry Cook, late of the forty-third Regiment of
Infantry." It was a work not without interest. The author re
lated occurrences which passed before his eyes, during a period
of active military service in Europe and America. Many of his
descriptions were spirited and racy ; and he exhibited a commend
able effort at impartiality, .and a spirit of free investigation. In
his sketches of the battle' of New Orleans, he was, however, im
perfect ; and so many accounts of that important transaction had
from time to time appeared — differing from each other — that Gen
eral Jackson felt a desire that an authentic account should be
given, not only of the actual events of the eighth of January, but
of tbe, fortnight previous, and of the condition of that part of the
country — of the true state of his command, and of the difficulties
with1 wbich he had to contend. He asked- his old friend, General
Cass, to. draw up the paper, and hence the appearance of the arti
cle alluded to. It was prepared with much care, and under the
eye of General Jackson. It covered, in a condensed form, but yet
at sufficient length to go into detail, the history of the attack and
defense of New Orleans, and ofthe glorious triumph of the Amer
ican arms, and the rout of the British. The style and language,
as is usual with all the literary productions of its author, were in
viting, and gave the President great satisfaction:
"On the night of tbe seventh of January," says this article,
" tbe American lines were manned by the troops, who were aware,
from the incidents around them, that tbe enemy was preparing for

OF LEWIS CASS. 315
the attack. The British had collected about forty boats, some of
them armed with cannon, which were yet lying in the canal, ready
to receive on board the detachment destined for tbe operations on
the right bank of the river. Many a sleepless eye watched the
slow progress of that night — many, indeed, which never watched
again. No man can contemplate, without emotion, the approach
of such a struggle as was then evidently impending. Whpn the
blood is up, and all the excitement of battle around us, the mind
is withdrawn from the reflection of danger, or rather is elevated
above it. Duty, 'hope, shame, habit, discipline, all conspire to
stimulate to exertion. But ' the pain of death is most in apprehen
sion.' It is in the stillness of the 'night, and of solitude, that those
thoughts' come over us, wbich are told in such burning words by
•the great dramatic poet of our father-land,' when,
'  , the dread of something after death,

The undiscovered country, from whose bourne
No traveler returns — puzzles the will.'
'i
"The whole scene, with its associations, must have been singu
larly impressive to an Englishman — to a native of the older world,
who had never seen the works of native spread but in that mag
nificence which marks her operations upon this continent. Before
him is that mighty river, of which 'he 'had heard from bis infancy,
rolling its endless floods to the ocean, and seeking its supply in
the fountains ofthe north ; traversing regions of boundless forests
and perpetual solitude, and overtopping the rich but narrow plain
which man had gained from its dominion. High up, on its trunk
and tributaries, those nomad es "wander, whose origin is a mystery;
whose condition, habits, institutions and history have arrested the
attention of Christendom, since the veil which insulated them and
their world has been withdrawn ; whose fierce passions have
always been gratified in the blood of friend and foe ; who have been
stationary, not in position, but improvement, while everything
around them has been changing ; and whose destiny we have no
pleasure in anticipating. Around him is the primeval forest, bid
ding defiance to the slow progress of human industry, shown, and
scarcely shown, in the little fertile tract it has taken a century of
labor to reclaim. The promised city — the object bf his hopes
and toils — is within bis sphere of vision, though shrouded from
Ms view by the obscurity of the night, and guarded against his

316 LIFE AND TIMES
approach by an enemy he came to conquer without an effort," but
whom, he now fears, no effort can conquer. The river is sending
up its dense canopy of fog, which gradually encircles all objects,
animate and inanimate, and circumscribes the lonely spectator
within his own narrow world. His companions had fought in
many a foreign clime ; at Corunna, at Busaco, at Cuidad Rodrigo,
at Badajoz, at Salamanca, at Vittoria, at Toulouse, at Martinique,
and at other famous battles ; and where they bad seen the elete-oi
Europe flee before them, and its proudest fortresses yield to their
impetuous valor. Now they had been foiled by a band of hus
bandmen — a ' posse comitatus,' ' dressed in colored clothes,'
' wearing broad beavers,' ' armed with long duck guns ; ' ' by
lumps and crowds of American militia,' and ' by round-hatted
Americans,' but who, with, practiced weapons, with stout hearts,
sharp eyes, and steady hands, had placed themselves in the path
between them and their prey."
The p.rticle filled some sixty pages of tbe Review, and was read
with avidity by all classes. It not only told the whole story, but
it in fact came from tbe hero of that immortal day in the history
of American warfare.
On the seventh of April, 1836, General Cass presented to the
President his report, relative to the military and naval defenses
of the country, and on the following day, General Jackson trans
mitted the same to Congress, approving of the report generally,
and especially adding his concurrence in tbe views expressed by
the Secretary on the topics of difference between him and the
Engineer bureau.
The report was ably drawn up, and amid the variety of opin
ions entertained by many prominent statesmen and military men
of high rank, removed much of the misconception prevalent, as ,to
the wants of the country, both in t peace and war. It recognized
the benefits to be derived from properly appropriated fortifica
tions, but earnestly recommended a discriminating and judicious
application of the public money to the erection and full equip
ment of fortifications at certain definite localities, under the full
belief that the adoption of such a policy would be more advanta
geous for general defense, than an indefinite, hap-hazard system
of construction and equipment, as. the dominant caprice of Con
gress might from time to time adopt.
After a scrutinizing examination of the nature and condition

OF LEWIS CASS. 317
of the northern frontier, washed by those seas which extend along
its borders, the report expressed the opinion that it did not
require permanent defenses, and that we might safely rely for its
security upon those resources, both in the personnel and materiel
which the extent and other advantages of our country ensure,
and which must give us the superiority in that quarter. Tt sug
gested, however, the expediency of establishing a depot for the
reception of munitions of war, in some part of the Peninsula of
Michigan, and to strengthen it by such defenses as will enable it
to resist any coup de main that might be attempted. From f.be
geographical features of the country, our possessions there receded
from their natural points of suppbrt, and were placed in immedi
ate contact with a fertile ahd populous part of the neighboring
colony. In the event of disturbances, the ordinary communica
tions might be interrupted, and therefore it was advisable to have
in deposit a supply of all the necessary means for offensive or
defensive operations, and to place these beyond the reach of any
enterprising officer who might be disposed, by a sudden move
ment, to gain possession of them.
It was upon the sea coast of three thousand miles' extent, that
General Cass thought fortifications should be erected and a line
of defenses established. This, in case of war, could be used in
co-operating with the naval power. If the ocean, the great medi
um of communication and the element at the same time of sepa
ration and of union, interposed peculiar obstacles to tbe progress
of hostile demonstrations, it also offered advantages which were
not less obvious, and which, to be successfully resisted, requires
corresponding arrangements and exertions. These advantages
depended on the economy and facility of transportation — on the
celerity of movement, and on the power of an enemy to threaten
the whole shore spread out before him, and to select bis point of
attack at pleasure. "A powerful hostile fleet upon the coast of
the United States," remarks the Secretary, "presents some ofthe
features of a war where a heavy mass is brought to act against
detachments which may be cut up in detail, although their com
bined force would exceed the assailing foe. Our points of expo
sure are so numerous and distant, that it would be impracticable
to keep, at each of them, a force competent to resist the attack of
an enemy, prepared by his naval ascendency and his other
arrangementSj to make a sudden and vigorous inroad upon our

318 LIFE AND TIMES
shores,. It becomes us, therefore, to inquire bow l|he consequences
of this state of things are to be best met and averted*
" The first and most obvious, and, in every point of view; the
most proper method of defense is an augmentation of our, naval
means to an extent proportioned to the resources and the necessi
ties of the nation. I do not mean the actual construction and
equipment of vessels only. The number of those in service must
depend on the state of the country at a given period. But I mean,
the collection of all such material as may be preserved without-
injury, and a due encouragement of those branches, of interest
essential to the growth of a navy, and which may be properly
nurtured; by tbe, government, so that on tbe approach of danger
a fleet may put to sea without delay j sufficiently powerful to meet
any force which will probably be sent to our coast.
" Our great battle upon tbe ocean is yet to be fought, and we
shall gain nothing by shutting our eyes to the nature of the strug
gle, or to, the exertions which we shall find it necessary to make.
All our institutions are essentially pacific, and every citizen feels
tbat his share of the common interest is effected by the derange
ment of business, by the enormous expense, and by the uncertain
result of a war. This feeling presses upon tbe community and
government, and is a sure guarantee that we shall never be pre-'
cipitated into a contest, nor embark in one, unless imperiously
required by those considerations which leave no alternative be
tween resistance and dishonor. Accordingly, all our history
shows that we are more disposed to bear while evils ought to be
borne, than to seek redress by appeals to arms ; still, however, a
contest must come, and it behooves us, while we have the means
and the opportunity, to look forward to its attendant circumstan
ces, and to prepare, for the consequences.
" There is as little need of inquiry now into our moral as into, .
our physical capacity to maintain a navy, and to meet upon equal
terms the ships and seamen of any other nation. Our extendedji
commerce, creating and created by those resources which, are
essential to the building and . equipment of fleets, removes, all
doubts upon the one point, and the history of our naval enterprise
from the moment when the colors were first hoisted upon the hast
ily prepared vessels, at the commencement of our revolutionary
struggle, to the last conquest in which any ofour ships have been,
engaged, is equally satisfactory upon the other. The achievements

OF LEWIS CASS, , 319
of our navy haye stamped its character with the country and
the world. The simple recital of its exploits is the highest
euloginm which can be pronounced upon it. With ample means,
therefore, to meet upon the ocean, by which they, must approach
us, any armaments that may be destined for our shores, we are ,
called upon by every prudential consideration to do so. Though
all wars in which we may be engaged will probably be defensive
in their. character, undertaken to repel or resent some injury or to
assert some right, still the objects of the war can be best attained
by its vigorous prosecution. Defensive in its causes, it should be
offensive in, its, character. Our principal belligerent measures,
should have for their aim, to attack our antagonist where he is
most vulnerable. If we are to receive his assaults, we abandon,
the vantage ground, and endeavor, in effect, to- compel him to do
us justice by inviting his, descent upon our shores, and by all
those consequences which mark the progress of an invading force,
whether for depredation or for conquest. By the ocean only, can
we be seriously assailed, and by the. ocean only can, we seriously
assail any power with, which we are likely to be brought into
collision." After setting forth strong reasons for providing liberally for
naval operations, the report proceeds:
" It seems to me, therefore, that our first and best fortification
is the navy. Nor do I see any limit to our naval preparations,
except that imposed by a due regard to the public revenues from
time to time,, and bythe probable condition of other maritime
nations. Much of the rriateriel, employed in the construction and
equipment of vessels is almost indestructible, or at any rate may
be, preserved for a long .series of years; and if ships can be thus
kept without injury upon the stocks, by being built under cover,
I do not see what should restrain us from proceeding to build as
many as. may be, deemed necessary, apd. as fast as a, due regard
to their economical and substantial construction will permit, and
to collect and prepare for immediate use all tbe munitions of
war and other articles of equipment not, liable to injury or decay
by tbe lapse of time. Nor do I see tbat these preparations should
be strictly graduated by f be number of seamen who would prob
ably enter tbe service at this time or within any short period. To
build and equip vessels properly Squires .much time, as well with
reference to the execution pf the Work as .to the proper condition

320 LIFE AND TIMES
of the materials employed. And the costly experiment made by
England, when she too hastily increased her fleet, about thirty
years ago, by building ships with improper materials and bad
workmanship, ought to furnish us with a profitable lesson. Those
vessels soon decayed, after rendering very little service. Naval
means should, therefore, be provided "at a period of leisure, to be
ready for immediate employment in a period of exigency, and a
due regard to prudence dictates that these means should so far
exceed the estimated demands of the serviee as to supply in the
shortest time any loss occasioned by the hazards of the ocean and
the accidents of war. We may safely calculate that the number
of seamen in the United States will increase in proportion to that
rapid augmentation which is going on in all the other branches of
national interest. If we assume that, at a given period, we may
expect to embark in war, our capacity to man a fleet will exceed
our present means by a ratio not difficult to ascertain. And even
then, by greater exertions, and perhaps higher wages, a larger
portion may be induced to enter the naval service, while no exer
tions can make a corresponding addition to the navy itself, hut
at a loss of time and expense and a sacrifice of its permanent
interests." General Cass, in this celebrated report, repelled the idea of
shutting up our coasts by fortifications, and insisted that no nation
would embark in the Quixotic enterprise of conquering this coun
try. And, hence, that any army thrown upon our coast would
push forward with some definite object to be attained by a prompt
movement and vigorous exertions. He showed, too, that the system
of fortifications adopted in Europe was inapplicable to America,
and referred to our own experience as proof positive that an invad
ing force could only command but little more than the position
it actually occupied. He reasoned that, perhaps England mighjfc|
be considered conquered if London was taken — France, if Paris
fell — but no such consequences would flow to this country bythe
capture of Washington.
" Our seats of government," said he, •*' are merely the places
/where the business of the proper departments is conducted, and
have not, themselves, the slightest influence upon any course of
measures, except what is due to public opinion and to their just
share of it. If the machine itself were itinerant, the result would
be precisely the same. Or, if, by any of the accidents of war or

OF LEWIS CASS. 321
pestilence, the proper authorities were compelled to change their
place of convocation, the change would be wholly unobserved,
except by tbe few whose personal convenience would be affected
by tbe measure; Nor have our commercial capitals any more
preponderating influence than our' political ones. And although
their capture by an enemy, and the probable losS of property and
derangement of business which would be the result, might seri
ously affect the community, yet it would not prbduce the slightest
effect upon the social or political systems of the country. The
power belongs to all and is exercised by all."
After going over the subject of the national defenses, in all its'
ramifications, and discussing in detail the advantages and disad
vantages of each locality, he put his suggestions in a practical
form, under the following heads of recommendation:
1. An augmentation of the navy.
2. The adoption of an efficient plan for the organization of the
militia. 3. The cultivation of military science, tb the end that We may
keep pace with the improvements in all tbe branches of that
advancing science.
4. The skeleton of a regular establishment, to which additions
might be made from/ time to time, as the public exigency should
require — securing, at the same time, economy, with a due power
of expansion. / "
5. The preparation and proper distribution, of all 'the munitions
of war. /
6. Defensive works then in process of construction to be
finished. 7. All the harbors and inlets upon tbe coast, where there are
cities or towns whose situation and importance create just appre-
ajtagsion of attack, and particularly where we have public naval
establishments, should be defended by works proportioned to any
(Exigency that might probably arise.
8. Provision to be made for the necessary experiments to test
the superiority of the various plans that may be offered for the
construction and use of steam batteries, meaning batteries to be
employed as accessories in the defense of harbors and inlets, and
in aid of the permanent fortifications.
9. A reconsideration of the project for fortifying the road
steads or open anchorage grounds, and its better adaptation to the
21

322 LIFE AND TIMES
circumstances of tbe country. , And then, in connection with the
prosecution of the public works, be recommended: first, that the
corps of engineers should be increased ; and, secondly, that when
the plan of a work has been approved by Congress, and its construc
tion authorized, the whole appropriation should be made at once,
to be drawn from the, treasury in annual installments, to be fixed
by the law.
A report so complete, upon a subject of such intrinsic import
ance, could not fail to arrest the attention of the people, and
receive the consideration of Congress. It did so. The leading
features of the recommendations are incorporated into our system
of national defenses, and conserved the great business interests of
the country and the sovereignty of the nation. And its author,
for this labor, if for no other, is entitled to the lasting gratitude
of tbe republic.
With other- heavy cares of office making large drafts upon his
time and thoughts, nothing but the dictates of the truest patriot
ism could have prompted his efforts. If be had been so disposed,
he could very well have confined his attention to the ordinary
routine of departmental life, and acquitted himself honorably, as
the, stereotype phrase goes; and if, perchance, he had happened
to stumble upon some new project, however utterly foreign to the
general scope of a cabinet officer, upon that could he have reposed
for fame, — temporary, most assuredly, but, nevertheless, sufficient
for the ephemera,! quid-nuncs of to-day — known but yesterday
and forgotten to-morrow.

OF LEWIS CASS. . 323

, CHAPTER XXII.
General Cass' Health— Desires to leave the Cabinet— Accepts the French Mission— Voyage across the
Atlantic— Reception at the Court of St. Cloud— General Cass as a Diplomatist— His duties — His
Memoranda of Court Customs — French, Life — An Emeute — French Manners— French Knowledge.
General Cass' ambition in being a member of tbe American
Cabinet at Washington, Was early gratified; and, as the reader
already has been apprised, be so informed the President at the
commencement of his second term. Itwas more in conformity of
the wish of the President, than of his own, that he remained a
member. , He continued in the discbarge of the duties of Secre
tary of War until the summer of 1836', when, finding that his
health was failing, because of the assiduousness which a proper
discharge of the duties of tbe position demanded the year round,
he acquainted the President of his desire to Withdraw from public
duties, and in retirement refresh his exhausted energies.
General Jackson was loth to part company with his old friend,
and would not listen to the idea of his going into private life. A
month, probably, elapsed before the President signified bis wil
lingness to accept tbe resignation; and even then it was condi
tional. The' President was willing to exchange General Cass
from the War office to that of a Foreign Ambassador at the Court
of St. Cloud; and the acceptance ofthe Secretary's resignation
in this modified form was assented to by General Cass, coupled
with the condition that he should be permitted to travel on the
continent and in the countries of the east, as soon as the business
of the Legation at Paris would permit.
An important historian, in alluding to General Cass at the
time he held the War post in General Jackson's cabinet, stated
that, " In tbe important station which he now holds, his sphere of
usefulness is enlarged, and none of his predecessors ever enjoyed
a greater share of public confidence. Strict and punctual in his
business habits, plain and affable in his manners, with powers of
mind which grasp, as it were by intuition, every subject to which
they are applied — united to various acquirements."

324 . LIFE AND TIMES
General Cass retired from the Department of War with a
voluntary letter from the President, expressive of tbe warmest
thanks for his valuable services, and earnest wishes for his wel
fare; and in October following he embarked in the ship Quebec,
at New York, for Paris, accompanied by bis family. Our diplo
matic relations with that country had been for some time suspended,
owing to tbe failure to make the payments due to us, agreeably to
treaty stipulations, for injuries done to our commerce. The money,
however, having been paid, there was no reason why this state of
alienation should continue, and the necessary measures to renew
the intercourse were therefore taken. But as no direct commu
nication had taken place between tbe two governments, -General
Cass was instructed to repair to London, and there to wait till it
was ascertained that be would be received, and that a corres
pondent step would be taken by France. The British government
acted as the intermediary upon, this occasion, and immediately
received assurances that the advances of the United States would
be met in an equally friendly spirit. Accordingly, an envoy was
appointed, and . after spending a few days in England, awaiting
the result, our Minister repaired to Paris, where bis reception was
all an American could require.
This was General Cass' first voyage across the ocean, and the
first time in a public life of thirty years,, that he had turned his
back upon bis native land; and he now did so, only to again set
his face towards the stars and stripes he loved so well, as soon as
he could receive his exequatur from Louis Phillippe. All the
knowledge that books could give ofthe countries to which he
went, General Cass had by heart; and now the favorable oppor
tunity had come for him . to learn, by personal observation, how
near or how far astray he was, from their truthful condition and
position in the mighty, scale of nations. He had seen America
and American life, in all its diversified phases, from the dreary
and barbarian wilds of Superior, to the pleasant and soul-inspir
ing savannas of the southern latitudes; he hadj time and again,
with tbe terrific war-whoops and deativsong ringing their startling
and melancholy cadence upon the ear, smoked the pipe of peace,
and refreshed himself in the rude wigwam ofthe savage; and he
had as often, and more, moved "the observed of all. observers," in
the most enlightened society, and among tbe most accomplished,
men of his time. He had witnessed,,with equal pain, the treachery

OF LEWIS CASS. 325
of the savage, and the intrigue of civilized life. By no means an
inattentive observer of the springs of human nature, whether in
its primitive or cultivated state, be had drawn valuable lessons
of wisdom from these wells of experience. He was now on the
verge of the fifty-fourth year of bis life. He had already been
favored with a longer lease of human existence than many men ;
and many and many of his most valuable and cherished friends
he already had missed from earth. As to political preferment,
and the enjoyment of tbe distinction of office, already did hefeel
himself abundantly gratified. He had received the favor, in; an
unbroken line, of each successive President from the commence
ment of the present century, and partaken of their unlimited
confidence. His remaining ambition was to maintain the dignity
Of his' government at the proud Court to' which he was now ac
credited, and, in contentment, familiarize his mind with all that
he had read of, in the classics of bis youthful days, and in the
chronicles of the modern traveler. Much the larger portion of
his active life had been passed by General Cass amid the struggles
of a new country, where man and nature were contending for the
mastery, and where the conversion of the forest and the prairie
into pleasant farms and cultivated fields, could only be effected
by indefatigable labor and by constant privations. He was now
exchanging primeval solitudes, the haunts of the red man and of
the animals, his co-tenants of the forest whom God had given to
him for his support, for the highest state of improvement ; for
regions where the wealth and industry of long ages had been
striving to embellish, and to cover with everything essential to
human luxury and comfort. It is difficult to conceive a greater
contrast than that which met his eye when be compared the
splendors of Paris with the remote scenes of forest and prairie,
Where much of bis life had been spent. But the display of
European magnificence changed in nothing, either the sentiments
or habits of General Cass. He returned as he went, a plain
American, with his attachment to his country increased instead
of diminished, bythe artificial and unequal state of society which
he witnessed abroad.
Immediately upon reaching the gay capital of France, he pre
sented his letters of credence to the French government, and re
ceived permission to dwell near it. This mission was among the
most important from the United States at all times, and eminently

326 LIFE AND TIMES
so on this occasion. Diplomatic negotiations had been inter
rupted by tbe tardy payment ofthe indemnity for spoliations of
American commerce. Under these circumstances, the new Amer
ican Minister was specially directed to ascertain what were the
feelings of ihe French government towards the United States.
Scarcely had he been presented to the King than he undertook to
procure the interest on the indemnity of twenty-five millions of
francs, which bad been retained at the time the principal was
paid. In this he was presently successful, and thus had the satis=-
faction of terminating the dispute, which, at one time, threatened
to involve the litigating powers in a- war.
Tbe fame of General Cass — as a man of superior talents, and
for a long period occupying a distinguished position among his
fellow countrymen — had preceded him in this great metropolis of
Europe, and the leading capital of the civilization of the world.
Not only diplomatists and statesmen sought the opportunity to
make bis acquaintance, but even the most illustrious literary men
gathered around him, and paid him their tribute of respect.
The manner in which the American envoys, not unfrequently,
conducted themselves towards their countrymen, was far from
what it ought to have been. .Many of these gentlemen seemed to
have forgotten that they were the representatives of a people,
each one of whom had a claim upon their attention as far as means
and time would permit,.but appeared to imagine themselves the
representatives of an autocrat or monarch, of whom an humble,
private citizen, had no right to ask the least service or attention;
and when accorded, to be considered as a condescension and a
favor. Of all this no person was better aware than General Oass,
and be determined 'to reform it altogether. Nor was he unmind
ful of the position which bis country entitled him to take in his
intercourse with the many Diplomats accredited at that Court.
The following anecdote may be taken as an instance:
From time immemorial it had been the habit of the representa
tives of the great European powers to prepare the discourses which
were made to the Kings on NeW Tear's day and other special oc
casions, when the Diplomatic corps presented itself in a body at
the Courts. During his embassy in France, after having assisted
at tbe first of these ceremonies, and beard the speech made to the
King by the Pope's nuncio, as the organ of tbe diplomatic body,
General Cass took occasion to wait upon the ambassadors of the

OF LEWIS CASS. 327
great powers, and to inform them tbat, as he represented a country
of some importance in the world, he felt that as its representative
be should be consulted as to the appropriate language to be used,
in tbe annual discourse made to the Chief of the State, and that
on all public occasions, if be should not be so consulted, be owed
it to bis government to decline accompanying tbe diplomatic body,
and to ask for a personal and separate interview with his majesty,
where he could use such language as the honor and interest of bis
own country might require. The success of this movement was
immediate and complete. These ambassadors and ministers as
sured General Cass that no offense was intended towards him or
his country, but that the old usage had been continued because
no American Minister up to that time bad ever objected to it.
From that time General Cass was always consulted on these oc
casions, and it is presumed that tbe precedent thus established has
been continued ever since in the person of his successor.
His conduct was unexceptionable. All Americans who visited
Paris, while be was the representative of the United States there,
bear united testimony to his uniform courtesy and politeness.
His house was always open to American citizens, and his hospi
tality and kindness towards them, of the most liberal character.
His object was to make his fellow countrymen feel at home when
under the flag ofthe Legation, even in the land of strangers. And
how admirably well he succeeded in doing so, let those of our
readers who happened to sojourn in Paris during his mission,
furnish the reply. His expenses, it is true, far exceeded his salary,
and diminished his private resources. But, as in all otber previous
offices, be was determined to do his whole duty; and whatever
pecuniary loss to him it might occasion, he, resolved to forego, re
serving to himself the perfect right to withdraw from thei post,
whenever the higher duty to hisfamily and himself should require
him to do so.
The interruption of diplomatic intercourse between France and
the United States, had caused a great accumulation of business in
the office of the Legation ; and to the immediate dispatch of this,
General Cass employed the first months of his residence at Paris.
The tide of travel, too, from the United States, was accumulating
upon the Continent,, and through Paris, of course, it thronged.
In carrying out the new regulations of the Legation, with reference
to its conduct towards them, an extra amount of labor was thrown

328 LIFE AND TIMES
upon the Minister, ; but it was a labor ,of pleasure ; it was not toil,
but a consumption of time.
Presentation to the king was always a part of tbe programme
which each visitor bad prepared. Differeht motives prompted
this desire. With some, to learn, by personal intercourse, the
manners and customs of a monarchical court ; with otbers. to see
royalty in propria persona ; with all, to have it to say that they
had not passed through the French dominions without the honor
of an introduction , to the " citizen king." There was no limitation
to numbers, and the American minister sometimes asked for th£
presentation of fifty of his countrymen in one night. Whilst General
Cass was minister, no application of an American for presentation
was ever refused. During this period, the modus operandi of
reaching the band of the king, was as follows,:
When there was a public presentation coming off at the Tuil-
leries, the various strangers, belonging to different nations, who
desired to be present, made known their wishes to their proper
minister, who communicated them to the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, and from whom, or from the Introducer of Ambassadors,
an answer was given, authorizing their reception, and indicating
the proper day and hour. When this time arrived, these persons
repaired to the palace, and were introduced into a suite of apart
ments, commencing at what is called the throne room, and extend
ing along the front of this immense building. The visitors were
arranged in one line, passing down one side of the apartments
and up the other. Their position depended upon the rank and
seniority of the representative of their country. The ambassadors
are nearest the point where the king approaches, and then follow
the ministers plenipotentiary, the ministers resident, and the
charges, each in the order of time when he was accredited at the
court. This sensible arrangement, in diplomatic precedencex was
adopted by the Congress of Vienna, and terminated all those
ridiculous disputes about rank which theretofore occupied such a
space in the history of national intercommunication. The king
and all his family enter the public rooms together, and the king
commences bis attention to- the circle by a few moments' conver
sation with tbe oldest ambassador present. This ambassador then
passes along the line with the king, presenting in succession each
of his countrymen, and stops when he arrives at the end of his
charge. Here the king salutes him, which he returns, and then

OF LEWIS CASS. 329
the same ceremony takes place with the next diplomatic ¦ agent,
and so on, in succession, till the circle is completed. The name
of each person is mentioned to the king, and he addresses him a
few questions, generally having relation- to his own country or to
his visit to France. In a ceremonial like this, it is pretty difficult
to exhibit much variety in the questions, but General Cass was
told by those who accompanied the king throughout the whole
ceremonial, that he displayed great tact upon these occasions.
After the king had proceeded some distance down the line, the
queen commences the same ceremony, and she is followed by the
duke of Orleans, the princess Adelaide — the king's sister — and the
duke of Nemours. The other sons of the family, when present;,
remained at tbe bead of the apartment, and tbe princess Climen-
tine — the youngest daughter— a young lady of beauty and accom
plishments, usually made the tour of the circle, leaning upon tbe
arm of her mother or her aunt., Such was the ceremonial of pre
sentation of gentlemen at the French court. An application of
the same kind was made in favor of the ladies who desired to be
presented, but this application went to the proper lady of honor,
and from her reached the queen. For ladies there were but two
presentations in the year, generally in the first week of January;
and the ceremonies nearly similar to the description already given.
The public conduct of Louis Phillippe differed from his prede
cessors, Louis Eighteenth and Charles the Tenth. The former
associated himself with the glories of his country, and no petty
jealousy prevented him from doing justice to Napoleon. He, no
doubt, recognized tbe eminent qualities of the great chief of the
revolution. His busts and engravings were everywhere to be met
with, and his bronze statue, which stood upon the columns of the
Place Yendome when General Cass was in Paris, and on which
the glories of the emperor were recorded, looked out upon his
favorite city like some guardian genius. The carpet that covered
the saloon of reception at tbeTuilleries, was the work of Napoleon's
day, and emblazoned with his imperial emblems. It covered the
same room during tbe Empire, but, on tbe restoration of the Bour
bons, it was removed, and deposited in some lumber apartment.
How blind must have been they who could not, or would not,
see that, between the epochs of 1789 and 1815, ages of ordinary
life had been compressed ; and -that there was more sympathy
between the ages and the convocation of the turbulent councils of

330 LIFE AND TIMES
the middle ages and the States General in 1789* than between the
latter event and the accession of Louis Eighteenth to the throne of
his ancestors. But the Bourbons, as has been truly said, learned
nothing and forgot nothing. Charles the Tenth, of, the two, was
more Unfortunate in this respect. This king had such an aversion
to the revolution that be refrained to pronounce even the name
of the king of Sweden, because he was a, parvenu. This was an
unpardonable crime in nature, not to be overlooked by this proud
Bourbon. At bis levees, when be received the diplomatic corps,
he usually addressed to each representative of a monarchical gov
ernment some question respecting the health, residence, or family
of his sovereign ; and, as the story goes, when it came to the turn
of the Swedish minister to be received, tbe king, inflexible in his
determination to avoid all reference to the northern monarch,
inquired if there were any news from Sweden. The minister— «
the Count of Loewenheilm — a man of great worth and a veteran,
officer of high rank, as resolute that the king should hear the name
of his sovereign as the latter could be not to pronounce it, invari
ably replied : " I thank your majesty ; my master, the king of
Sweden, is very well ; " and General Cass was told, by those who
bad often witnessed this royal and diplomatic encounter, that the
question and answer were as regularly put and returned as any
other ceremony of the presentation ; and the thing was so well
understood that the whole circle always prepared itself to see the
effort of the king to preserve his dignity and to smile at an exhi
bition of royal weakness. And yet such are too often human
rulers. *
It is scarcely credible, yet the fact is well known, says General
Cass in his diary, thafy when the result of the elections of 1830
bad left the government in a minority in the chamber of represen
tatives, and bad given proof of the discontent of tbe country, no
preparation was made to meet tbe storm which the measures in
contemplation necessarily tended to produce. The faithless and
violent attack upon the Constitution, dignified with the name of a
coup d'etat, but which was, in truth, one of the most perfidious
efforts wbich power has ever made to crush public rights, found
the king at St. Cloud, calmly enjoying the pleasures of rural life.
When the cannon of Paris — tbe knell of his power — announced to
him that the people bad risen, and that his crown, and, perhaps,
bis life, depended on the issue of the contest, he was engaged in a

OF LEWIS CASS. 331
game of cards, and tranquilly gave orders to his grand huntsman
to arrange a bunting party for the next day. But that day opened
with a different chase, and there>were other hunters and other
game in tbe field, and the unfortunate monarch became himself
tbe stricken deer; Had this, effort of arbitrary power proved suc
cessful, the fruits ofthe revolution would have perished, and France
would have been prostrated at the foot of a master. Still more :
it would have been the signal for tbe death-blow to all the free
institutions of Continental Europe, and would everywhere have
opened the way for conspiracy against public rights. But France
arose in its strength, and the reigning branch fell in weakness.
While General Cass was in Paris, he spared no pains to inform
himself of the actual condition of the people, and he endeavored
to acquaint himself with their sensations and sentiments. Actions
frequently speak louder than words. He bad read much and
heard much of their excitability*' and popular outbreaks ; and as
these had occurred so often, he sometimes thought that, perhaps,
after all, they were more like the startling scenic plays of the
theater, to afford temporary gratification, than for permanent
prosperity. He' bad not so far lost the Yankee curiosity of his
ancestors, as not to occasionally wish,' he might have the oppor
tunity to witness, as a spectator, some of these public commotions.
Strange enough, it was to happen, that he could gratify this mor
bid desire. We will take the account as he tells it.
" I did not wish that an emeute should occur at Paris, while I
dwelt there, in order that I might see it ; but I was determined, if
it did occur, that I would see it if possible. Accordingly, during
the movements in May, I sallied out, not to mingle in adventures,
but io witness them ; and after threading many a dirty street and
alley, I reached a crowded part of the city, south of the Boule
vards, between the streets St. Martin and St. Denis, where all the
communications are narrow and crooked. At the intersection of
four of these streets, I found a party of men busily engaged, some
in breaking the lanterns, and others in building a barricade to
stop the troops, from materials furnished by a house which ap
peared to have been recently demolished. There was an immense
crowd looking on, but the persons actually engaged in the work
did not exceed forty, all of whom were dressed, in -that garment
peculiar to the Paris workmen, called a Mouse, and which resem
bles the hunting shirt I have often worn in the West, and which 1

332 LIFE AND TIMES
suppose yet retains its place in some parts cf that vast region—
though, perhaps, like the. buffalo, in whose company I have worn
it, it has crossed the Mississippi, and may now be accompanying
the hunter and the pioneer towards the Rocky Mountains.
" Seeing these men thus busily engaged, I inquired of some re
spectable looking individuals, what their object was ; but was told,
? with much decision and apparent frankness, that they were as
ignorant of the matter as I was. It- was obvious, from occasional
signs and movements, that some associates of the party were
placed in the various streets to give notice of the approach of any
military body which might reeeive information of the illegal
operations in progress. After some time, the immense crowd
seemed alarmed, and dispersed themselves in all the neighboring
alleys, as fast as the impediments occasioned by their oWn num
bers would permit. I then saw a detachment of regular soldiers
approaching the barricade, and when they got near, the command*-
ing officer formed his men across the principal street along which
the fugitives were fleeing. I did not suppose that it required
much courage to remain, for I. was sure a single unarmed man
would not be fired upon ; and I felt satisfied that my character as
a stranger would protect me from violence. I could not, indeed,
'bang out the banner on the outer wall,' as Mr. Poinsett did, with
such decision of mind and firmness of purpose, when his residence
was attacked and his person threatened in Mexico. I have always
considered the conduct of our distinguished countryman Upon that
occasion as furnishing one of the happiest illustrations of the effect
of decision and courage upon a mass of excited men, freed from
legal restraint, which is to be found in the whole history of popu
lar movements. It is almost the personification of Yirgrl's beau
tiful allusion to the appearance of the ' vinem gravem mentis] who
presents himself to the enraged crowd, and stills the tumult of
their passions. With one change, rendered necessary by the cir
cumstances which called for action, not for words, we may adopt
the last line of this highly wrought simile, and say -of our country
man what the Roman poet said of his : ' Ilh regit dictis animos et
pectora mulcet? Human life affords no prouder moment, than
when the minister threw out his country's flag, and when he and
his little Buite, while watching the stars and stripes as they un*
folded themselves, beheld the effect which this appeal — this visible
declaration, ' sum civis Americanus] produced in the capital of

OF LEWIS CASS. 333
Montezuma, and upon an ignorant, infuriated' multitude. Our
sister republic was spared the commission ofa crijne which would
have drawn upon her the execration ofthe civilized world.
" I had no such part to play, and most assuredly, if I had bad, I
pould not have played it so nobly. I was a spectator only, and
as such watched the proceedings before me. The officer waved.
bis band to the people who, from the windows of the neighboring
bouses, were regarding the proceedings, intimating to them to
withdraw from the approaching, danger. He then directed; his
command to aim, and the guns were brought to bear upon the fly
ing crowd. At this moment I stepped up to tbe officer, and told
bim I had been a spectator of the whole occurrences in that quar-
terf or some time, and that the people upon whom he was about
to fire were persons who, like me, had not been engaged in the
mischief, but had been led by curiosity to, watch its progress. I
added, that those who were really guilty, had escaped by the
lateral alleys, having been warned in time of his approach by their
spies. The officer appeared to be a discreet man, and opposed to
unnecessary severity. He directed his men to bring their arms to
a shoulder, but many of them hesitated,' and I saw him strike their
pieces with his sword, before tbey were withdrawn from the posi
tion of firing. I bad thus the evidence of my own eyes, that the
assertions respecting the infidelity ofthe military, and their indis*
position to. support the government in a moment of extreme peril,
were false. Tbey were anxious to act, and to act efficiently."
From conversations with men of mark, he found that an injuri
ous effect had been produced upon the European estimate of our
standard of morals and measures, by the illiberal, and, in many
instances, false statements of British travelers. With but few hon
orable exceptions, most of them were mere gossips in pantaloons
or petticoats, who, having crossed the Atlantic to read us homilies
upon our barbarous usages, returned to convince their willing
countrymen tbat political institutions and social life in the new
world i offered nothing consolatory to the observer. Belied so.
much, had we been, that the people seemed to be incapable of ap
preciating tbe effect of events in public or private lifej And this
obtuseness was not confined to the uneducated.
" 1 was asked a day or two since," says the diary, " by a distin
guished diplomatist, what- was the meaning of the term locofoco,
in our party politics. How ; thought I to myself, is it possible that1

334 LIFE AND TIMES
so local an epithet has traveled so far! But on my return home,
the difficulty was solved, and I found that the Journal des Debats,
that most unfair of all the periodicals of France, upon every topic
connected with our country, had been reading its patrons a homily
upon the critical condition of the United States, and upon the
approaching downfall of its liberties. The temporary delay in the
organization of the House had furnished the text, and the imagin
ation and ill-feeling of the Writer had supplied the commentary.
And truly he had manufactured a most respectable ' raw-head-and-
bloody-bones ' out of these little words, ' locofoco] frightful enough
to terrify every friend of liberal opinions in the eastern hemis
phere." Many incidents, daily occurring in the usual walks of the
Minister, evidenced how ignorant the people were ofthe relations
of that country with tbe United States, or of the individuality of'
the American people. Paris was France, with them, and so, many
of them, from their questions and remarks, appeared to consider
Washington the United States.
" I ' have scarcely found a single Frenchman," says the diary)
" who knows, or knowing, would acknowledge, the magnitude
and injustice of the warfare wbich . the Imperial Decrees waged
upon our commerce. And one may travel from Lille to Mar
seilles without meeting, a single person who appears to have a
true conception of the nature of our demand for indemnificationi
For these outrages, which led to the famous treaty of 1831. If
von explain in general terms to a well-informed man, the ground
if our pressing instances for compensation, and, by way of argu-
mentum ad hominem, remark, that in a report to the Emperor,
made by tbe Minister of State, I think in 1811, the amount of
those injuries for which it was admitted the Freneh government
was responsible, was estimated at more than double the sum
recognized by the Treaty of Indemnity, your auditor shrugs his1
shoulders; and does not believe a word you say, but, by way of'®'
sil\nt retort courteous-, he thinks all the harder that republics are
ungrateful, and that a clearer proof of this well established politi-;
cal axiom can not be found, than in the demand which the UnitedJ
States truniped up against France, after the aid they had receive^
from her in tbe war of the Revolution. For my part, I worid|p:
the treaty was ever negotiated, and after negotiation, I wonderHl;
was executed. But to an illustration of the preceding remarks!!

OF LEWIS CASS. 335
I know of a fellow-countryman here, who had ordered some arti
cles of furniture, but finding, when they were brought, that they
were badly made, be declined receiving them. After the usual
discussion upon these occasions, the indignant fdbricant, rising in
the majesty of his nationality, exclaimed : ' This is very ungene
rous treatment, after France has given to your cbuntry twenty-five
millions of francs.' 'The powers of nature could no farther go ! '
I vouch for tbe substantial truth of this anecdote."
General Cass took more than one opportunity when there was
no particular public business demanding iis attention, to travel
through France, as well as to visit some of the adjacent countries.
One observation struck him as making characteristic difference
between his own country and those highly improved countries of
tbe old world. -Though it seems not to have attracted tbe atten
tion of travelers, it still forcibly impressed itself upon his mind,
and that is the almost entire want of forest trees, of fences and of
farm-houses, which form so marked a feature in the American
landscape. Once in a while, at rare intervals, a district is found
with scattered and stunted trees, which by courtesy is called forest,
.but which bears little resemblance to tbe primitive vegetation of
tbe western continent. Hedge's and other kinds of enclosures are
occasionally met with, but the great body of the country is unen
closed, stretching off like a prairie, till, it is lost in the distance.
The farming population, especially upon the continent, is collected
into villages, and generally upon some site where was the bar
onial castle, affording in unquiet times the means of protec
tion. There is now the church, and there also is the baker's shop,
and tbe other places of supply which are required by the prevalent
habits of life, and the husbandmen go from their villages to their
fields in tbe morning and return at night. A state of things like
ours, where every hundred or two of acres has its owner cultivat
ing his farm, living in a neat and comfortable house, and sur
rounded by everything desirable, is utterly unknown in Europe.
The whole country presents a singular aspect of nakedness to the
traveler from America.
General Cass also visited England, and, with the same mixed
emotions of admiration and regret which its scenes of magnifi
cence, of poverty, leave upon the memory of our countrymen.
He was present at the gorgeous spectacle of the coronation of
the present queen, and in tbat splendid display, the incident

336 LIFE AND TIMES
which struck him with, most force, was the placing of the crown,
the insignium of power and royalty, upon the head of a female1
barely eighteen years of age ; thus recognizing her tbe supreme
authority in, a country which absolutely excludes women from all
other political power whatever. Under such circumstances of sex
and age, the chief magistrate is but a pageant, and contrivances
out ofthe Constitution must1 be resorted to, to do the work of the
government.

OF LEWIS CASS.

337

CHAPTER XXIII. "
General Cass Visits Italy, Greece, Syria, Egypt— His Tour— His Memoranda— General Reflections— His
Return to Paris.
In the spring of 1837, General Cass found that the business of
the Legation would admit of his absence from Paris for a few
months. Availing himself of this opportunity, he took occasion
to gratify a long-cherished desire,, and in May embarked with his
family at Marseilles, on board of the historical ship, the Constitu
tion, bearing the flag of tbe United States, Commodore Elliott
commanding, on an excursion to tbe east. He set sail for Egypt
by. the way of Constantinople. As this' vessel was to touch at all
the principal cities along the coast, it afforded the American Min
ister an opportunity of visiting them consecutively, without unnec
essary delay, and, indeed, this was the reason why he sought this
conveyance. He saw, at last, far-famed Italy, her principal cities, and the
ruins, wbich constantly reminded him of her former greatness, in
all that wealth and learning could produce. He saw what was
once the seat of the Csesars, and the villas of Cicero and Horace.
He wandered among the dilapidations of time, and imagined
congregations, uproarious with pleasure, crowding and jostling
each other, at the plays and games which fill the classics. He
thought of armies, whose combats had shook the earth j he sur
veyed the site of tbe Senate House, cf the Colliseum, of the Forum
— and was lost in wondering at tbe grandeur of Rome, and the
colossal powers wbich made her mistress of the world !' He rested
upon the soil, where the deathless oratory of antiquity caught its
eloquence, and poetry its divinity ; and, bowing in meekness to
tbe Great Giver.- of both, hallowed them in his memory. He
wandered in 6ilence upon the banks of the Illissus, and saw in
his mind those academic groves, so sacred and dear to every
Bcholar. He traveled along the barren and desolate shores of
Greece and Turkey, and pondered on the causes which once cov
ered the land with a thousand cities of commerce. And he came
22

338 LIFE AND TIMES
to the conclusion that nothing can be more useful to the states
man than such a journey, or better fit him for the discharge of
the highest offices of the State. He cruised among the islands
that stud the JSgean Sea, and, charmed with delight, looked in
upon Sicily and Malta.
General Cass visited Attica, and from thence made an excur
sion farther into Greece. He paused at Eleusis — venerable as the
scene of the great Pagan mysteries. Its massive monuments at
tested the sanctity of the place ; and as he roamed among them,
these silent monitors of history recalled to bis memory the deeds
and days of other times. Continuing his journey, he soon reached
the > mountainous ridge which bounds Attica to the north, and
forms a barrier broken by ravines, admirably adapted to defensive
warfare ; and, on attaining its summit, a glorious prospect offered
itself to his eyes, enriched by recollections of the past, and in>
pressive from its present features.
Before him was tbe great plain of Boestia, and under his feet
the ancient city of Platsea, with its gigantic walls here and there,
erect or prostrate, looking as though a human footstep had not
•disturbed the site of this unfortunate city since its capture and
¦destruction, so vividly described by Thucydides. Near by was
a little muddy brook, the Asopus, winding its way through the
,plain,,and reminding him of many a sluggish stream he had crossed,
:at the risk of bis neck, in the Western prairies ; and upon its
barik was the famous field where Mardonius, the lieutenant of the
. great king,-was defeated. In the distance was the Acropolis of Thebes,
so renowned in history and fable, and between him and the city
of . Cadmus, *was the battle-ground of Leuctra, where Epaminondas
conquered and fell. After examining tbe environs of Platsea,
and.iendeavoriag to comprehend the plan of operations of the
contending armies, and the true site of their struggle, he at length
found one of tbe little tumuli described by Herodotus, as erected
by the Greeks,, over the remains of their countrymen who fell in
this battle, and >which attested the veracity of the historian, and
the true theater of tbe conflict. He ascended its low summit, and
thought: of those who were beneath him, and looked around upon
all 'this scene of precious recollections, with feelings difficult for
him to describe, and, of course, for us to pen. He thought of the
affecting but fruitless appeal which the inhabitants of this devoted
city made, three generations later, when they invoked the memory

OF LEWIS CASS. 339
of these parentalia, to turn away tbe wrath of their countrymen.
The story is told by Thucydides, in the third book of his History
of the War of the Peloponnesus, and an instructive lesson it fur
nishes to every federative people— a lesson, where we might read
our own fate, had we not,by a beautiful political constitution, or
ganized our system of government, so as to protect the States
against one another by subjecting each to all, in those questions
where rival communities are not less subject than individuals to
the infirmities of human passions.
He went to Athens, and mused upon its past glories. Thence
he went to Marathon, and stood upon its glorious plain. Sterile
and secluded, it yet contained that lowly mound, where the
Athenians, who fell in the great day bf Grecian deliverance,
found a tomb and a monument. It had survived the revolutions
of their country, and out-lived Turkish domination. When Gen-
eralCass visited this lonely shrine, everything was desolate. No
human habitation was in view. The little bay was unruffled, the
plain 'quiet in its solitude, andthe mountain impressive in its rug
ged nakedness. There seemed to be nothing between him and
Themistocles', and the beautiful remark of Pericles in his funeral
oration, presented itself with all the freshness of association, and
all the vigor of truth.
"The whole earth," said the renowned orator, "is the tomb bf
illustrious men, and this is not a tomb, known in one place only
by vain inscriptions, but one which extends itself Wherever their
glory is spread." Yes, a world, unknown to the ancient Greeks,
has arisen since their sun went down, and yet the glory bf their
philosophers, warriors, and patriots, has penetrated its recesses,
and General Cass, as one of the pilgrims from its distant shores,
had come to offer his tribute to their' memory!
He desired to visit those old regions so interesting from tbeir
history and associations, and he had it in view also to collect and
transmit to the government useful information respecting the con
dition of that portion of the world, and the means of facilitating
our commercial and political intercourse with it.
The route — to follow the itinerary more closely— lay along the
Mediterranean, and some of it within sight of the Alpine scenery,
to Genoa, known as tbe',' city of palaces " — ail epithet it well de
serves from tbe magnificent buildings with which it is filled, the
remnant and memorial of tbe proud republic, now degenerated

340 LIFE AND TIMES
into an appendage of Sardinia, whose commercial and military
fleets once carried her power and wealth over the habitable
globe. From Genoa the course was to Leghorn, where the party
disembarked and traveled by Pisa, renowned for its leaning tower,
to the beautiful city of Florence, upon the Arno, the capital of
Tuscany. Thence they set out for Rome, passing through the old
city of Sienna, and among the Appenines by Lake Bolse^a* a pla
cid body of waterf surrounded by volcanic mountains.. All this
region is a volcanic one, and the people are almost as primitive as
their hills. They occupy the same fastnesses,, and preserve the
same habits as in the days of Romulus and Remus. An Amer
ican gentleman in a higb political situation abroad, mentioned to
General Cass a characteristic incident which depicts the degraded
condition of the peasantry. He was passing a short time at the
seat of one of the Roman aristocratic families in this broken coun
try, delightful in a warm season. Grapes are the principal objects
of cultivation, and tbey are raised wherever the scanty vegetation
allows the vine to take root. The lady, tbe head of the family,
was walking oyer the domains with this gentleman, pointing out
the objects worth examining, and especially the mode of culture.
The laborers were busily employed in tbe vineyards, and some time
was spent in looking at their work. The lady became fatigued,
and beckoned to one of the men, who immediately approached,
and apparently well understanding what was wanted, dropped
down upon his bands and knees, bis back thus forming a com
fortable seat, wbich the lady occupied with all the nonchalance
possible. After she was sufficiently rested, she rose; her footstool
went away apparently well content with a performance of its duty.
General Cass, with his family, remained at Rome, looking at all
the wonders, both ancient and modern, of the eternal city, and
thence traversed the fatal campagna, to Civita Yecchia, where
they re-embarked on board of the Constitution, and sailed for
Palermo, in Sicily. Tbey found this a large and well built city,
but left it after a short detention; and passing around the southern,
and western coast of that large island, and often within sight Qf
it, they reached Malta, after a prosperous voyage. This interest
ing island, the place of St. Paul's shipwreck, is but a few miles in
circumference, and the Constitution merely touched at it, continu
ing almost without delay her route to the east. They soon came
in sight of Cape Matapan, the southern point of Greece, and soon

OF LEWIS CASS. 341
reached the island of Syra, tbe most commercial place in Greece.
Near it is tbe little island bf Delos, renowned as the birthplace of
Apollo, which is now destitute of permanent inhabitants, and
where Genera! Cass found only a few laborers engaged in making
lime, from the marble relics which are scattered about. It requires
a strong imagination to contrast the present desolate condition of
this barren islet with its splendor and magnificence in the days of
ancient superstition. From Syra the gallant ship soon reached
the Pireus, the well-known port of Athens. After devoting a
short time to the examination of the rich monuments ofthe city of
Theseus, General Cass set out upon an expedition through Greece.
He went first to Eleusis, the site of the most celebrated mysteries
of tbe old world, thence across Mount Citheron to Platsea, the
battle-ground of the great victory gained by the Greeks over the
Persians, and from there to Leuctra, where was fought the "battle
between the Thebans and the Spartans, and in which Epaminon-
das, the Theban General, fell gloriously, after the overthrow of
the hostile army. Nothing remains of this old city, and the trav
elers, devoting but a brief space to recollection of the events that
give it interest, continued, their route te the renowned city of
Thebes. Here, too, time, the great destroyer, has swept away all
vestige of former magnificence, and a miserable village is all that
remains to mark this spot so celebrated in history. The journey
was continued, passing by the foot of Mount Helicon, once the
residence of the Muses, and which contained the cavern known
as the Cave of Trophonius to Chseronea, tbe birth-place of Plutarch,
and where was fought the battle between Philip and the Boeotians,
and which finally led to the subjugation of Greece. An interest
ing discovery had shortlybefore been made. The two armies met
in a narrow plain, bounded by rocky, precipitous hills, at the foot
of one of which was the city of ChBeronea, where an immense
amphitheater, cut out of the solid rock, yet remains to show the
extent of its population. A marble lion was erected not long
after by the Thebans, in commemoration of their countrymen who
lost their lives there. An English traveler, reading the accounts
of the ancient historians, and comparing them with the ground,
thought that a slight mound in the plain must be the place where
this marble lion was buried. He opened it, and found this mon
ument of ancient patriotism; one of the most beautiful works of
antiquity which had been buried for ages. It had just been raised,

342 LIFE AND TIMES
and our travelers gazed at it, with emotions almost of awe, indi
cating, as it did, the site of one ofthe most decisive battles of the
old world. From thence the journey was continued to Delphi, the
world renowned seat of the ancient oracle, wbich occnpiea a cleft
in Mount Parnassus. The party drank of the famous Castalian
spring, and found the water very pleasant, but felt no inspiration
from the draught. We submit to the reader the following reflec
tions; copied from an address delivered by General Cass since his
return from Europe :
"I have stood," said tbe speaker, " upon tbe cliffs of Parnassus,
where flourished and perished the city' of Delphi, the renowned
seat of ancient heathen superstition, and where all that was pow
erful and great and learned, in tbe old world, periodically assem
bled to implore the protection, of the gods of a vile mythology,
and to ask of stocks and stones — the works of man's hands — what
was to be man's destiny in that untried future which it is not given
to created beings to penetrate or direct. Yes ; the mighty and
the lowly; the warrior, the statesman and the philosopher; the
Alexanders and the Caesars and the Ciceros, all yielded to the
prevailing credulity, and came to this high place of heathen wor
ship, with oblations and requests, ; with gold for tbe altar and
prayers for themselves ; prayers for an oracular response which
should shield them from apprehended misfortune, or crown with
success a contemplated enterprise. It was a strange chapter in
the wayward history of man — this prostration ofthe human intel
lect in many a bright day of its power ; this adoration of the beings
of a corrupt imagination, usurping tbe prerogatives of the only
true and living God. And splendid temples and palaces, rich in
tbe most gorgeous architecture, studded the sides of the mountain,
sending back, in glorious effulgence, the bright rays of a Grecian
sun ; and votive offerings of sovereigns and states and cities, from
the pillars of Hercules to the land of Ophir ; monuments of the
victories of Marathon and Thermopylae and Salamis, and of many.
a hard fought battle beside, swelled tbe treasures of the temple
adorned with tbe most precious works of ancient art. And where
are they now, these contributions of a blind superstition, announc
ing at once the wealth and weakness of its votaries ? Where are
tbe crowds of worshipers, the magnificent processions, the impos
ing ceremonies, the gods and the priests, which made this rocky
precipice the, holy ground of the ancient world, and yet sends the,

OF LEWIS CASS. 343
traveler, even from our own distant hemisphere, to explore its
recesses, and to reflect upon human folly, where the triumphs of
folly were the most splendid, and where its reverses are now the
most signal ? Where are they ? Gone. The oracle is silent, the
priestess in ashes, the city in dust, and, in this, world of mutations,
human pomp and power have never been more signally rebuked
than by the desolation which bas«overtaken and overwhelmed this,
the proudest spot of the ancient world. Parnassus indeed is there,
with the clouds resting on its snowy summitj and the blue waves
of the gulf of Corinth rolling at its feet, while the fountain of Cas-
talia issues from its side, in a stream as bright and clear as when
its waters purified the 'persons ofthe ministers and votaries ofthe
temple, but could not cleanse their hearts from a debasing super
stition. But these are the works of God which mock the pride of
man and bid defiance to his power ; witnesses of his change,
themselves unchangeable."
Embarking upon the gulf of Lepanto, the party proceeded on
their voyage to Corinth, examining, with interest, the shores of
that Grecian Mediterranean, renowned for scenes and events of
deathless celebrity. They landed at Corinth, near the head of the
gulf, and from which it anciently derived its name. In the neigh
borhood is the place where once 6tood Sicyon, an early city of
power and importance, but which was in ruins fifteen centuries
ago. Its site is now marked only by broken pieces of pottery —
those indestructible materials which alone remain to indicate the
places where once were populous towns. Corinth is remarkable
for its fortified hill, or Acropolis — a rock more than two thousand
feet high. Ascending it, the Constitution was visible on the
x3£gean gulf, but reduced, by the distance, from a noble frigate to
a " cbek-boat." Crossing tbe Isthmus, where the Isthmian games
were formerly celebrated, and which connects the Peloponnessus
with the other portions of Greece, the .travelers were glad- to find
themselves in comfortable quarters, under the flag of their country.
Events were wonderfully compressed in ancient Greece ; the deeds
and men, but the area was small. The whole country, indeed,
was not larger than one of our counties. In one day General Cass
passed over three of the great battle-fields, familiar to us from our
infancy, as household words, in the pages of the ancient historians.
And Salamis and. Marathon might have been added to Platsea and
Leuctra and Oheronea, in tbe twenty-four hours. After sailing

344 LIFE AND TIMES
over the gulf of Salamis, and gazing at the spot where Xerxes
sat, watching the progress of the naval fight between tbe Greeks.
and Persians, the party proceeded, in the Constitution, to Cape
Golona, and thence, after surveying the ruins of the celebrated
temple of Minerva, to the little bay, where, in the words of Byron,
" Marathon looks on the sea." That great combat, looking as'well
to the circumstances as to the result, was the great battle of the
ancient world. No American can approach this spot, hallowed
by bravery and patriotism, and crowned by that success which the
efforts of liberty deserved, without the deepest emotion. But the
impression is the work of association, and owes nothing to scenery
or monument. The battle-field is a narrow dreary plain, lonely
and desolate, shut in by an arm of the sea on one side and by
rugged precipitous mountains on the other. Greek and Persian
were once there in deadly strife ; but no one is there now to break
the solitude of this memorable spot. Nothing remains to indicate
the occurrence of the great event but the mound or burrow in
which the Athenians deposited their dead.
The course thence was across the Aegean sea, by Lemnos, to
Tenedos, the station of the Grecian fleet during the war of Troy.
These are classic regions, rendered sacred by poetry and narrative
by the history of Herodotus and by the lays of Homer.
Tenedos, though it may have been a great d ock-yard for the
repair of the fleet of Agamemnon, is a small island with a scanty
and poverty-struck population, and with nothing interesting about
it but the recollection of what it has been. The plain of tbe
Troab, once the scene of the most stirring events, if tbe story of
Troy is not a myth, presented to the travelers an interesting object
for examination. Tbey went over it,, but like their predecessors
in this inquiry, found it impossible to reconcile its present condk
tion with the narrative of the Grecian bard, and the site of the
city may well be considered lost to modern researches, when even
Alexander the Great was unable to find any trace of it. Some
magnificent remains yet exist ofthe city, founded in this place by
the Macedonian conqueror. From tbe Troab the passage was up
the resounding Hellespont — now tbe Dardanelles — which separate
Europe from Asia. The tomb of Achilles, being a mound of
earth precisely resembling our Indian mounds, yet attracts the
gaze of the traveler on bis way through the Sea of Marmora to
Constantinople.

OF' LEWIS CASS. 345
The Constitution bad been authorized by a firman of the sultan
to visit tbe metropolis of bis dominions. Without such a permis
sion no foreign ship of war can enter these waters; The frigate
anchored in the beautiful harbor of the Golden Horn, where she
remained a few days, enabling her passengers to examine this
seat of Mahometan power, and also to visit the Black Sea. From
tbe entrance into the Bosphorus to the mouth of the Hellespont,
this great channel of communication between tbe Black Sea and
the Mediterranean presents objects of the, deepest interest. Its
past, its present, and its future engage the attention of the world.
The successor of Rome in sovereign power, nature seems to have
marked tbe site of Byzantium or Constantinople for the capital of
a great empire, and the contests for its possession, both in ancient
and in modern days, testify to the general importance attached to
it. The American party found their visit a deeply impressive
one, and General Cass has recorded his reflections at the sight of
one of its monuments, wbich may not be unacceptable to the
reader. " In tbe Hippodrome of Constantinople, in front of the great
Basilic of St. Sophia, now desecrated from a christian temple to
a heathen mosque, is the tripod, where sat the Priestess of Delphi,
when she delivered her oracular responses to those who sought
her interventions with the deities of the shrines. It is a brazen
pillar, formed by three serpents intertwined together, and it was
placed over the fissure, whence issued the prophetic exhalation
which shook the frame of the Pitha with fearful convulsions, and
conferred upon her the power of explaining the past and of fore
telling the future.
" This interesting memorial was carried by Constantine to his
city Of the Bosphorus, and its history and authenticity are placed
beyond doubt by tbe learning and researches of Gibbon. When
Mahomet subdued the Eastern Empire, and entered its capital at
the head of his army, he struck one of the serpents with his sword,
and the mark is yet there to attest the strength of the conquerorj
and tbe truth of the narrative. I gazed upon it with uncontroll
able emotions, recalling its history and the part it bad borne in
the splendid pageantry, of heathen superstition. It may have
witnessed the pilgrimage of Alexander to implore the favor of
Apollo, upon the great enterprise which led him through splendid
triumphs to imperishable renown and an early grave. It may

346 LIFE AND TIMES
have beard the answer of the priestess to the demand of Miltiades,
to know whether the liberties of Greece would perishi upon the
plains of Marathon. Aye, and Socrates, and Plato,, and Aristides,
and even their predecessors in Grecian story and song! Homer
and Hesiod may have bowed the knee to Baal, to this footstool, of
a false inspiration, and mistaken the ravings of a distempered
imagination, or tbe devices of human craft, for the decrees of the,
Almighty Maker of heaven and earth. The golden ealf which
turned the hearts of the Jews, in the deserts of Arabia, from the
God of their fathers, and their own God, was but the type of his
class, one of that vast family of idols wbicb, in all ages and
nations, have seized upon the human affections, and sent men to
the works of their own hands for objects of adoration, and for
rulers ofthe universe. 'Up, make us gods which shall go before
us,' demanded the Israelites of Aaron, when Moses was in the
mount. But it is also the demand of the heart of man in all times
of trial and trouble, till tbat heart is touched by fire from the
Altar of Jehovah, and quickened by the Word of His Son, our
Savior. Human nature is driven instinctively to feel its depend
encies upon some unknown cause. To feel that beyond the nar
row circle of visual existence, there is, and must be, a creating
and preserving power, which brought the universe into being,
and may leave it to perish, if left to itself It is a vast field of
inquiry, where man gropes blindly in a state of nature, halting,
hesitating, seeking, but finding not. He can not penetrate the
abyss. Profound darkness rests upon it, and the speculations of
the highest intellects of antiquity, upon the moral governments
of the world, and upon the extent and duration of human respon-*
sibility, would provoke our contempt, if they did not excite our
pity, in this bright day of christian knowledge. There was not a
pantheon in the old world whose gods were not clothed with the
vilest attributes, nor a single deity, male or female, whose crimes'
would not insure punishment in every well regulated tribunal in
Christendom. And yet, suoh Were thy gods, O Israel! And-
the immortality of the soul was unknown, because unproved ; a
conjecture, asserted and denied, but exerting no influence upon
life or, opinions, because taught by no authority, and attended
with no connection between our conduct here and our fate here
after. 'Son of man,' said Jehovah to bis prophet, in the impress-*
iye vision of the valley of the dry bones, 'son of man, can these

OF LEWIS CASS. 347
dry bones live? And I answered, O, Lord God, thou knowest.'
Yes, He alone did know, but blessings upon His holy name, we
now do know that these dry bones shall again live, that this mor
tal shall put on immortality, this corruptibility incorruption, and
that death shall be swallowed up in victory. Such was the state
of darkness and of doubt, during four thousand years of tbe
history of the world, respecting the moral condition of man, and
the great scheme of creation, till the advent of the Savior, who
came., and announcing His mission, declared in these sublime terms,
'lam tbe Resurrection and the Life.' That declaration rent in
twain the veil between time and eternity, and opened tbe secrets
of the prison house to the fallen descendants of Adam. The
shadowy creations of erring man were struck downs his doubts.
were dispelled, bis oracles were dumb, his faith was purified, and
he began to comprehend the object of his creation, and the great
plan of redemption. There is not a child in our land, advanced
beyond tbe age of infancy, who does not understand bis relation
to God, his state of probation here and, of existence hereafter, his
duties and their consequences, if fulfilled or neglected, and all
that is necessary to be 'known on this side of the grave and
beyond it, better than the combined intellect of the ancient
heathen world."
From Constantinople the American party retraced their route
to the .<Egean sea, and thence sailed along the coast of Asia
Minor, passed the island of Metelin, the gulf of Smyrna, and the
marshy plain of Ephesus, to the island of Scio. This beautiful
6pot, once the gem of the archipelago, had just been devastated
bythe Turkish barbarians, who had committed deeds of atrocious
cruelty there, almost unprecedented, even in their bloody history.
The island had been made a waste, and more than half of its pop
ulation, which consisted of one hundred and ten thousand inhab
itants, had been murdered, and a large portion of the remainder
sold into slavery. It was lamentable to witness the ruin of such
a delightful spot. Leaving Scio, the Constitution passed various
islands of the group, and among others, Patmos, the scene of the
revelation of St. John; and Rhodes, renowned in history.
It was on the twenty-ninth July, 1837, that, emerging from the
beautiful group of the Oyclades, he approached Crete — now Can-
dia — the ancient kingdom of Minos. He had run down from
Constantinople with a favoring breeze and delightful weather, and

348 LIFE AND TIMES
had pas_sed the many isles and islets wbicb " croWn" this glorious
"deep," and which have been the theater of events that will for
ever render them celebrated. All of them are small specks, hardly
distinguishable upon the map ofthe world, and some of them are
mere rocks ; but there is a deathless interest attached to them
which time can not annihilate, and which will survive all the rev
olutions, social and political, they are destined to undergo. It was
not wealth nor power nor numbers which imposed upon the imag
ination. It was none of these, nor the memory of these, which
brought the trans-Atlantic pilgrim from the bustle and business
and enterprise of a new world, to contemplate these scenes of
former civilization and of present decay. No ! he rendered his
homage to a nobler idea— to the memory of genius, industry,
advancement in civilization, progress in the arts and sciences, and
the cultivation of whatever can best promote the interests of
human nature.
He had passed by Lamnos, Tenedos, Mitylene — the ancient Le's-
bos — Scio, Delos, Syra or Syros, Paros, and other islands which
deck those seas, and stopped at several of them, to examine their
condition and to run over their interesting remains. The com
pression 'of scenes and events within a narrow compass, and the
powerful emotions which this short voyage is calculated to excite,
may be appreciated by this striking fact, that, at one point of his
passage, he had in view, at the same moment, Syra, Tinos, An
dros, Delos, Mycone, Noxos, Paros, Antiparos, Siphanto, and
Serpho. He had passed, in the distance, the island of Patmos, the
residence of St. John, and if not the scene ofthe revelations made
to -him, the place where he wrote the Apocalypse which recorded
them. " Our own internal seas," says General Cass in his itinerary,
" present masses of water as large, and some of them larger, than
this 'Jigean deep,' and abound with picturesque objects, almost
unrivaled in the world. The entrance into Lake Superior, with
the shores embosomed in woods, the highlands gradually opening
and receding on each side, and the Water as clear as crystal, ex
tending beyond the reach of the eye, forms one of the most striking
displays of natural beauties it has ever fallen to our lot to witness.
And a scene almost equally impressive, though of a different char
acter, attends the traveler who crosses the small arm of Lake
Huron, between the island of Michilimackinac and the entrance

OF LEWIS CASS., 349
of the Straits of St. Marie, which communicate with Lake Superior.
One bright summer morning we, found ourselves making this pas
sage, and, as the sun displayed bis disc above the water wbicb
surrounded us, we were surprised by a singularly interesting
spectacle. We were accompanied . by a fleet of three hundred
Indian canoes, which had left Michilimackinac in the night, in
order to make the, passage before the wind, which strengthens as
the day advances, should render the voyage dangerous for the
frail birch vessels in Which they navigate the rivers and lakes that
furnish them with, so much of their subsistence. These Indians
had made their usual annual visit to Michilimackinac, to sell their
peltries and procure supplies of ammunition and clothing, and to
talk over their public affairs with the representative of the govern
ment stationed there. They were returning in high spirits, having
with them all their families, as is the usual custom of the Indians
in these excursions, and having, alsOj a supply ofthe articles most
necessary to enable them to contend with the hardships incident
to their mode of life. The lake was perfectly smooth, the Indians
animated, paddling with' their utmost energy, and singing their
songs with a strength of lungs wbicb sent >tbese far over the water.
The whole display was full of life, and we recall it with the most
pleasant emotions. But these scenes upon the Indian border,
whether still or animated, are feeble in their, effects upon the human
mind, when compared with the impressions produced in the theater
where we were now moving., Distance, however,, nowhere 'lends
enchantment, to the view ' more than here ; but the nakedness of
realjty comes painfully to. destroy some of these delusions on a
near approach. All these islands are destitute of timber, naked
as a vast prairie, but without one other point bf resemblance.
They are generally rocky, broken by ravines, and, to the eye,
nothing can appear more sterile. The mode of culture, when tbey
are cultivated, is slovenly, tbe inhabitants indolent, the houses
mean and dirty, and the towns and villages in a state of decay,
and yet we visit them with the deepest interest. We visit them
for what they have been and in spite of what they are.
'•' One of the most renowned is the little islet of Delos, or rather
the two morsels of rock and earth .known under that name, but
separated by a narrow channel, furnishes the most striking illus
tration of these remarks, and the most complete picture of desola
tion which even these regions exhibit. In our lonely walk amid

350 - . LIFE AND TIMES
its ruins, we did not meet a single human being. What a contrast
between this almost frightful solitude and its former condition,
when it was filled with busy crowds which inhabited it, or which
continually flocked to it to worship at its temples, as the Jews
went up to Jerusalem to render their devotions to the living God !
Tbe sanctity of this chosen spot is one of the facts best known in
the. history of ancient manners. It was the birth-place of Apollo
and Diana, and its thrice-famous temples were dedicated respect
ively to the brother and sister and to their mother, Lutona. Their
ruins yet attest the extent and splendor of these edifices. The
island was holy ground, — a place of refuge — where even enemies
Were friends when they met upon it. Livy relates an interesting
anecdote upon this subject: A commission of Roman deputies,
going to Syria and Egypt, were compelled to stop at Delos, where
they found a number of galleys, belonging to the kings of Mace
donia and Purgamos, at anchor, although these two princes were
then at war. The historian adds, that the Romans, Macedonians,
and Pergainians met and conversed in the temple, as though they
had been friends. The sanctity of the place suspended all hostil
ities. And in this island, thus venerated, I saw, not the marbles
actually in the process of being burnt into lime, but the pits where
the lime had been made, and where, perhaps, some of the most
beautiful works of antiquity had been prepared to form the mortar
for a miserable, cottage. It is said tbat, heretofore, the inhabitants
of Mycone rented this island from tbe Turkish government, at the
annual price of ten crowns ! Such a picture admits- no other trait.
" As the last island ofthe iEgean group sunk in the horizon, Crete
rose before us, extending east and west, and presenting its diver
sified shores to our view. The aspect was rugged, and the coast
precipitous and iron-bound ; while, in the interior, arose a range
bf mountains, upon whose summits the clouds were resting. We
steered for the Bay of Suda, and entered it without accident, moor
ing our noble frigate in its quiet waters. This bay is one of the
most magnificent ports in the world, stretching inland about six
miles, with a breadth of three, capacious' enough to contain the
most powerful navy, and with sufficient depth of water for any
vessel that floats: Its entrance is narrow, and divided by two
small islands, on one of which is a little fortress, completely com
manding the approach. We were told that the commanding officer
was a bon vivant, who loved wine better than the koran ; and that

OF LEWIS CASS. 351
the captain of one of our armed vessels, who was desirous of enter
ing the harbor, but who was prevented by the new quarantine
uegulations which Mebemet Ali has recently adopted, found his
way to the Egyptian's heart through a bottle of champagne ; who,
disregarding the fear of the Pasha, dispensed with the sanitary
precautions, and admitted his new friend to pratique without
hesitation. Whatever doubt may be entertained respecting the
progress of the Turks in the manners of the western Europeans in
other respects, there is none in this— that the higher classes are
fast acquiring the habit of drinking wine, and, some of them, a
much stronger liquid. The penchant of the late sultan for this
indulgence was well known through the empire, and could not fail
to produce, by its example, a powerful influence. Ibrahim Pasha
is a confirmed toper; and if we should use a harsher word, we
should convey a still more.just idea»of the extent tb which he carries
this habit. In Damascus, we found the table of tbe Governor-
General of Syria loaded with wine; and bis confidential friend
and physician — a French gentleman — observed, significantly and
jocosely, tbat his patron had fifteen thousand books in his library.
We did not need the arch look, which accompanied these words,
to enable us to correct the errata : for books read bottles of wine.
"Still this practice is not altogether general nor public, and we
found that much prejudice was excited against those who indulge
themselves too freely and openly.
" The entrance to the bay of Suda is from the east, and beyond
is a high projecting point, which completely shelters it from the
sea. To the north and south are rugged hills, but to the west the
break between the ridges continues and forms a, level valley,
which opens in about two miles at the city of Canea. There are
two small villages upon the bay, occupying the declivity of the
southern range of hills. The scenery is- not uninteresting, re
lieved by little orchards of ©live trees, that precious gift of Pro
vidence, whose production is so essential to the inhabitants of the
east. The plain leading to Canea is covered with a light sandy
soil, and abounds in water, which might be used for the purpose
of irrigating the crops, but which is almost wholly neglected.
There are some villages upon the route, and traces of a consider
able population. Canea occupies the site of the ancient Cydonia
— the mother city of the island — renowned for its power and
opulence, and which was the theater of many interesting events

352 LIFE AND TIMES
in the history of Crete. Tbe harbor is small and obstructed by
reef's, and not safe in a northern gale. The buildings are old,
and in a state of decay, and every thing shows tbat the hand of .
oppression has weighed heavily upon the wretched population."
, From the bay of Suda, General Cass sailed down the coast
passing Retimo — the third city in importance — after Candia and
Canea. Standing upon a low cape, with a poorly sheltered har
bor, and the mole that formed it almost destroyed, and the channel
nearly filled up with the accumulation of sand, vessels drawing
more than thirty tons could not enter, while those of a larger ton
nage were compelled to remain in an open roadstead. When he
arrived at Candia — tbe capital of the island — he found Mehemet
Ali there, with a part of bis fleet anchored before the town. As
the American minister had visited a suspected port, he would be
under the necessity of submitting to quarantine regulations, if he
stopped ; and not having at his disposition the time necessary to
procure admission, he abandoned the island and bore up for the
Holy Land. He, however, committed to paper his impressions of
the island from the water.
" The city of Candia presents rather an imposing aspect from
the sea. In its rear is a range of mountains which extend through
the island, and from amid which the snow-covered top of Ida is
prominently distinguishable from the rest of the chain. In the
distance, , the city is thrown with. beautiful effect against this ridge,
though in fact it is surrounded by a considerable plain. The
mountains, however, diminish much in bight, and the chain is
almost interrupted, so that tbe gaps furnish convenient routes
for traversing the island , from north to south. The plain extends
to the base of the ridge from which Ida projects."
This plain, be goes on to say, once productive, then presented
one scene of desolation. It formerly abounded in Olive trees, but
the ruthless Turks had cut down a large portion of them — being
of slow growth— the work of centuries, and thus not only inflicted
vengeance upon the present, but extended- it to succeeding gen
erations. It seems from the memoranda of General Cass, that the first act
of oppression in the East, is to cut down tbe olive trees around
a village, and then the labor of destruction is complete, for the
miserable hovels are not worth the trouble of demolition. He cites
as a fearful case in point, the, plain from Athens to Piraeus, which

OF LEWIS CASS. 353
was once a magnificent olive orchard, but that^when be was there,
its superb trees had almost disappeared : .-and he was told at
Athens of the curious division of property? hy which, frequently,
the ground belonged to one man, the trees to another, and the
product to another. He says also that it is a cardinal principle in
"Mahometan faith, that all the people they subdue, have justly
forfeited their lives ; and that whether these shall be spared or
not, is simply a question ^expediency from time to time. When
the conquered Rayahs .are freed from military execution, this ex
ertion of Mussulman mercy is not a pardon, but a reprieve. The
penalty always hangs over them, and is ransomed from year to
year by a tax, constituting a considerable item in the Turkish
budget. Ev^ry. person in the Turkish empire, not a Mahometan,
pays this yearly contribution, under the pretense of its being due
to the sultan for his clemency in permitting the infidel dog to live
under the shadow of his throne during another year.
As to intermarriages between Moslems and Christians, that was
impossible, because every such union was punishable with death :
and in courts of justice the statement of the latter was valueless.
Bufe' after ailj i* seems that the condition of the Greeks, in the
island of Crete, especially, was better, than that of the Mahome
tans. The latter were generally poor, whilst the former, relieved
from some of the oppressions that weighed them down, and find
ing their industry better rewarded, and their acquisitions better
protected, are gradually advancing in improvement. An intelli
gent informant told General Cass, that, four years previous to that
time, scarcely a house was standing on the whole island, or a field
cultivated ; but that then tbe signs of prosperous industry met
the eye of the traveler in every direction.
General Cass continuing his journey across the Mediterranean,
left the frigate at Jaffa— the ancient Joppa — the seaport of Jerusa
lem, from which it is distant about forty miles. He imme
diately with his family traveled across the plain of Sharon to
Ramla, and through the bill-country of Judea to Jerusalem.
The annihilation of space, occasioned by the introduction of
steam into navigation, is in nothing more wonderfully exemplified
than in the time within which it is possible to travel from New
York to Jerusalem. Any person favored by circumstances, may
reach Mount Calvary within thirty days, and perhaps twenty-
five days, after leaving Broadway. Ten or thirteen days may
23

354 LIFE AND TIMES
take him to Liverpool or Bristol, one or two to Paris, one to Mar
seilles, eight or ten to Syra, four to Jaffa, and one from there to
Jerusalem. And tbe French steamboats, plying upon the Medi
terranean to Syra, to Alexandria, to Greece, to Smyrna, and to
Constantinople, are safe and pleasant vessels, and well found, in
all respects.
From Jerusalem, an excursion was made to Bethlehem, the
birth place of the Savior— and into the country around Jerusalem.
And the party made the necessary preparations, and traveled by
the way of Bethany to Jericho, tbe Jordan and the Dead Sea,
Returning to Jerusalem, preparations were Boon made for a
journey to Damascus. Tbe ladies of the party rode in a primi
tive manner, two of them counter-balancing each other in a bas
ket, slung across a mule, and led by an Arab. They were often
struck with the devotion manifested by their faithful guard, who
three times a day stopped, and in conformity with the injunction
ofthe Koran, turned to Mecca and recited his prayers with much
apparent sincerity. Everything required for the comfort of the
party was taken along, and the only drawback was the intense
heat of the weather. The country was quiet under the stern gov
ernment of Mehemet Ali, and when General Cass mentioned,in
Alexandria, to that despotic ruler, that a traveler could pass as
safely' through his dominions as through any part of Europe, he
6eemed very much pleased with the remark. The Pacha of Jeru
salem furnished the, party with an Egyptian captain to accompany
them, to obviate any difficulties which might occur. This man
was a fit representative of his master, and his conduct hut too
well proved the miserable subjugation to which the conntry was
reduced. For the slightest cause of offense, sometimes without
any, he was unsparing in his blows, and at Nazareth he drove
away the villagers from their well, because they did not yield
their places to tbe strangers with such promptitude as he required.
The route from Jerusalem was to Nablouse, formerly Sichen,
where tbe travelers encamped at Jacob's well, and thence to
Nazareth and Cana, and to the city of Tiberias, which had just
been reduced to desolation by an earthquake, and to the sea of
Galilee, and from there by Saffed, tbe sacred city of the Jews, by
the waters of Merom, and by Jacob's Bridge across the Jordan to
Damascus. This ancient city existed in the days of Abraham. It is at the

OF LEWIS CASS. 355
foot of the great chain of Anti Lebanon, on a plain watered by
the beautiful streams, the Parphar and Abama of the Scriptures,
and the plain stretches off until it is lost in the interminable
sandy desert. 'T is rich, fertile and highly cultivated. A day or
two was employed in tbe examination of the city and its environs,
but no ancient monument remains to point out the site of any
particular event. General Cass visited those old regions neither
in a weak spirit of credulity which believes everything, nor of
rigid incredulity which believes nothing. Some, of the tradition
ary stories are mere idle legends, unworthy of serious considera
tion, while others are probable and well deserving of confidence.
The sites of the most interesting cities, Jerusalem, Tyre, Sidon,
Damascus and others, are fixed beyond controversy, and the
events which made them remarkable passed within such narrow
spaces, that the pilgrim may well be satisfied he is near( or upon
them — near enough for the indulgence of that power bf associa
tion which enables us to overlook the present, and connects us
with days and deeds forever memorable in history.
From Damascus the journey led across Anti Lebanon to Baal-
bec, celebrated for the magnificent Temple of tbe Sun, one of the
most imposing structures which have come down to us from
antiquity, and thence across Lebanon by Eden and the Cedars,
well known spots in the mountain ridge described by many trav
elers, and on to Tripoli in Syria. There the Constitution was
found, which conveyed the party to Beyroot, whence they pro
ceeded along the coast to the city of Sidon. The prophecies of
the Scripture are literally fulfilled in the destruction which has
fallen upon this city and upon ber renowned neighbor, Tyre. Our
travelers actually saw the fishermen drying their nets upon' the
ruins of this old capital of the Phoenicians/
From Sidon General Cass made an excursion into the chain of
Lebanon, upon a visit to Lady Hester,1§tanhope and to the Emir
Besbeir, the prince of the Druses, the rather mysterious aborigi
nal population of the Lebanon chain. He found Lady Hester
Stanhope, tbe niece of tbe younger Pitt, and the granddaughter
of the great Earl of Chatham, /Occupying a stone hovel upon the
top of one of the most arid bills in Syria. This eccentric lady, if
she had not actually embraced the Mahometan faith, certainly in
clined to favor it. Soraeyears before, she had sought the society
of the Arabs, taking with- ber much wealth which she freely

356 LIFE AND TIMES
distributed, and by this means acquired great influence over the
wild tribes. She was hailed by them Queen of Palmyra, and a
word from her to the proper chiefs was a safeguard to the traveler
seeking that distant city. But she gave till she bad nothing more
to give, and as her wealth disappeared, her influence diminished,
and she finally abandoned them in disgust, and took refuge among
the precipitous hills, a few miles from Sidon. The party found
her there, dressed in a Turkish robe, with a turban on her head,
and smoking a long pipe. Her conversation was wild and some
what disconnected, but still interestingj for she bad seen much of
life both in Europe and Asia, and her communications were free,
and her comments upon men and things were without much re
straint. Her visitors left her with melancholy impressions, from
her changed circumstances and lonely condition.
Deir El Kamar is the residence of the Emir Besheir and the
seat of the Druse sovereignty. This prince holds his authority
from the sultan, while at the same time he is the hereditary ruler
of his people. He occupies a very splendid residence, where the
party passed the night, and returned the next day to Sidon, and
continued their journey to Tyre. The day was intensely hot, and
shortly before arriving at the city, the travelers stopped and took
refuge from the weather in an old stone tomb. After some time
they heard the distant sound of military music, and looking out,
they perceived a party approaching. It proved to be a detach
ment of the garrison of Tyre, led by the governor, as swarthy a
negro as Ethiopia ever sent forth. He had come out to do honor
to the American Minister, who had been commended by the gov
ernment to the authorities in Syria and Palestine. The governor
was invited to take a glass of champagne, which be tasted without
the slightest Mahometan prejudice, following the example of the
reigning sultan. After a short time a procession was formed, and
tbe negro governor with his detachment marched in front, followed
by the American party, and thus they entered tbe old city of Tyre
across the causeway by wbich Alexander joined the island to the
continent. What a contrast between the entrance of the Mace
donian conqueror and the strangers from tbe Western world, led
by such a governor, followed by such troops.
After some time, General Cass wishing to make a return for the
politeness he had received, sent a messenger to the Pasha's resi
dence to inquire where be could wait npon the great man. He

OF LEWIS CASS.

357

received for answer from the secretary, that his master was drunk
and asleep, and that as soon as he should be awake and sober,
General Cass should be informed, so that he could make his call.
From Tyre tbe journey was continued through Acre, and over
Mount Carmel, and by Cessarea to Jaffa. There the Constitution
received the travelers, and sailed for Cyprus, the island of Venus,
and disembarked them at the port of Larneca. After looking
around its neighborhood, an expedition was planned into the in
terior of the island, and the party visited the capital, Nicosia, the
seat of government and the last position surrendered by the Vene
tians to the Turkish power. Tbe remains of the haughty republic
are every where visible, and the fortifications are yet furnished
by the artillery tbat she surrendered. The Pasha was a Turk of
the old school. He did not wear the Fez cap nor the other cos
tume prescribed by the sultan. His full turban and his flowing
robes showed that in his feelings be belonged to a past age, and
from the remoteness of his position, be did not much trouble him
self about his responsibility. Wherever General Cass bad previ
ously come in contact with the Turkish authorities, he had been
treated with much deference and attention ; and afterwards, even
Mehemet Ali rose from his divan, and advanced to meet him as
he entered the apartment. But the Pasha of Cyprus attempted
to play another part. He sat still without inviting his guest to
take a seat beside him. But General Cass met and rebuked his
incivility by a prompt movement. The large chamber of audience
was filled with Turkish officers and attendants, and General Cass,
as soon as he perceived the part the Pasha intended to play, re
placed his hat upon his head, which he had removed, and walked
up to the divan, and coolly took his seat beside the governor.
This step answered tbe purpose, for pipes and coffee, the evidence
of Turkish hospitality, were immediately introduced, and the in
terview passed off very agreeably.
From Cyprus the voyage was continued to Egypt, and the Con
stitution came to anchor in the port of Alexandria. Mehemet Ali
was then at that city, and General Cass had an interview with
him. He was an able man, and had raised himself by his own
exertions to tbe throne of the Pharaohs and the Ptolemys. He
conversed with much freedom, and his manners were polished.
He had the most prodigious white beard, perhaps, to be found in
the east, of wbicb he was, evidently proud. There are not many

358 LIFE AND TIMES
existing objects around Alexandria worthy of attention. What
there are were looked at by the party, who there embarked on
board a boat and passed through the canal to tbe Nile. They
entered that river and ascended it to Cairo. It is a prodigious
stream, running almost two thousand miles without a tributary,
a fact, as Humboldt says, without example in tbe hydrography of
the globe. It resembles tbe Missouri, for its current is equally
strong and the water turbid, boiling and eddying in its course,
almost an object of fear. Cairo and its vicinity furnish- many
objects of interest, and these were not neglected by the party.
Among others was Heleopolis, or On, in the land of Goshen,
where one of those massive columns, covered with hieroglyphics
peculiar to Egyptian architecture, is yet standing in a deserted
spot, the sole memorial of departed greatness.
A journey to the Pyramids was of course not neglected. These
massive structures have so often been described, as render any
peculiar reference to them unnecessary. General Cass ascended
the great pyramid of Cheops, and there explored its various
chambers, together with its subterranean grottos beneath. These
prodigious, but apparently useless works, for ages have excited
tbe admiration1 of the world, and will hereafter continue to do so,
for they may bid defiance to the effects of time. From Alexan
dria the homeward- voyage to Toulon, by the way of Minorca,
where quarantine was performed, was prosperous, and the party
landed upon the shores of France, without a single untoward
accident. From the above itinerary it will be at once seen how interesting
an outline is presented' for the observations of our distinguished
tourist, and the contemplation of the reader. Tbe limits of this
work will not permit us to follow bim minutely in his path, and
we must be content with presenting a few of bis memoranda,
because tbey are descriptive of interesting scenes and incidents
that occurred as he passed along the route.
He states that the Nile, in its general features, bears a strong
resemblance to the, Missouri. The water has tbe same thick, tur
bid appearance, bringing down with it an immense quantity of
tbe soil bf the upper regions, carried off by the rains or fallen from
the banks, undermined by the action of the current. It is lighter
colored than the water of the Missouri, but equally impervious to
the view, it being impossible to discern an object in either stream

OF LEWIS CASS. 359
an inch below the surface. " The strength of the two currents we
should judge to be about tbe same, equaling, certainly, five or six
miles an hour ; and both exhibit that turbulent, agitated appear
ance indicative of great depth and velocity, and which can not be
regarded without awe. The Nile, where the Mahmondiek canal
enters it, must be a mile broad ; and, when it is considered that
the Damietta branch, on tbe other side of the Delta, is of equal
size, and that there are a number of other passages, which convey
that water either to the sea or to the lakes, which are filled during
tbe inundation, we may form some conception of this great Abys
sinian outlet. We ascended it at the bight of the inundation. At
Cairo, the minimum of this bight, above low water, is six thousand
eight hundred and fifty-seven metres ; its medium seven thousand
four hundred and nine metres ; and its maximum seven thousand
nine hundred and sixty-one. To this, if we add tbe general depth
of the stream at low water, equal to one thousand eigbt hundred
and thirty metres, we shall have nine thousand seven hundred and
ninety-one metres for the depth at the period of the greatest ele
vation. It preserves this altitude, or nearly so, for many days ;
because, as it approaches or recedes from it, its changes are slow;
and all this immense mass of water is furnished by the regions
south of Egypt. For a thousand miles there is not only no tribu
tary stream, but evaporation, tbe aridity of tbe soil, and tbe
purposes of agriculture are continually diminishing the volume.
From the earliest period it has rolled down this mighty mass with
the certainty and precision of the revolving seasons, generaUy with
a quantity sufficient to irrigate the soil, and to prepare it for its
destined crop, but sometimes, indeed, with a diminished supply,
followed by periods of scarcity or famine, like that recorded in the
history of Joseph, ' when the famine was very sore ; that the land
of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the
famine.' The Nile had, no doubt, failed to attain the necessary
elevation, and sterility and want were the consequences."
General Cass visited Ibrahim Pacha, and found him a heavy
looking man, exhibiting decided effects of dissipation ; and it was
a well known fact tbat be habitually indulged in intoxication. In
the Morea and in Syria he had exhibited military skill, but sullied
by tbe most atrocious cruelty. As to protection from oppression,
the word was not known in all his viceroyalty. No man's person or
property was safe for a day. The Imperial Manslayer, was one of

360 LIFE AND TIMES
the titles of tbe Grand Seignor, and was not a barren one. But,
as all governments have some practical check, so, in this case, the
royal butcher was restricted to forty victims a day. In like man
ner, the Captain Pasha bas the right to put to death the persons
of his suite, and, perhaps, the marines serving his fleet. General
Cass understood that this high officer had recently, when at Con
stantinople, lost a favorite diamond aigrette, given to him by the
Sultan ; and not being able to find it at a moment when he desired
to visit his master, in a fit of passion he threw one of his servants
into the Bosphorus, and blew out the brains of another with a
pistol. The conduct of the Egyptian government, in tbe excavation of
tbe Mahmondieh canal, furnished another illustration of the reck
less disregard of human rights and human life. Instead of a just
and systematic arrangement for the employment and subsistence
of the necessary laborers, the miserable Fellahs were literally
driven from their villages, and compelled to work on this eanal.
It was computed that not less than three hundred thousand were
thus seized, of whom, at least, twenty-five thousand perished from
hunger, fatigue, and tbe hardships incident to want and exposure.
They were furnished with no instruments of labor, but the earth
was dug with their hands, and carried away in the miserable rags
which barely covered tbeir nakedness. Fortunately, in one respect,
for them at least, the soil was alluvial, and without a stone on the
whole route. The country was almost a dead level, and there was
not a lock upon the canal. There is a sluice at each end, to regu
late the admission and escape of the water, but no means for the
passage of boats. The work, in fact, is a large ditch, without
science in the plan or skill in tbe execution. It is so crooked that
the distance is probably increased one third, without the slightest
necessity for this deviation from a direct line, and, apparently,
because chance assigned to the laborers tbeir stations. Traveling,
though, was perfectly safe, and the police admirable. All the
agents of the government, from the Pasha down, are possessed of
unlimited power, and everything gives way bejfcre its use and
abuse. At Boulab, the port of Cairo, he saw police officers
impress a crew for the boats which had been assigned him, by
pushing into a crowd with a long rope, and sending on board all
who were encircled in it, without the slightest regard to any
arrangements, for their pay or subsistence. General Cass, however,

OF LEWIS CASS. 361
in this instance, saw to it, that they had their pay and whole
some fare on that voyage up the Nile in a canga, wafted either
by the wind or slowly dragged by the boatmen.
But the Egyptian police fulfilled this duty in their own peculiar
way. The government ordered them to render the pilgrims from
the far west to the shrines of the east, any assistance that might
be necessary for the objects of their voyage. There was a crowd
upon the shore, gazing on the strangers and their preparations.
Two turban ed agents seized the ends of a rope, and, passing rap
idly into the assembly, enclosed within it a sufficient number for
tbe purpose, serving this Mahometan writ as coolly, and with as
little resistance, as would attend the proceedings ofa constable in
this country, who should summon a man before a justice of tbe
peace, for a debt of five dollars.
He passed over the site of Memphis. Here there were no ruins
— no food for the senses ; all belongs to the imagination. One
monument only survives to tell the traveler where this proud
capital of the ancients stood. Some years before, a huge statue
was discovered in this place, and bad fortunately escaped the
hunters of curiosities. It was a landmark, and little doubt exists
that it was placed there by Sesostus, in front of the temple of
Vulcan, in Memphis. By the conosoenti it is considered an admi
rable specimen of ancient art, and to him even, having no claims
to virtu, it presented a most interesting spectacle. It lies with its
face downwards, and is nearly perfect to the knees. It is forty-
five feet in hight.
" Memphis," says the General, " is situated in what we should
call a bottom, running from the Libyan highlands to the Nile.
The position must have been a low one, and, we should suppose,
insalubrious. It is in the immediate vicinity of the Pyramids,
which are erected upon a ridge, putting out from the main chain,
and much , lower. We counted, at Saccarah, seventeen within
view, of different magnitudes, and in every state of decay. Near
Saccarah, I visited the tombs of the birds— among tbe most curious
and interesting objects in Egypt, not so much in themselves as
through the illustration they afford of the character of the ancient
inhabitants and their superstitions. The superstitious veneration
exhibited by the ancient Egyptians for certain animals while alive
and. for their remains when dead, is among the most extraordinary
facts recorded of the waywardness of man. We should be tempted

362 LIFE AND TIMES
to doubt the accounts which have come down to us had not irre
fragable evidence of their veracity come down with them in these
Necropoles. The ancient historians tell us tbat killing an ibis or
hawk was a crime punished with death ; that cats were salted and
buried in the city of Bubastes ; that bitches and ichneumons were
buried in consecrated chests, where they happened to die ; that
hawks were removed to the city of Butes, and ibises to Hermopo-
lis ; that otbers were venerated ; and that fishes, eels, and serpents
were buried in the temple of Jupiter. -What a picture of human
weakness ! And immense receptacles were prepared under ground
to contain the carcasses of these animals. Their extent exceeds
all conception. The remains are found in earthen jars, and piled
in immense layers, one upon another. I went to the door of one
of these catacombs, but thus far shalt thou go and no further was
proclaimed to, me by a latitude which prohibited all passage
through the narrow entrance, except to those who had been more
ascetic than myself. I left to my smaller companions to penetrate
into these chambers of Egyptian superstition, while I amused my
self in the sand on the outside, during ^pleasant day in September,
under an African sun, in examining the jars and their contents.
I was 6truck here, as elsewhere, with the character of indestructi
bility which seems to attach to the rude pottery of the ancients.
-Whether it be the nature of the manufacture, or the state of the
climate, which confers such durability upon this apparently fragile
material, I know not. Perhaps both contribute to the result."
The memorable journey of the children of Israel has furnished
a theme for- criticism and examination for critics and commenta
tors, from the earliest period of the church. Our distinguished
traveler found insurmountable difficulties in tracing the exact
route of this large caravan, and in identifying the site of each
encampment, as they proceeded, day by day, on their immortal
pilgrimage. A cycle of four thousand years had passed since the
wonderful event. Nations had risen and decayed in the mean
time. The face of the country had changed. Many a fountain
had been choked by the sands of the desert, and many a fertile
spot laid waste. The only wonder, indeed, is, that so much
remains to attest the truth of a narrative, written forty centuries
before. It was true, the Red Sea remained ; Mount Sinai was
there, and so were the mountains of Seir. The face of the coun
try remained, with its sands increased and its oasis diminished-"--

OF LEWIS CASS. 363
the necessary consequence of the loss of its population and agri
culture — but with its general features unchanged ; and also
remained as unchanged as any of these, the character, manners
and customs of the nomadic tribes, who then, as now, roved over
the country with their flocks and herds.
" 'Would to God we had died in the land of Egypt,' was the
emphatic declaration of the moving multitude," says the General,
in his memoranda. During tbeir whole route, whenever any
difficulty occurred, they contemned the injunctions of their divine
guide, and the remonstrances of their faithful leader, whose task,
looking at the nature ofthe regions he traversed, and the number
and, temperament of his countrymen, was one ofthe most irksome
and responsible on record ; and they longed for the " flesh," and
the "fish," and the "cucumbers," and the "melons," and the
" leeks," and the " onions," and the " garlics " of Goshen. And
by the by, it is worthy of remark, how, in these instances, as in so
many others, the Scripture narratives are corroborated by the
existing habits and manners of the eastern nations. Every trav
eler in Egypt must have observed the immense quantity of these
vegetables which are consumed there, and the large proportion
wbich they furnish of the subsistence of the inhabitants. And it
is thus we every-day receive some new confirmation bf the truth
of the oldest and most authentic record of human history,
When General Cass was approaching Jerusalem, tbe city whose
associations are as, imperishable as tbe eternal hills tbat environ
it, he says his impressions were somewhat different from Ameri
can and English travelers who had preceded him. He thought
that the difference in these pictures of impressions was not owing
solely to the difference in the constitutions of the artists who drew
them. "Jerusalem is upon an inclined plane, opening to tbe
north-east, and presents its fairest prospects to the traveler ap
proaching it upon the road from Damascus. But, from the south
tbe eye meets the higher part of the city, and rests almost exclu
sively upon its bleak hill and upon its dark and naked wall. It
is indeed no longer ' fretted with golden pinnacles,' but neither
did it strike me to be so' Utterly disconsolate in its appearance, as
some have said. Tradition bas marked the spot of every interest
ing incident which the Scriptures record as having occurred
within its walls. Credulity and skepticism have equally exam
ined and discussed these legendary tales. But probably not one

364 LIFE AND TIMES
stone of ancient Jerusalem remains in its place. The guides point
to a part of the foundation of the walls facing the valley of Jehos-
baphat, where are some large blocks, apparently of an earlier age
than the rest of tbe structure,1 and consider these as the relics of
the ancient city. But this is a mere conjecture, resting upon no
established proof. Jerusalem has been swept with the' besom of
destruction. The imprecations against ber have been fulfilled.
The Assyrian, the Greek, the Roman, the Crusader, the Turk, the
Egyptian, have marched over its walls, and established their
camps in its holy places. Superstition, fanaticism, revenge, have
conspired to sweep away its monuments, and to make it desolate.
The great features of its topography no human power can change.
They have been imperishably marked out by an Almighty hand.
Its site occupies the projecting point of a high hill, bounded on
the east by a deep, narrow valley, successive portions of which
were called the valley of Kedron, of Jehosbaphat, and of Siloam, .
in the bottom of which flows the brook Kedron, and on the
south-west and south, by the valley of Sihon, where trickles the
little stream called Gihon. These rivulets unite a short distance
below the pool or spring of Siloam, and wind their way among
broken mountains to the Dead Sea. On the north-west the city
joins the table land of tbe country, and it is in this direction that
it has been successively enlarged and contracted, as prosperity or
adversity augmented or diminished its population. And although
it has been said that the ancient city extended across the valley
of Gihon, yet the conjecture has been advanced solely to render
the legendary sites of some of the miraculous events which
occurred within its walls, consistent with Scripture narrative, and
is contradicted by the nature ofthe ground; for it is unreasonable
to suppose that the advantage of a strong position would be aban
doned by enclosing a deep valley, when there was space enough
-on the table land for indefinite extension. Whoever visits these
traditionary sites, should do so without investigating too narrowly
the evidence by which they have been established. He can not
be far wrong, for tbe compass within which the facts occurred, is
but a narrow one. And there is an indefinite sentiment of awe
and veneration, in believing we are standing upon the very spot
where our Savior was judged, crucified, and buried. If there were
no idle mummeries around one, this feeling would be deeper and
holier; but it is impossible wholly to abstract ourselves from the.

OF LEWIS CASS. 365
circumstances with which superstition has invested these places.
Still, the moment when he stands upon the hill of Zion is an era
in the life of any man, and he feels more concentration of exist
ence at that instant, than is given to him to experience upon any
other spot on theface ofthe earth.
Without the circuit of Jerusalem, uncertainty ceases. The
Mount of Olives, tbe Garden of Gethsemane, Mount Gihon, the
Mount of Evil Counsel, the pools, the fountains, tbe brooks, all
remain as in tbe brightest days of Bible history ; deprived, in
deed, of all their monuments, constructed when Solomon made
silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and when cedars were as syca
more trees in the vale for abundance ; but impressive and inter
esting in tbeir desolation. And he who can roam among these
- solitary places, without feeling bis faith strengthened and his heart
touched, has none of the true characteristics of a pilgrim, and
will find himself a stranger in the " Holy Land."
The Mount of Olives, which overlooks Jerusalem, derives its
name from the trees growing there, and existing from the earliest
ages. General Cass found eight olive trees, bearing every mark
of extreme age : and the tradition among the people invests them
with a sacred character, as cotemporaries of the life and death of
Jesus Christ. At the foot of the mount, divided from it by the
brook Kedron, is the Garden of Gethsemane, forever memorable
as the scene of the passion of our Savior. As is well known, the
principal product of the olive tree is oil ; but General Cass found
in his travels, that, in many places, its fruit was an acceptable
substitute for meat, and that in Greece, a few olives, with bread,
constituted the ration of the soldier. The tree approaches, if it
does not equal, tbe cedar in longevity. There is a plantation yet
bearing at Terni, in Italy, which is said to be composed of the same
trees described by Pliny as growing there in the first century.
General Cass Kad too much of the true spirit of a pilgrim not
to visit Jericho, tbe Jordan, and the Dead Sea. "A more dreary-
looking region," he says, " he never saw but once, and that was upon
the River Ontonagon, which enters Lake Superior upon its south
ern side, and which for barrenness and desolation may have a rival,
but certainly can have no superior on the face ofthe earth. And
to those who know the acuteness of the Indians, in directing their
course through tbe forest, it is a sufficient proof of the natura of

366 LIFE AND TIMES
this district to say, that an active ChippeWa, who was with me,
was unable to thread his way out of this labyrinth.
"From Jerusalem to the precipitous cliffs overlooking the plain
of the Jordan, the country offers a succession of high sharp hills,
without trees or any kind of verdure, and covered with black,
rugged rocks. The narrow path winds its way amongst those
stupendous masses, following tbe gullies worn by tbe water-courses,
until it attains the brow of the ridge, looking down upon the val
ley, the river, and the lake. And a quiet-looking sheet of wate*r
it is ; but ob ! how different from those beautiful reservoirs which
our own beloved country spreads out, embosomed among green and
fertile bills, and variegated by all that can render them pleasant
and useful. Within this vale there are no trees, no vegetables,
no inhabitants, no domestic animals, for a few miserable Arabs
are not enough to form an exception. Neither is there any soil to
minister to the wants of man ; for a saline incrustation, deposited
by the fogs of the sea, covers the earth, and is destructive to
vegetable life. The descent of the mountain is so precipitous,
tbat great care is necessary to prevent accidents. When I made
this journey, the faithless guides were desirous I should pass the
night at tbe miserable residence of the Shieck on the ruins of
Jericho ; but knowing tbe dirt and worse than dirt of an Arab
village, I determined to avoid it. I was told, there would be dan
ger from 6ome of the wild tribes, if I stopped short ; but I put
my faith in the terror inspired by the name of Mehemet Ali, and
slept soundly and safely at the spring of Elisha, and blessed the
prophet for his miraculous intervention, which had converted the
saline waters of .this lovely fountain into as pleasant a draught a6
ever delighted a thirsty traveler. If this is not the fountain of
the palm trees, where the Christian knight and tbe Saracen Emir
kept truce together, after the combat recorded in ' The Talisman,'
I know not where to seek it. The topography, indeed, of this
region is not in strict keeping in this most interesting romance ;
but, though false to fact, it is true to nature. If the pilgrimage of
the Scottish crusader led him to the convent of Santa Caba, in the
desert of Saint John, his visit to the Dead Sea was a work of su
pererogation to himself, but most acceptable to tbe reader, who
finds in the description of this detour, some of tbe most powerful
delineations of natural objects, and some of the most striking
incidents, which we owe to the genius of Scott.

OF LEWIS CASS. 367
"The reverberation of tbe sun's rays gave (o the vale of Siddrin
an equatorial beat in tbe month of August, and I raised myself
from tbe fount of Elisha, and resumed the route to the Dead Sea,
before the dawn of day, to avoid, as much as possible, the noon-
, tide sun. I traversed much of tbe space between Jericho and the
shore of the lake in the night, and a most impressively mournful
ride I had of it ; over barren sands, covered here and there by
low, stunted bushes, every now and then striking us in the face,
•to warn us, as it were, that the home of the wild Arab was around
us. And, as the streaks of morning light dawned over tbe moun
tain of Moab, a most extraordinary spectacle presented itself to
our eyes. An army appeared upon the dreary, deserted sand^be-
tween us and the dark water, which stretched away beyond the
view, lost in the high ridges whiph overhung it. No deception
was ever more complete ; for long ranks of soldiers seemed drawn
up, marching and counter-marching in all directions, with great
regularity. It looked as if the genius of. the place had embodied
his forces, to bar all access to his gloomy dominions. And it was
only as the day advanced, and as we approached the shore, that
our formidable enemy assumed the peaceable shape of countless
flocks of birds, of the heron species, who, the Arabs say, come to
pass tbe night upon the sand, and in the day seek their food
among the reptiles in the mountains. The immensity of their
numbers exceeded all imagination : and, if the regions of Pales
tine are fertile in nothing else, they must be most prolific in
snakes, if the Arab natural historian may be trusted. And this
is the Dead Sea, and below these dark waters are the sites, per
haps the ruins, of Sodom and Gomorrah, such as ' when the
smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.' There
is a tale, that nothing living, not even a bird, can ever cross
this sea,
" But there is no need of imaginary stories to highten the
. desolation of the scene, and I, as well as others, can testify to its
inaceufacy, by my own observation. I believe, however, that its
^waters are unfavorable to animal life ; and, though a shell or two
, may be occasionally picked up upon the shore, yet these have
ibeen probably brought down by the Jordan. The water is exces
sively bitter and nauseous; and, if additional evidence were
wanting, I could also testify to its great gravity, and to the buoy
ancy of the human body when immersed in it. It is only by

368 LIFE AND TIMES
much exertion, and for a very short time, that any one can get
and remain below the surface.
" I went from here to the Jordan, and 6truck the river, where,
tradition says, the children of Israel passed over when they first
entered the Land of Promise. On the west side is a low bottom,
and on the east 6ide a high sandy bluff, and the shores of the river
are covered with aquatic bushes. The water was thick and tur
bid, and the current rapid, and too deep to be sounded, ' for Jor
dan overflowed all his banks, all the time of harvest.' And here
crossed the Jewish nation, over this turbulent stream, 'on dry
ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.' And
I followed their route to Jericho— the frontier city ofthe Canaan-
ites — where 'the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall
fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man
straight before him, and tbey took the city.' There is no city now
to take, nor are there any walls now to fall. There are a few mis
erable hovels, made of rude stones and mud, and the ruined walls
of a building of the middle ages, where the wretched Arabs bur
row, rather than live. Jericho has disappeared as completely as
her rival cities, wbich sunk before the wrath of the Almighty.
And it requires an effort to be satisfied, that here the great miracle
Which attended the entrance of the Jews into Canaan, was per
formed, though the truth of the denunciation is before the eyes of
the traveler ; ' cursed be the man before the Lord, that raiseth up
and buildeth this city of Jericho.' "
General Cass wended his way across tbe hills of Judea, and
over tbe plains of Galilee ; and he felt as if he was, in truth,
treading upon sacred ground. He followed the path often trod by
the" Savior and his lowly disciples, and was enraptured with the
association of ideas that — coming from far — crowded upon his
mind. He was in Sidon, situate on the sea coast, and inastate/of
misery and decadence. It was originally an open roadstead, fur
nished with an artificial mole, the remains of which he beheld.
He did not tarry there long, and on the morning of the succeed
ing day after his entrance, he put its miserable walls behind him,
and found himself straightway on tbe sandy beach of the sea.
After traveling this some two miles, be began to ascend the head
of a small stream, deriving its sources from the Ridges of Leba
non : for he was on his way to see Lady Stanhope. He soon left
this stream — lined with fig and mulberry trees, and interminable

OF LEWIS CASS. 369
vines — and traversed a very rugged and inhospitable country, as
cending and descending bill after bill, each composed almost
wholly of rock, till he came in sight of the little insulated moun
tain, where tbe lady had established ber lonely dwelling. Almost
conical, it was separated by a deep valley from the other hills.
He toiled up its precipitous sides by a narrow winding path, en
joying tbe full benefit of a Syrian mid-day sun. When on the
top, he stopped a moment for rest, and to survey the prospect.
Steep valleys on every side seemed to enclose similar bills. Near
was one having on its top a Greek convent, and others in the dis
tance spotted with villages, Greek, Arab, and Druse. His eyes
scanning tbe soil, fell upon nothing that indicated fertility: and
upon tbe very top of tbe bill, the self-expatriated Lady Stanhope
bad established her residence. He found the cluster of houses
built in the Arab manner, low, irregular, and quite detached, of
stone, rudely constructed, and surrounded with a stone wall.
There were some fig and pomegranate trees, vines and flowering
shrubs, cultivated with care, and furnished with water brought
from some distant spring in the valley below, for tbe bill itself
was as destitute of water as tbe deserts of Arabia.
He bad taken the precaution before leaving Sidon, to transmit,
by a messenger, bis card and letter, stating bis desire to have an
interview with her ladyship. He bad understood, when in Da
mascus, from tbe French consul, who bad been for some years her
physician, that she was not always accessible, and was advised to
give her previous notice of the visit. When be reached ber
house, General Cass found that she had not risen, for among her
peculiar habits was one, it seems, wbich converted day into night.
She had, however, it appeared, given orders for bis hospitable re
ception, and an invitation to dine at three o'clock in the afternoon,
when she would receive him. As be wished to visit tbe Emir
Besbeir, tbe prince of the Druses, who was about seven hours'
ride beyond, in the midst ofthe Ridges of Lebanon, General Cass
excused himself to ber ladyship for not waiting, promising to
make his visit to the Emir tbat evening, and to return, so as to
present himself there again by noon of tbe next day. To this
arrangement she assented, and be continued on bis journey with
out then seeing her. Tbe same uninviting country met his view,
until he crossed some steep, rocky ridges, and struck a pretty
stream, which discharged itself into tbe Mediterranean, between
24

370 LIFE AND TIMES
Sidon and Beyroot. It was the one in which the Emperor Barba-
rossa was drowned, while engaged in a crusade. He traveled up
this stream to its source, and, after dark, reached the residence of
the Emir, one of the most romantic spots he bad seen. The Druses
— a singular people — occupied these mountains. They have pre
served a species of independence, and were governed by their own
princes. He was received and treated with true Arab hospitality.
The palace was by far the most magnificent building in Syria, and
more than four times the size of the President's house. General
Cass understood tbat tbe Emir kept a thousand servants ; and,
during this day's journeying, he saw, for the first time, those horns
alluded to in tbe Scripture, which are worn by the women. They
were, at least, fifteen inches long, and rise over the forehead,
covered by a veil, and most uncouth looking objects they were.
He was back to Lady Stanhope's by the hour indicated, the next
day, and was introduced into her private apartment. He found
ber sitting, dressed like an Arab, clothed in a robe, with a turban
upon her head, and smoking a long pipe. She was tall and spare,
with a wan and sickly complexion, and, apparently, about sixty-
five years of age. There was a settled melancholy, which added
to the interest of her appearance, and the recollection of what she
had been, contrasted with what she was, produced a powerful im
pression upon her visitor. Engaged, in early life, to Sir John
Moore, he looked for those traits which might be supposed to have
attracted this great captain. But the remains were not to be found .
General Cass had an interesting interview with his eccentric
hostess, although she had so far lost her command of the English
language as to -be driven occasionally to have recourse to the
Arabic. She spoke, with vivacity, of many of the distinguished
compeers of her uncle — William Pitt. She had traversed almost
all the country between the Euphrates and tbe Mediterranean,, and,
by her conduct and ber largesses, acquired an extraordinary influ
ence over the Arabs. She was even saluted Queen of Palmyra,
amid the interesting ruins which attest, on a small oasis in the
middle of tbe desert, tbe former power of Zenobia. But she had
found the iBhmaelites poor pillars for a throne to stand upon— a
foundation as unstable as their own sandy ocean. They cried
"more! more!" till the lady's treasury was nearly exhausted. ;
And General Cass was in Tyre. " How changed," he writes,
" is this Turko-Egyptian- Arabic town—dirty and disgusting as it

OF LEWIS CASS. 371
is, and filled with all manner of abominations — from tbe mighty
Tyre of antiquity, the Queen of Nations! Surely has tbe male
diction of the Almighty fallen upon ber, and the prophecy of
Ezekiel been fulfilled, tbat tbe world would lament over, ' saying,
What city is like Tyre — like the destroyed in the midst of the sea? '
It is, at present, a small place, situated on the shores of the Medi
terranean, and upon an extensive plain, now sterile and unculti
vated, but once rich and productive. The Ridges .ef Lebanon
diminish here much in bight, and recede from the sea, so as to
leave an extent of country beautiful to the eye, but desolate and
dreary. The town contains about twenty-five hundred inhabitants,
and it is tbe very picture of misery. The buildings are old, mean,
and dilapidated ; the streets are narrow, dirty, and crooked, and
with all the disgusting appendages of a Turkish town. The inhab
itants are in the last state of destitution. The Governor is a negro,
who came out with his Egyptian troops to do me honor, and gave
us a salvo from a rusty piece of ordnance, calculated to terrify his
friends more than bis enemies. Never did the uncertainty of
human pomp and power strike me with more force than when I
passed under the rude portal of that city, and contrasted our
entree, preceded by a few miserable Turkish troops, led by a negro,
and surrounded by a crowd as wretched as even Syria could fur
nish, with the splendid processions which had many times traversed
the same route, with all 'the pomp and circumstance' of eastern
pageantry. I went to the house of a person calling himself the
American Consul — an American, Arab. The consulates in this
region are desirable situations, not for their emoluments, but be
cause they confer valuable privileges and immunities upon the
possessor. They are preceded in public by two persons, carrying
long staves, with silver heads, and they enjoy an entire exemption
from all impositions, and from the jurisdiction of the local author
ities. After some refreshment and repose — for the day was a
burning xrae— I proposed to return the visit of our Ethiopean
friend, but was told, quite frankly and without hesitation, by the
consul, tbat he was too intoxicated to see us ; and I sat still, wait
ing the happy moment of his excellency's return to sobriety."
General Cass, returning to France, arrived in Paris in Novem
ber, 1837, after an absence of eight months. He had seen many
of the most celebrated objects of nature and art in the East, and
returned from them disappointed, with but three exceptions. St.

372 LIFE AND TIMES
Peter's, at Rome, fulfilled and surpassed all previous conceptions ;
and, after all tbat bad been written upon tbe monuments of anti
quity, be believed tbat superb basilic was fitted to produce more
powerful impressions upon tbe spectator than any other building
ever constructed by human hands. The ruins of Baalbec was
another, and might be approached with similar convictions; and
the traveler, however highly wrought might be bis expectations,
would leave its columns, its porticos, and its enormous masses of
hewn stone, with sentiments of wonder and admiration. The river
Nile was tbe third object that surpassed his most sanguine antici
pations. The most interesting relic of the ancient vegetable creation he
found upon one ofthe Ridges of Lebanon, not far from the renowned
temple of Baalbec. It consisted of twelve gigantic cedars, the
remains of the primitive forest wbich once covered that great
mountain chain of Syria, and which yet rear tbeir beads, prodigies
of vegetation, and each surmounted with a dome of foliage over
shadowing the spectator, as in the time of biblical story. One of
them is forty-five feet in circumference, and all, both in size and
bight, tell of the long ages that have swept over them. If these
mute monuments of the past could rehearse the scenes that have
transpired in the shadow of their foliage, what lessons might they
not teach, in the long interval that has elapsed since these hills
resounded with the noise of the workmen preparing the timber for
the temple of Jerusalem, to tbe solitude which establishes its dwell
ing place wherever the Moslem plants his standard.
He saw the pyramids, mounds of earth, and tumuli, often spoken
of by tourists and travelers, but be did not survey them with
superstitious awe. Like tbe aboriginal structures and mounds of
his own country, he easily solved, in his own mind, their origin
and use. Judging from tbe social condition and institutions of
» any people, civilized or barbarous, there are but three objects, in
his opinion, to which they could have been applied. These are
defense, religious worship, and inhumation ofthe dead.. Accord
ing to the nature of their construction, they have all served for
one or other of these purposes ; and, perhaps, some of them, prob
ably the most extensive, may have been, at the same time, fortresses,
temples, and cemeteries. He has found them in every situation ;
in tbe lowest valleys and on the highest hills ; in positions almost
inaccessible, as well as in those where defense would seem to be

OF LEWIS CASS. 373
hopeless, according to any system of warfare known to us ; sup
plied with water and wholly deprived of it ; and of every form
and extent, from a small, isolated enclosure to works covering a
large extent of space, and presenting great variety in tbeir size
and in tbe distribution of. their component parts.
But, in traveling through tbe desolation and solitude of the
countries be bad visited, be bad. learned to appreciate tbe flag of
his country. The star-spangled banner never appeared to him
more beautiful than when the wifids unrolled its folds over bis tent
in tbe desert ; and be did not recollect that he ever bad a prouder
hour than when be entered^ with a party of his countrymen, into
the ancient city of Damascus, which existed in the days of Abra-
hanij and which yet constitutes tbe beau ideal of an eastern city,
as painted in the Arabian tales, preceded by the flag of his coun
try, wbich attracted the gaze of the wondering Moslems. " If
there is a dissatisfied American," says be, " I trust I need not say
that I do not allude to our comparatively little internal differences
of policy, but to the great principles of our government, and their
practical operation — let him examine tbe condition of other nations,
and, if be does not return a better citizen and a more contented
man, I will agree to forfeit all claim to the gift of divination. This
love of Country is a mysterious sentiment. Dormant under ordi
nary circumstances, it is' awakened and becomes intense as we
recede from our own shores, till, when half tbe globe is interposed
between the pilgrim and bis home, the love of that home is the
absorbing passion of bis existence."

374 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER XXIV.
General Cass resumes his Official Duties — His Position at Court— Intimacy with the King— Jealoufly of
England—His Memoranda relative to Louis Phillippe, his Court and Government— The Reasons
for Publication — Charges made against General Cass Examined— Their Refutation.
General Cass returned to France with, improved health and
vigor. Valuable as bis journey bad been to himself personally,
in improving his health and increasing bis stock of general
information, be also had an opportunity of becoming acquainted
with the defects and faults of the consular system of the United
States, and with their commercial and diplomatic interest in those
remote countries. He communicated the result of this tour to the
Department of State, disclosing many important improvements,
and some day they may be instrumental in the foundation of a
new theory of trade and intercourse with tbe decaying and decayed
nations be visited.
Every minister at a foreign court performs a duty of no slight
import to his country, in endeavoring, in all ways fit and honor
able, to excite towards himself the personal good will and esteem
of the government to which he is accredited, and of the people
where he resides. It tends to give him influence and power per
sonally, and attaches more consideration to bis diplomacy. Such
always has been tbe aim of every prudent and sagacious ambas
sador of all civilized countries, and such is invariably the rule of
conduct suggested in the official instructions. And especially so
had been tbe policy pursued by American ministers at the court
of St. Cloud. It was this far more than any other known efficient
means, that enabled Franklin and bis colleagues to get the ear
of Louis XVIth. Jefferson, if his own recollections are to be
credited, bad the entree at the French court, and was on the most
intimate terms of social, unofficial intercourse with the sovereign
and family, and bis own country bas bad the benefit of it.
Louis Phillippe was not a stranger to the United States or their
institutions. He bad in otber days, as an exile from bis beloved
France, wandered in many climes, mingled with the people, and

OF LEWIS CASS.

375

was conversant with tbeir character and sentiments. He bad not
always been limited in bis peregrinations to tbe palace yard. He
bad bad otber companions than flatterers and courtiers, and was
accustomed to tbe rough usages of tbe world that moves outside
of the circle of tbe throne. Tears before the time of wbich we
write, bad be explored the woods and rivers of the United States.
He was familiar with that portion where the American Minister
had spent so much of his life, and having acquired an affable
demeanor whilst at the foot of tbe throne, he did not interdict it
when clothed with the robes and sovereign attributes of royalty.
Besides, General Cass bad been too long on the stage of publiG
life, had been a leading actor in too many of the great transactions
of government, not to be well known in a town so enlightened,
and comparatively so near, as that of Paris. He was found, upon
near acquaintance, to possess a fund of anecdote, and apparently
an exhaustless stock of information in all that related to his coun
try, its history, condition, and men of note in every locality. As
for the aborigines of tbe western continent, it was difficult to put
a question tbat he could not intelligently answer. The various
tribes, with all their sub-divisions, from Maine to Georgia, and
from the sea coast to tbe base of tbe Rocky Mountains, be could
locate and describe. He knew tbeir manners and customs, tbeir
disposition and life — for he bad summered and wintered with
them, in peace and in war.
To the traveler in Europe who has visited the salons of learning
and philosophy, it is unflecessary to say, that no topic is suggest
ive of more interest than the nomadic nations of the earth. And
strange would it have been if the American Minister's knowledge
of those that inhabited bis own country, bad not attracted atten
tion. The king of the Freneh was delighted with his society; of
bis own accord, in token of bis high esteem, tendered the hospi
talities of the court, that tbe Minister's sojourn might be agreeable,
and on no occasion omitted the respect which be felt to be due to
so eminent a republican, and to so powerful a republic as that
which he bad the honor to represent. England and Austria were
competitors for supremacy at the court of Louis Phillippe, each in
turn striving to undermine tbe otber in official influence. Tbey
stood at the bead of diplomacy in tbe French capital, but ere two
years had elapsed, as we shall presently see, they became jealous

376 LIFE AND TIMES
of the United States, and turned their attention to tbat quarter of
the diplomatic circle.
General Cass, as was his duty, sought, as honorably he might,
to strengthen the influence of bis government, and on suitable
occasions availed himself of opportunities thrown in bis way, to
cultivate tbe acquaintance of tbe king and bis family. If this
would create intimacy, intimacy would create influence. Pos
sessed of stores of knowledge beyond mere politics, he bad abetter
groundwork for statesmanship than if his mind was only filled
with current politics. Where the mind thus imbued is practical,
as with General Cass, we have materials for statesmanship of the
first order. The liberalizing influence of letters is well calculated,
in a country where political passions are so fierce as in ours, to
soften the asperities of strife, and stop party from running into
extremes. As the spheres of duty increase with such men, new
and higher qualities are ever apt to be developed. So itwas with
General Cass when transferred from the home service to the court
of France.
The cabinets of London and Vienna became alarmed at the
rising influence of the American Minister. There were many
grave questions to be considered and settled in the code of
nations, and to bold Russia, it was necessary to retain paramount
influence in France. And England would, if she could, interpo
late her restriction on the freedom of the seas. The king of the
French was flatteringly spoken of by her youthful queen, and by
ber lords and commons. But it was necessary to break that
mysterious cord of friendship evidently existing between the
king and the American Minister. A series of moves upon the
diplomatic chess-board were projected, and passed to the joint
execution of the British and Austrian ambassadors at Paris, and
intrigue was now rampant. The nerves of the American repre
sentative remained steady, and he continued the duties of a mis
sion, fast becoming of the highest importance to bis country, with
circumspection and undisturbed serenity. His personal influence
at court was constantly in tbe ascendant. Despite all efforts, the
stars and stripes which waved over the legation, commanded
from the authdrities, both high and low, more respect than ever.
What was to be done? John Bull grew surly, and wondered how
such an insignificant salary could support so proud a mission. It,
was necessary to change tactics, and undermine tbe vigilant

OF LEWIS CASS. 377
Minister in his own country, and the intrigue was transferred to
Washington. The chief magistracy of tbe United States was to
pass into new bandB, and, perhaps, with a new representation, tbe
tone of tbe court of St. Cloud might change.
It so happened tbat General Cass bad improved many of his
leisure hours in writing for tbe periodicals of bis country, bis off
hand impressions of manners and customs, as be found them in
tbe old world. This be did to gratify the publishers, and acquaint
his fellow-countrymen with what be had seen, for tbeir gratifica
tion. And, among otbers, when be had nothing else to do, be
bad written out a variety of anecdotes, descriptions and reflec
tions, of France, its king, court, and government. He did " noth
ing extenuate, or set down aught in , malice," and when written,
as it was at intervals, be bad no intention of publishing them in
the form of a book. But when his sagacity, ever vigilant, pene
trated the British diplomacy, be" concluded it would be well to
make these memoranda public, supposing that in some way or
other they would come under the eye of tbe king. There was
not a line adverse to the rightful preference of tbe government of
his own country over all otber forms, but just tbe contrary again
and again. But the larger portion of these memoranda was
devoted to personal anecdotes of Louis Phillippe and bis family,
and- of his journey in America forty years before.
John Bull, however, thought it. would be a capital hit to ma
lign the patriot of fifty years' standing, with, being a courtier, and
cite these memoranda as evidence of the charge. In England, the
people at large read but little, and such was supposed to be the*
case in the United States. If, therefore, this charge was rung
well by bis pampered minions scattered through the States, tbe
common people would believe it,*"a public sentiment would be
created against tbe Minister, and, in bis resignation, tbe British
government would be rid of bim and bis influence. In all this, it
was destined to disappointment.
General Cass a courtier ! Me, who had paddled bis birch canoe
thousands of miles, on tbe Jakes and rivers of tbe west ; he, who
had worn his bunting-shirt in company with the buffalo, cut' his
piece of venison rib from tbe stake, and roasted it in the woods ;
the identical Lewis Cass wbo was soused in Sciota Salt Creek,
saddle-bags, horse, blanket and all, when a young man, practic
ing law in Ohio and Western Virginia, and making his supper of

378 LIFE AND TIMES
bear's meat, tbat be sbould turn courtier sounded odd to the
millions of pioneers who had grown up with tbe country. Lyn-
chas was transformed into a rock, and the eyes of Argus into a
peacock's train, but the strangest metamorphosis of all, would be
General Cass into a courtier ! He was about tbe same sort of
courtier while Minister in France, as he was when he was succeed
ing, by sterling sense and sagacity, in the negotiations of good
treaties for bis country with the Indians. A man of his mold
knoWs as well how to deal with courts, and kings, and queens, as
with the red men of our forests.
As these remarkable memoranda give much information, we
will transcribe a few for the double purpose of giving the reader
an insight into them, to know them as they are, and for the
accurate knowledge tbey may contain of traits in French mind
and manners.
In one, we find tbe following : " If an American first sees the'
king when making an excursion, the impression is a painful one.
He and his cortege generally occupy three carriages, in the first
of which, drawn by eight horses, is the king, with such of his
family as accompany him. They are preceded by an outrider in
the royal livery, (red,) and by two dragoons, who always keep
themselves at a considerable distance from the main body, and
who take care that the road is clear. These are followed by a
detachment of dragoons immediately in front ofthe royal carriage;
and on each side, and close to the doors, ride tbe aides-de-camp
and orderly officers who attend the king ; and then succeeds
another detachment of dragoons. After this come the two other
carriages, each drawn by six horses, and preceded by an outrider,'
wbich are occupied by tbe gentlemen and ladies of the court. The
spectacle itself is a brilliant one, from the beauty of the horses,
tbe neatness, as well as the splendor, of the liveries of the outrid
ers, and from the arms and uniforms of the military. As the
procession always sweeps by at a rapid rate, it seems to exhibit
itself and disappear like the pageants in a theater. But the spec
tator asks himself how is it that the life of the king is exposed to
perpetual attacks, and tbat the chief of one of tbe most polished
nations in tbe world can not venture into the streets of his capital^
without being surrounded by a physical force sufficiently strong
to prevent all access to the royal person ? Tbe guards who attend
tbe king of tbe French, whenever be leaves tbe walls of his palaca

OF LEWIS CASS. 379
are not in the performance of a vain ceremony, like those with
wbicb many of the European sovereigns are accompanied ; but
tbey are in the execution of a necessary duty, and without their
presence; tbe life of tbe monarch would not be worth a day's
purchase. What is the cause of this deplorable state of things ?
Is it the fault of the king, or of bis subjects, or of the government ?
Is tbe root of tbe evil in tbe state of society, or in the course of
political measures followed or rejected ? "
In another, speaking of Napoleon, " I have often questioned the
old military veterans ofthe Hotel des Invalids, those living remains
of Jena,, and Wagram, and Austerlitz, and of a hundred other
fields, respecting their General, Consul, and Emperor, and it was
easy to see by their sudden animation, and by their eager narra
tive, how proud they were to recount any little mcident which
had connected them with bim. His visit to tbeir guard fire, and
bis acceptance of a piece of their campaign bread, constituted
epochs in their lives to be lost only with tbe loss of reason or
existence. I am satisfied that circumstances have not been favor
able to a just appreciation of the whole character of Napoleon, in
the United States.' While he was at the head of the nation, we
surveyed him very much through the English journals, and we
imbibed all the prejudices Which a long and bitter war bad
engendered against bim in England. To be sure, bis military
renown could not be called in question, but of bis civic talents, a
comparatively humble estimate was formed. I have since learned'
to correct this appreciation, particularly after I beard, at the hos
pitable table of General Dumas, a discussion concerning tbe com
parative merits of Louis the Fourteenth and of Napoleon, as
legislators and administrators.
" I bad a conversation not long since with a retired statesman,
heretofore a prime minister, and who was an active member of
tbe Council of State when the Code of Napoleon, that lasting
monument of legislative wisdom, was under preparation and dis
cussion. He told me the Emperor was punctual in bis attendance
at all tbe meetings, and careful in tbe consideration of the various
subjects which occupied them. His zeal didnot flag during all
the progress of these labors, and there was great freedom of dis
cussion; it being ardently the desire of the Emperor tbat all tbe
important points should be subjected to profound examination.
I asked my informant, how tbe question of acceptance or rejection,

380 LIFE AND TIMES
as the several chapters came up for consideration, was determined;
and, like a true American, I inquired if tbey were put to. the
vote. He smiled, and said there was no voting in tbe Council of
State upon those topics, — tbat tbe Emperor listened patiently to
all that was said,; and then gave bis own opinion, and thus ter
minated tbe subject. He bad, indeed, too often an iron will and
a heavy hand, and a grasp of ambition that seemed to augment
as kingdoms gave way before bim. His fall was a salutary lesson,
and useful to tbe world, though tbe pride of the country was
bumbled, and its wishes disregarded in the new transfer of power.
But if he was ambitious, he was ambitious for France: if he loved
glory and power, be loved bis country more : and he finally fell
because be would not consent to reduce ber extent, and to deprive
her of tbe fruits of a quarter of a century of victories. But his
successor at the Tuilleries could not participate in this feeling,
and it seemed as though it were bis wish to annihilate the mem
ory of all that France bad done and earned after his expatriataon.
Consolidating tbe two reigns of Louis the Eighteenth and Charles
tbe Tenth, into one, we have a period tbe most remarkable* per
haps, in the history of the world, for the want of adaptation ofthe
measures of the government to the circumstances around it. There
was a continued effort to approximate the epochs of 1789 and of
1815, as though the intervening events could be erased from the
annals of mankind, and their effects from tbe memory and feelings
of tbe French nation.
"How different the conduct of Louis Phillippe. He has as
sociated himself with the glories of his country. A new order of
things was substituted for the past, and a new dynasty called to
sit upon the throne. But this period of change was necessarily a
period of excitement. All but the advocates of exploded princi
ples put their hands to the great 'work of restoration, though with
expectations as different as the various shades of opinion which
divided them. This state of feeling is well illustrated by the
phrases then so much in vogue, and which seemed to embody the
opinions of a great portion of the community, ' a monarchy with
republican institutions.' The thought was new and the expression
was epigrammatical, and it took forcible bold of the public ima
gination. Every one knew what a republic was, and every one
knew what a monarchy was; but a monarchical republic, or a
republican monarchy, was something new under the sun, and

OF LEWIS CASS. 381
every one was left free to give to it such attributes as agreed best
with his own political views. And in this latitude, of expectation,
no doubt, many warm and honest partizans belonging to differ
ent shades of opinion, saw in the new government the very beau
ideal tbey bad formed for themselves in their, political reveries.
A monarch called to administer a government under these cir
cumstances, becomes, in fact) the representative of the various
parties contributing to the work, and each expects that the
measures to be adopted will be in conformity with the programme
be has formed for himself."
And on another, speaking of emeutes : " There are, at all times,
in these old countries, many desperate adventurers, desiring a
change in tbe actual establishments, in the hope of finding some
personal advantages in the confusion. And it is difficult for an
American to conceive an idea of the true state of tbe working
class, upon whose passions these men continually operate. Per
haps thirty cents a day* or a little more, may be the average price
of labor throughout France, and out of this tbe workman must
clothe and feed himself And then come tbe seasons of interrup
tion, when work is almost discontinued, and when the starving
mechanics are thrown upon the community, to seek the support
of life as they can. With us, every honest, industrious man can
reasonably expect to provide something in tbe meridian of life for
its decline. By emigrating westward be can procure a piece of
land, and close bis days surrounded by bis family. But such an
occurrence in Europe, would be little short of a miracle ; and in
this reasonable expectation of an eventual acquisition of property
in our country, with the moral stimulus which accompanies it, and
in this despair of the future which seems almost inseparable from.
the condition of a European laborer, I trace one of the most strik
ing distinctions between a new society and an old one, and one of
our surest guarantees for the perpetuation of our institutions.
" An illustration, confirmatory of this state of things, is furnished
by tbe law of conscription. By this law every young man, after
the age of twenty years, is liable to serve in the army. He draws
for bis chance of enrollment, and is then called as his number and
the exigencies of tbe public service may require. He serves seven
years, precisely at the time of life when be ought to be forming
himself for his eventful duties, and laying the foundation of any
respectability he may hope to acquire. It is precisely tbe period

382 LIFE AND TIMES
which, with us, if lost, would be lost irreparably. The average
annual demand of conscripts in France, to keep the army at its
requisite number, is eighty thousand, and this immense amount is
every year drawn from the class of the population in the very
spring-time of life, to be returned — such of them, indeed, as have
the luck, good or bad, as it may be, to return — seven years after,
without any preparation for eventual usefulness. But the most
remarkable fact, in all this institution, is tbe pay which these
forced soldiers receive — a pay which, after making the deductions
that go to the government for indispensable supplies, amounts to
one cent a day, twenty-five dollars and a half for seven years' ser
vices ! And yet this process of military supply seems firmly
established and engrafted on the habits of society ; nor have I
seen, among all the propositions with which the public has been
excited since my residence here, for the melioration of the existing
institutions of tbe country, a single allusion to this greatest of al
practical oppressions. And I can not account for this apparent
indifference to a subject which strikes every American with aston
ishment, unless it results from the conviction that a bare support
is all the laboring classes can procure by the most fortunate exer
tion, and that it may as well be in tbe army as elsewhere. One
circumstance, however, renders this arrangement more acceptable
than it would otherwise be, and that is its perfect equality. It
operates upon all with the same severity, and is executed with the
most rigid impartiality."
And from another, speaking of the existence of secret- societies,
and their machinery and principles: "Their organization appears
to have been well adapted to the ulterior designs of the party.
Candidates were admitted with prescribed ceremoniesV tending to
produce a powerful impression upon their imaginations. They
were blindfolded, accompanied by a guide, who made the neces
sary answers, and took an oath of secrecy and obedience. A
poniard was placed in their hands, as a symbol of the power of
the society over its members, and they invoked its employment in
the event of their infidelity. The members were not known by
their actual names, but each received a nom de guerre. They
were required to propagate tbeir principles; to make no confes
sions if interrogated by tbe authorities; to execute, without reply,
the orders of tbeir chiefs; to furnish themselves with arms and
ammunition; and carefully to avoid writing upon the subject of

OF LEWIS CASS. 383
tW association. At the initiation a series of questions and an
swers passed between tbe president and tbe candidate, which
discloses the objects ofthe association, and tbe means it proposed
to employ. This political catechism is a mixture of the wildest
fanaticism and of the most frightful cruelty; and reveals a state
of feeling, and an aberration of principle — and I might almost
add, of reason — wholly unknown in our calmer and happier
country. One or two of tbe questions and answers will serve to give a
general notion of tbe new light which is to break in upon the can
didate, when the moral blindness that obstructs his mental vision
shall be removed, as the* natural light will strike his organs of
sight when the bandage which covers them shall fall :
Question. — Is a political or social revolution necessary ?
Answer. — A social revolution. The social state being gan
grened, to arrive at a state of health requires heroic remedies; the
people will have need during some time ofa revolutionary powers
Question.-^Who are now the aristocrats ?
Answer. — They are the men of property, bankers, furnishers,
monopolists, large proprietors, brokers, in a word (exploiteurs)
landholders, who fatten at, the expense ofthe people.
Question: — Those who have rights, without fulfilling duties, like
the aristocrats ofthe present day, do they make part of the
people ?
Answer. — They ought not to make part of the people; they are
to the social body what the cancer is to the natural body.
The first condition of the return of the social body to a just
state, is the entire annihilation of the aristocracy — or in more
direct, though not in plainer, terms, the death of all who possess
property. A novel republicanism is this ! Resting upon such a platform,
the blessingS'of government would not fall, like the dew of Heaven,
upon all alike."
From another memoranda, the following is extracted, " Our
system of newspaper subscription is very little known in this coun
try. With us, subscribers and advertisements support the journals,
and be must be poor indeed who is not upon the subscription list
of some newspaper printer. But here there are almost no adver
tisements, tbe price preventing tbeir insertion; for the charge, in
cluding the tax, is from thirty to forty cents a line of between

»¦¦#•¦*

384 LIFE AND TIMES
thirty-five and fifty letters. And the general subscription price
of a newspaper is sixteen dollars, and this newspaper not resem
bling one of our formidable sheets, but presenting a latitude and
longitude indicative of a great change of climate in this depart
ment of public information. It is in the cafes and reading rooms,
and places of public resort, tbat all tbe journals of the day are to
be found. These places are frequented by regular subscribers, as
well as by other persons. They pay two sous — a little less than
two cents each ; and for this sum the readers can remain in the
reading rooms as long as they please, and peruse at their leisure
all the papers of the day. There are places where, in addition to
this mental enjoyment, more substantial comfort is sold, in the
guise of a cheap, meager, red wine ; and here the lounger seats
himself, with his favorite journal and his glass of vin ordinaire,
and seems to laugh at tbe world, while be assuages his carnal and
mental appetite at the same time. The French are both a frugal
and a temperate people, and their peculiar system of personal
comfort is well adapted to these principles of their social life."
M. Leon Foucher, in his criticisms of M. Guizot's translation of
the work of Sparks, containing the biography and writings of
Washington, had taken occasion to ascribe tbe American Revolu
tion to the high intellects of the country, and that it was not pop
ular with the. inferior classes, as he termed them: and General
Cass remarks, "In bis self-complacency, as an author and a French
man, it never occurs to bim, that what be calls tbe different prin
ciples of. those two great revolutions, or, in other words, the state
of excitement and terrible crimes, wbicb marked the progress of
the one event, and of firm resolution and continued exertion, des
titute of all political fanaticism, wbicb distinguished the other,
drew tbeir origin from the characters of the respective people
pushed to those struggles, and not from any peculiar political
opinions of either of them, regarding tbe foundation of their
rights, or the duty of resistance. The Frenchman might have
considered the prospect of future oppression not worth the imme
diate exertion, while upon his ardent temperament a single wound
may have required the propitiation of the fall of Bastile. But
most assuredly the Americans did not want a visible signal to
push them on : and be who Bhould have displayed a bloody shirt
for tbat purpose, would have been followed by the contempt of the
spectators, and saluted with stones by every idle boy in tbe streets..

OF LEWIS CASS. t 385
It must be remembered in all attempts to analyze; the views of the
French writers upon, our country and goveinment, that there is
one peculiar fact to be kept in view, of 'the utmost importance in
its bearing here,, but wbich has not the slightest point of resem
blance to anything in tbe institutions of tbe United States1. In all
questions of national opinion and of political movement, Paris is
France. From tbe first explosion in 1789 to the last- emeute in;
May, 1839, not a single popular effort has overturned, or serious
ly threatened to overturn, the existing government, which has1
not originated in the capital. And a very slight knowledge of
the elements of the society which compose its mass, of a million,1
of inhabitants, is sufficient to explain how this multitude may be
excited, and bow a bloody shirt may perform an important part in
tbe revolution of a kingdom. But, God be praised ! we have no
Paris, with its powerful influence and its inflammable materials.
He who qccupies the lowliest cabin upon tbe very verge of civil
ization, has just as important a part to play in the fate of our
country, as. the denizen of the proudest city in the land. Thereis
no tocsin from a tower, nor any rappel. from a guard-house, which
can announce to the defenders of our institutions, that they are in
danger. A drum or a bell whose roll or whose peal could reach
the hundredth part of those upon whose affections our political
edifice rests, will never be made by mortal hands. Such a sound
will be heard but once by the human race."
And then, casting about to see, if he could, what had produced
such a false impression and imperfect knowledge, in European
mind, of the American standard of morals and measures, be at
tributes it ,to the observations of British travelers. He says,;
"There are a few honorable exceptions in this class of writers,, but
most of them are mere gossips in pantaloons or petticoats, who
have crossed the Atlantic to read us homilies upon our barbarous
usages, and who have returned to convince their willing country
men that political institutions and social life in the new world
offer nothing consolatory to tbe observer." And be then proceeds
to say,," When I first arrived in Europe, I was so forcibly struck
with the many outlandish things, I saw and beard, that I com
menced a kind of common-place, book, in wbich I entered the:
most prominent of these aberrations from tbe true standard of
civilization, as the code is taught by the English travelers whov
visit tbe United States. I entitled my collection of curiosities!,.)
25

386 LIFE AND TIMES
1 Trollopiana, or things I have seen in Europe, to be appended to
the next edition of Trollope, Hall, Hamilton, ed it genus omne.''
Tbe task, however, was not to my taste, and I soon abandoned it.
But I will give you a specimen of the nature of these collections
and recollections, to show how easily, national recriminations may
be found for national criminations. My object is to prove the
palpable iniquity of our traducers by showing the bearing of the
principles they have adopted when applied to their own country,
a country whose moral standard is high in tbe estimation of the
world, and to wbicb we can look with pride as the birth-place of
our ancestors ; and a country, too, with which we have many as
sociations to bind us in lasting friendship. Now to my. argu-
menta ad homines. 1 will tell what I have seen, read, and
beard :
"I saw the door-keeper of the House of Lords, on the twenty-
first of June, 1838, in a state of intoxication upon his post, and
exhibiting a disgusting spectacle to every observer.
" I have seen the members of the House of Commons guilty of
tbat most abominable of all vices, and heretofore described asa
peculiarly Ameripan one, sitting with tbeir feet raised and resting
on the benches before them.
" I saw the passengers on board an English steamboat, from
London to Antwerp, called the ' City of Hamburgh,' on the first
of July, 1838, being almost all English, seat themselves at table
without being called, and take possession of almost all the places,
there awaiting the dinner ; and I saw three or four Americans
help some of the ladies to seats, while many otbers were compelled
to wait for a second table.
" I have seen the published report of a trial in which the Pre
mier Baron of England, Lord DeRoos, was convicted of cheating
at cards ; and one of the witnesses, a gentleman ef high family,
avowed that he examined the cards and found them marked, and
afterwards played with DeRoos and visited him, and that he, (the
witness,) made card-playing his principal occupation.
" And another witness, a commander in the navy, acknowl
edged that he had gained ten thousand pounds by play, and
another, an officer in the army, tbat he had played with DeRoos
after the cheating.
" And another, a baronet, who, though he had seen DeRoos
cheat four years before, was unwilling to mention it, because

OF LEWIS CASS. 387
DeRoos was popular, and a favorite with the club, ''and then he
was a Peer, too ! '
"And another, Lord Bentick, who confessed he played with
DeRoos after be knew he cheated.
" And another, George Payne, who played with, and betted
on him.
" I have seen that an impostor, calling himself Sir William
Courtenay, pretended to divine- inspiration, and that he selected
for the theater of his performances, the Archiepiscbpal See of tbe
Primate of all England. And this man, claiming to be the Savior
of the world, collected around him many disciples, and finally,
resisting the civil authority, perished, with many of his followers
and opponents, in the effort to establish his power. And crowds
of people flocked to see, bim after his death, and large sums of
money were given for locks' of his' hair, and for bis clothes, and
for rags dipped in his blood.
"I have seen an English marquis, Waterford, engaged in a
disgraceful contest with Norwegian police officers, and rendering
himself contemptible, for what we should call blackguard breaches
of the peace, wherever be went.
"I have seen an earh Roscommon, fined for being drunk and
unable to take care of himself in the street.
" I have seen a marquis, Huntley, declared a bankrupt;
" I have seen a member of the House of Commons accuse the
committee of elections of perjury; and T have seen a distin
guished Review, the Edinburgh, fortify the accusation, by asking
what would be thought if committees of Congress were stained
with a hundredth part of the suspicions under which the election
committees ofthe House of Commons labor?
" I have seen the following speech of Mr. Bradshaw, Member
of Parliament, at a public dinner : ' I hope Sir Robert Peel and
the Duke of Wellington will purge the court of tbe filth which
offendsthe nostrils of all but those whose sense is so vitiated that
they do not know vice from virtue, or purity from impurity.
Innocence is confounded with guilt. Virgin innocence is ban
ished from the palace, while vice riots rampant at the royal board.'
" I have read a paragraph in a speech of* a member of the
House of Commons, which charged the Duke of Wellington and
Sir Robert Peel with being anxious to place their friends about
the queen for tbe purpose of compassing her death.

388', LIFE AND TIMES
" I have read — and who bas not ? — the history of the affair of
Lady Flora Hastings. If such an event, with its accompanying.
incidents, bad happened in the mansion of the, President of, the
United States, it would have furnished a mass amply .sufficient to
glut even twenty Trollopes.
" I have seen the_attacks growing out of this affair, contained
in the English journals, charging and retorting against the, great
est names of England, not tbe usual ebullitions, of party and
political rancor, but imputations upon moral character, and alle
gations of the violation, of the decencies of life, and these distinctly
specified in the face of tbe country and the world, in terms which,
I shall not repeat. Among these names were those of the Duke
of Wellington, Lord Melbourne, Lord Lyndburst, the Marqni^of
Hertford, Lord Ellenborough, Lord Palmerston* and others which
have escaped my recollection, and which I have no disposition to
seek and record.
" The Journal des- Debats, in quite a recent number, tbat of Jan
uary 18tb, 1840, which has appeared since the above was written,
has come out with a full exposition of this extraordinary warfare,
for the benefit of the continental scandal-mongers, and has. added.
to it some remarks not devoid of interest, wbicb I shall here
insert. •" After a full account of the publications upon this subject, the
Journal des Debats thus proceeds : ' The discussion is continued
for some time in the same tone. We have seen the moment when
tbe Standard was about to demand a jury of matrons. Truly, we
begin to believe that the. iron window-shutters of Apsley House
have not been placed there as a protection against the insults of
the populace, but rather as a sort of discreet leaf,- destined to
mask the statue not over bashful, wbicb the fair daughtens of
Albion have elevated to their Achilles opposite to his house, and
which they have inhumanly exposed to all the rigors of the;
weather of Hyde Park. Alas ! the warrior who is honored by all
England, after so many campaigns in. all parts of the world, after.
so many palms gathered under all suns, after so many crowns
received upon his white bead, could be have expected, at the end
of a career so well tried, and well filled, to see added to all those
palms, and to all those laurels, a last crown of orange flowers ? ',
" I have seen tbe following beauties of the English periodical.

OF LEWIS CASS. 389
" The Times—'- O'Connell, an ungrateful hypocrite, has been
making a rabid howl. ... A miscreant, the worthless, bas
tard progeny of the Dublin newspapers.'
"Tbe Herald—'' Tbe impertinent coxcombry of Lord Melbourne's
letters.' " The Standard— -' The most shabby of all shabby adminis
trations.' '
" The Cornier — ' Is there any thing to wbicb Lord Melbourne
will not sink for money ? '
" The Globe, speaking of bare-faced calumnies in the Standard,
eays : ' The scoundrels who put forth such insinuations.'
"The Post, speaking of Lord Melbourne, says : 'The man who
could write this letter, deserves to be spit upon by every mother's
eon in the three kingdoms.'
" The Morning Chronicle — ' To environ royalty with falsehood,
and to infuse it into her very soul, is the aim of toryism.'
" The Chronicle — ' The Quarterly comes out with an elaborate
article to prove the queen is a liar.'
"The Waterford Chronicle — 'This is tbe only one of the enor
mous lies of our sanctimonious cotemporary. There are not such
liars in the world as some of these High Church Tory organs.'
" The Times-^-1 The lying Premier, and his Home Secretary.'
" The Times — ' The Whigs are irrevocably spavined, glandered,
broken-winded, and doomed to slaughter.'
" It is obvious in perusing the extracts I have given from the
French aete of accusation above referred to," cbntinues General
Cass, " and which exhibits the creed of the persons engaged in
efforts to overturn the government, that the object' is not confined
to a change of political institutions, to tbe substitution of a re
public for a monarchy, but that it extends to the fundamental
basis of society, seeking the destruction of private rights, and of
all the barriers wbich defend property and order. Undoubtedly,
in ifchese crowded regions of the old world, there is much misery,
and the comforts of life are very unequally distributed. He who
depends for existence upon publie charity, or he who, by constant
labor and continual privations, barely supports life without be
coming a mendicant, may be easily taught to look upon the prin
ciples to which be attributes all these evils, as equally unjust in
their foundation, and oppressive in their operation  There
is no problem in human society fraught With more important

390 LIFE AHD TIMES
consequences than that whibb seeks to combine tbe happiness of
tbe greatest number with the necessary principles of public order
and private rights. Visionary men, feeling right, but thinking
wrong, may declare war against the existing institutions of society,
and talk about the evils and selfishness of riches, and the justice
of an equal partition of all the products of industry: and Uto
pian politicians may dream of some far-off regions where there
is neither wealth nor poverty, where each labors for one and for
all, and where self is lost in an indiscriminate benevolence. But
such regions must be sought on another globe than this. If the
curse of labor, the first fruit of disobedience, descended upon
mankind, it was accompanied by tbe stimulus of necessity; and
by ihe passion of acquisition. Without this selfish hope, and
without the barriers which fence around whatever can minister to
it, what would become of the nations of the world ? Who would
labor from tbe morning of life till its close, with hand or head,
and toil in any of the innumerable spheres of action, which in
tbeir ensemble constitute tbe aggregate of society, if the reward
he hopes to find in the product of his industry may be wrested
from him by the first lawless invader who chooses to appropriate
to himself what he pleases ? And between the unlimited power
of acquisition and enjoyment, and the indiscriminate abandon
ment of all to all, human ingenuity has yet found no practicable
medium." But General Cass, in the memoranda from which we transcribe
so liberally, in order that the reader may see for himself what
tbey are, passes from the grave topics, to others of a lighter cha*-
racter, and thus speaks of tbe personality of. tbe king of the
French. " The king, Louis Phillippe, is now about sixty-six years of age.
His constitution, however, is vigorous, and there are no marks of
declining years about bim. His frame is large, but there is much
ease in his, movements, and his whole carriage is marked by that
happy address which good taste, and the polished society where
he has moved, have enabled him to acquire. His countenance is
striking and expressive,- and displays the possession of great intel
lectual power. He belongs to that small class of men, the indi
viduals composing which you can not meet in a Crowd, or pass in
the street, without turning round to regard them, and involuntarily
asking yourself, who tbey are. All the engravings representing

OF LEWIS CASS. 391
him give a likeness more or less just, because his is one of those
faces which the painter can not well mistake. He speaks and writes
English as fluently as any Englishman or American ; and I under
stand he possesses as familiar a knowledge of most ofthe modern
languages. He is very ready in conversation, and displays great
tact and judgment in his observations. His education was most
complete and careful, and superintended by the celebrated Ma
dame de Genlis. It is said- to have been eminently useful and
practical, and he was thus fortunately the better prepared for those
adverse circumstances with which his early life was chequered.
In his domestic relations, he is eminently happy; and as a hus
band,- brother, and father, he is without reproach. In the execu
tion of his public duties, he is said to be prompt and attentive;
and in illustration of his conscientious application to his functions,
I will mention an anecdote, upon the truth of which you can de
pend. Mr. Stevenson, our Minister in England, had heard a
report, coming from a distinguished French statesman, tbat in all
questions affecting the life of a man, the king was exceedingly
scrupulous, and made a point of examining tbe papers with re
markable fidelity. Some extraordinary occurrence called this
gentleman to the palace at a late hour in the night — as late, in
deed, I think, as two o'clock — when he found the king in his
cabinet, examining, with his usual caution, the case of a man con
demned to execution. Mr. Stevenson, in the course of conversa
tion with the king, alluded to this circumstance, and found the
statement substantially correct. He afterwards ascertained, and
from another quarter, that the king keeps a register, in which is
recorded the name of every person condemned to capital punish
ment, together with tbe decision, and the reasons which led* to the
confirmation of the sentence, or to its remission. Ih the still hours
of tbe night, the king performed tbe painful task of investigating
these cases, with the just sentiments of a man upon whom weighs
the responsibility of the question of the life or death of a fellow-
creature. And he records, himself, the circumstances, which
influence his decision. It is a noble example, and one which
ought to be followed by all magistrates, monarchical or republican,
called to fulfill this painful duty.
" It is difficult for an American to form a correct notion of the
labor wbich devolves upon a king of France. With us, the
political tendency is to sub-divide power,-andtocauseit, as much

392 LIFE AND TIMES
as possible, to be executed in tbe various localities which its exer
cise concerns. But here a contrary tendency manifests itself : and
a spirit of centralization pervades the system of government,
which, while it adds strength to the general administration,
greatly augments the royal duties. In our country, such a course
of procedure would be intolerable were it practicable, and im
practicable were it tolerable. How far the extent to which it is
carried in Francels expedient, I -do not suffer myself to pronounce.
Recollect that the kingdom contains twice as many inhabitants as
the United States, and that here there is one legislature and one
chief magistrate-to execute the duties which are performed in our
country by thirty legislatures and thirty chief magistrates, as well
Federal, as State and Territorial ; and tbat, besides these duties,
common to both nations, there is a great variety of others, which
in France are reserved to the government, while witb us they de
pend upon municipal or local authorities. And in addition to
this marked difference of political organization, there is a great
number of acts whose direction and control are within the sphere
of public power in this country, which in ours are altogether free,
and without the domain of legal and administrative regulation.
It would surprise, and, perhaps, amuse, had I time to give even a
•catalogue raisonnee of these restraints upon what we consider
national liberty; but as I can not do this, Twill take a few extracts
from royal ordinances signed by the king, which will furnish a
general notion^of the extent of the executive duties in France.
" Are authorized.— ^Le Sieur George, to keep in operation his
flouring mill upon the river Blaise, commune de Sainte Liviere.
" Le Sieur Mathelin, to convert into a flouring mill his plaster-
mill upon the rivulet de Taulay.
" Le Sieur Boisset, to add to the forge du Maillet he owns upon
the river de Loire, &c, a furnace to melt iron ore, a board washing
place for tbe preparation of the mineral, and a pounding mill for
the dross.
"Les Sieurs Pillion,. Destombs, and tbeir associates, to transfer
to the commune of Manberge the iron manufactory they were au
thorized, by the ordinance of December 12th, 1837, to establish m
the commune of Saint Riney — Mai. Bati. This last ordinance is
repealed. " Les Sieurs Dupont and Dreyfus, to construct a second furnace
near that which they possess in th© commune of Apremont.'*

OF LEWIS CASS. 393
General Cass glances at court ceremonials, and contrasts Eng
land and France : and states that the Court of Louis Phillippe
is far superior to that of George the Third in moral worth and
dignity. In the internal economy of the former, menial offices
are executed by servants, and tbe dignity of tbe recipient is not
permitted to change the character of the service, and to exalt the
station of him who renders it. He agrees with Mr. Burke, Who
-said, " that it is not proper tbat great noblemen should be keepers
of dogs, though tbey were the king's dogs." " But so does not
think Lord Kinnaird," continues the General, " for a London paper
of the previous week said that Lord Kinnaird, the new master
-of ber Majesty's buck-bounds, had just taken for four months Col
onel Cavendish's mansion at St. Leonard's, within about ten miles
of Windsor, for the purpose of being within the immediate neigh
borhood of tbe place of his official duties. His official duties in
deed ! A peer of England, a hereditary judge of the court of the
last resort, a keeper ofthe quern's dogs!"
"iBut," he adds, "a most instructive as well as amusing chapter
might be written upon the history of these court ceremonials,
existing and extinct, which have heretofore controlled, in a greater
or less degree, tbe destinies of nations. I have been told, tbat,
when Marie Antoinette entered tbe French Court, she manifested
a mixed feeling of dislike and contempt for the rigid etiquette
which prevailed there ; and sought, in the gayety of her heart, to
withdraw herself from its observance. I can well appreciate ber
feelings in desiring to walk abroad mto nature, out of the artificial
atmosphere in which she lived. But I must confess, that I sur
veyed with surprise one place, associated by tradition with her
name, and which assuredly I should have thought presented the
last scene a young, beautiful, and accomplished woman would de
sire to visit. This was a Atone bench in the catacombs under the
city of, Paris, which our guide told us had been constructed for the
-temporary repose of the queen and the gay and gallant Count
d'Artois, when I was examining that impressive repository of tbe
mortal remains of many generations which have died in this
igreat city.
" In the absurdity of these observances, truth is stronger thwti
fiction. When Marie Antoinette arrived on the frontiers of
France to espouse the Dauphin, she was divested of all her clothes,
in a tent pitched for tbat purpose, and -then habited in a French

394 LIFE AND TIMES
suit. Even Napoleon was led away by bis penchant for these tri
fles tore-establish their observance at his court; and it is well
known that at the coronation of the Empress there was quite a
family scene, because he insisted that ber train should be borne
by bis crowned sisters.
" Under the ancient regime, the right to have both folding-doors
thrown open, or to sit upon a tabouret, wbicb is a cushioned stool,
was one of the greatest honors a subject could aspire to, and ex
cited more sensation than many a political event affecting the
prosperity of the kingdom. On particular days the king dined in
public, when the principal personages of the court and the king
dom were seen standing at his chair, holding plates and towels un
der their arms and in their bands. .:.-<
"Lord Talbot failed in his efforts at reform at the English
court, ' because the turnspit in the king's kitchen was a member
of Parliament.' I do not know if the importance of this office
bas diminished since that day, but as I find, that even in the Red
Book for 1840 the Chief Codk, the First Master Cook, the Second
Master Cook, and the Third Master Cook, are all designated- 'Es
quires,' I may presume it is yet considered sufficiently honorable
for. a member of Parliament to turn the king's spit. In Scotland,
Sir W. Anstruther, a baronet,, is hereditary carver, having the
right, standing at the side-table, to cut up the meats; and Sir
James Carnegie is hereditary cup-bearer, to wait upon the king
when he desires to drink. I find one appointment in the Red
Book which I trust, during the reign of a queen, and for the sake
of conjugal happiness, will be a sinecure, that of 'leather breeches,
maker ' to her Majesty."
And now we wilf transcribe what the General says of the fam
ily life of the French Monarch, Louis Phillippe.
" On ordinary occasions the French royal family assemble after
dinner in an evening saloon, where the queen and princesses are
seated, with the ladies of the Gourt, around a table, generally en
gaged in needle-work, requiring little attention, and which when
finished, is sent to be sold at some fair, opened for the purpose of
raising money for charitable objects. The diplomatic corps, and
persons entitled by their position to the entree^ as it is called— that
is, who are expected to pay their respects to the royal family in
tbe evening — present themselves' occasionally, and the ladies are
invited to take seats round the table, where the queen and her

OF LEWIS CASS. 395
-sister, Madame Adelaide, and the Duchess of Orleans, when pres
ent, receive them with great kindness and affability.
"The gentlemen, after saluting the queen and her circle, are gen
erally addressed by the king and by the Duke of Orleans, upon
such topics of conversation as may naturally arise -from tbe cir
cumstances.' There is in these family receptions, if I may so call
them, a manifest desire on the part of, the distinguished hosts to
make the position of the persons, whether natives or foreigners,
who present, themselves there, as free from restraint as is compat
ible, perhaps, with the social distinctions necessarily incident to
a monarchical government. Certainly there is no other court in
Europe where an access like this is permitted, and where the in
terior of royal life is thus thrown open to public gaze. But the
dynasty of July has nothing to fear from the most rigid examina
tion of the social and domestic conduct of its members.
"In the winter there are great balls at the Tuilleries, at one or
more of which each American who bas been presented at court
is invited. By usage,, the proper officer writes to the Minister,
asking for the names of all his countrymen who are in Paris, and
who have in previous years been received by the king ; and to the
list thus furnished the names of all those recently presented are
added, and an invitation is sent to each. As to the -. balls them
selves, I must decline the office of chronicler. I have neither taste
nor time for the task. There is all the splendor which power and
wealth can command. There are immense apartments,* gorgeous
ly furnished and brilliantly illuminated — guards on duty, and
servants in ricL liveries — a numerous company, from all quarters
of the globe, many in their national costumes, and each habited
for the occasion ; and there are besides these all the proper acces
sories of music and refreshments, including a magnificent supper,
which may be expected from tbe highest rank and the most
refined taste.,
" In the summer the king and his family leave Paris, and reside
at Neuilly and St. Cloud, and occasionaUy. at Fontainbleau, and
some of the other royal seats. A day at Fontainbleau will give
a general description of the mode of life at these residences. Each
guest is provided with proper apartments ; and soon after be
rises be is offered a cup of coffee, as is usual in France ; and he
then strolls out to look at the grounds, or to amuse himself as bis
inclination or caprice may dictate. About eleven o'clock, he is

LIFE AND TIMES
summoned to breakfast, or, as it is termed, a dejeuner a la four-
chette. He repairs to tbe saloon of reception, where he pays his
respects to the royal family, and where he meets all the other
guests, who participate with him in the general hospitality. Frofti
here the company go to the breakfast room, a magnificent hall,
where a splendid table is spread with perhaps a hundred covers.
The breakfast — resembling, in fact, a dinner rather than our morn
ing meal — is served on elegant dishes, and presents the greatest
variety of the choicest fruits. At this time, an intimation is given
to the guests respecting the amusements of the day, which consist
in hunting in the beautiful forest, visiting the circumjacent coun
try, looking at the military maneuvers, or recreations of a similar
kind. Tbe means of riding are placed at the disposition of each
person, either in carriages or on horseback, and he joins the party,
and the day passes cheerfully away. At six o'clock in the even
ing there is again a general reunion in the saloons of reception,,
and from these the company move to the dinner table, which is
all that the epicure or the man of the most refined taste could
wish. Among other amusements ^>f the evening is that of walk
ing through the splendid apartments, one of Which, by the by,
contains the table at which the renunciation of Napoleon was
written, together with the pen and inkstand which he made use
of on that memorable occasion, and tbe original autograph instru
ment be wrote.. Tbe room is historical, and it is to be hoped that
no vandal will arise to destroy these interesting memorials. There
is no danger of this during the life of the present king or that of
his son. The rest of the evening is spent in music and conversa
tion, and a cheerful day is brouglt to a cheerful close. I am told,
that no one has ever passed a day at this hospitable seat without
being most favorably impressed with tie kind attention of which
be has been the object.
" But I quit these descriptions of royal life. Perhaps what I
have said may be thoughtinappropriate, and in unfortunate juxta
position with more important matter. But it should be recol
lected, that the courtesies of society enter deeply into public opin
ion, and tbat be who travels abroad and shuts his eyes upon the
various modes of life, high or low, he may encounter, under the
impression that these are too insignificant for his wisdom or grav
ity, may return with a self-satisfied conviction of bis own acqui
sitions, but he will assuredly bring back with bim little of that

OF LEWIS CASS. 397
practical .knowledge without wbicb bis gravity, instead of being
a, proof of bis wisdom, is but a cloak'for his imbecility. And an
American, while be is proud of the institutions of bis country,
and grateful for the> rational equality which prevails there, may
yet seek to explain the usages of other societies, and describe
them for tbe gratification of bis countrymen, without incurring
tbe suspicion tbat be is dazzled by European lustre, or that he can
not return fo his country with feelings and affections as warm as*
when he left it."
There, we have given the pith of General Cass' observations
on Louis Phillippe and his government. The residue of what
was contained in the book tbat was published, relates to and in
fact consists; of a narrative, told in a familiar way, of tbe tour of
the king and his two brothers in the United States — a tour em
bracing some four thousand miles of travel, and two thousand
seven hundred of wbicb was done on the same horses. These ob
servations were just, and surely honorable to the feelings of a
man who was treated by tbe king of France with the greatest
esteem and friendship. The governmental policy pursued by
Louis Phillippe towards tbe close of his reign, however different
from that with which he commenced it, can not take from bim the
great qualities with which he was endowed, nor can it be set down
a foible in those who praised him When be acted as be ought to-
do. In respect to the personality of Louis Phillippe, General Cass<
but repeated what bad appeared, time and again before, in all the
liberal papers in Europe. And there is no one, even now, that is
acquainted with the state of Europe and of the masses — their
wishes and condition — at the time Louis Phillippe ascended the
throne, but is well satisfied, that, for a long time, he was the surest
bulwark against the machinations of the enemies of freedom in
Europe. •
Tbe old Bourbon dynasty was dethroned, and a new race of
monarchs bad mounted to power with more liberal views of go
vernment, and apparently greater sympathy , with the living
interests of the mass of the people. Such General Cass found
when in France. Contrasted with tbe leading powers of Europe,
the government of Louis Phillippe was a long stride ahead in
melioration of the condition of society, and of respect to the
wishes of Frenchmen, insomuch that it was looked upon with
1 distrust by all tbe cabinets who believed in the divine right of

398 LIFE AND TIMES
kings. The occupant of the Tuilleries, unlike other monarchs,
had in his. earlier days strayed among all classes; and that was
not all, he bad breathed the air of liberty on tbe mountains and
plains of free America. He had seen life as it is, and better knew
how to appreciate the wants of mankind. He was indebted to
no particular caste or interest for the power be possessed. All,
by common consent, from sea to sea, and from the Channel to the
Rhine, apparently, at least, acquiesced, and with loud huzzas pro
claimed him as their sovereign. The distinguished recipient of
this lofty power evidenced a desire to rule for the good of France.
So his reign commenced, and auspicious was it pronounced to be,
by the liberalists all over the continent of Europe. If this bright
morning of hope was succeeded by a dismal night, and the king
-^¦so happily installed with the reins of government — was driven
from his sacked palace, to wander over the- world as an outcast
again, the philosopher of history must pause ere he renders his
judgment, and examine with care the stratum upon which is rear
ed this mighty fabric of dominion. If the First Napoleon, to say
nothing of the Third, believed it for tbe good of his beloved
France to encircle his brow with the imperial diadem, it surely
should not be taken amiss for Louis Phillippe to wear the crown.
If the1 plebeian of Corsica could habit himself in the imperial
robes with complacency, no wonder is it that an exiled scion of
royalty should deem the institutions of monarchy compatible
with the prosperity and glory of his country.

OF LEWIS CASS. 399

CHAPTER XXV.
Ambition of England — Quintuple Treaty — The Chamber of Deputies — General Cass determines to
resist the' Treaty.
Simultaneously with the publication of tbe memoranda referred
to in the foregoing chapter, England was aspiring to the supre
macy of the seas. Under the shallow pretext of putting an end
to tbe African slave trade, she was endeavoring to interpolate into
tbe code of international law, the right to visit the commercial
marine of the Atlantic,' and overhaul the ships' papers. With the
law and the fact in the hands of her cruisers, — without jury or
writ of habeas corpus, — she, then, would seize upon the crew
who had first seen the light in her dominions, upon the principle,
once a subject, always a subject. Her persevering efforts to estab
lish this doctrine of search, had been continued, unremittingly on
all suitable occasions, for thirty years: and as long successfully re
sisted by tbe United States. But she was now exerting all tbe
arts of diplomatic cunning, to blind the eyes of those whose co
operation she sought, and was on the eve of uniting the five great
powers of Europe in a treaty, recognizing this right.
Austria, Russia, Prussia and France, were, with herself, to be
the high contracting parties. The governments of the three for
mer had already ratified the transaction, and the approval of the
French Chamber of Deputies was all that was wanting to con
summate it. Her representative at Paris was urging on the bar
gain to its completement, with his native craftiness and diligence.
Her agents, fearing the personal influence of the American Min
ister at the French court, endeavored to sap it by soiling the
patriotism of the man, and depreciating the attitude of bis go
vernment before the world.
England, in this aspiration to be the acknowledged mistress of
the ocean, bad so far influenced the governments alluded to, as to
induce them to sign the treaty she had so artfully prepared.
Its ratification by France, and its execution, would undoubtedly
have brought on another war between her and this country. It

400 LIFE AND TIMES
would have been a wanton, destructive war. It would have reach
ed the extremities of the globe. It would have paralyzed com
merce, and depressed trade. Under the banner of no slave trade,
tbe British navy would have roved the highway of nations, and
under the banner of no search, it would have been met by the
Americans. But, probably, despite every effort, the government
of the United States would have been placed in a false position.
England, backed by ber powerful allies, would have made it ap
pear tbat the United States was fighting to sustain a traffic
in human flesh, which she and they were endeavoring to destroy.
An immense treasure would have -been expended,. and thousands
of lives sacrificed, to gain the mastery of the seas.
It was the winter of 1842, and tbe subject of the ratification, of;
this monster treaty was to engage tbe attention of the French
Chamber of Deputies. The British Minister was hand and glove
with the leading members, and tbe British agents lent themselves*
to all the seductive appliances of the most refined diplomacy,,
It was already rumored in tbe French capital even, that the Sec
retary of State at Washington, Daniel Webster, belonged to a
different class of statesmen from those who guided the high coun
cils of the American Republic in the days of Jefferson and Mad
ison, and that no fear need be entertained that the ratification
would involve the powers in hostilities with this country. And
to add poignancy to this reckless statement of the British em
ployees, tbe hint was thrown out that with the change of the pres
idency followed a change of the diplomatic corps in all quarters of
the world.
General Cass never felt the responsibility cf official station
more than at this crisis of his mission. Not certain how far he>
might venture to rely upon being sustained by his government at
home, in the course which he felt it his duty to adopt in the
emergency of the hour, he nevertheless at once resolved to act
affirmatively. He had not time to write to Washington for
instructions. Before a special bearer of dispatches could go and
return, the legislative action so much desired by England, would
have transpired, and appearances indicated that it would be favor
able to that power. He deemed it necessary and proper to act
on his own responsibility, and prevent, if possible, the consum
mation of her wishes.
Believing that if public sentiment could be reached, an effective

OF LEWIS CAJ3S. 401
impression might be made upon the deputies, he, happily for his
country, took an appeal direct to the people of France. This, in
that land, and from such a source, was novel, and elicited the
most vulgar epithets from the press of England. It was unan
swerable ; if not so, at any rate no attempt at an answer was
made. It startled the minds of the intelligent. It tore off the
mask, and displayed in full form the real object of the treaty.
Citizens and legislators, hitherto favorable, stopped to read the
appeal,' and rose from its perusal indignant at the designs of the
British cabinet. It produced the desired effect on public senti
ment. With the publication of this document, he-protested to
the government, in firm and respectful language, against the rati
fication by the Chamber. Without this ratification, the treaty
was shorn of its vigor and power. Because if 'France and the
United States- opposed, its proyisions could not be enforced,
although the other four powers should countenance it: The
appeal and the protest were effectual, and the French govern
ment abandoned the project, having ascertained that the treaty
would not be ratified by the Chamber of Deputies. This mas
terly movement of General Cass thwarted tho design of the Brit
ish government, by breaking up tbe conspiracy she was so care
fully forming against the sovereignty of the United States upon
the high seas. At the same time he preserved untarnished the
honor of his country, and by his own action ensured the continu
ance of peaceful relations, not only with the government, but also
with our old friend and ally.
The proceedings of our Minister on this occasion, and his appeal
and argument upon a question of great import to the world,
should receive the study and examination of every citizen of the
United States. His examination ofthe right of search is compre
hensive and instructive, and is, in fact, the only authoritative
exposition ofthe American view ofa subject which British states
men have so often endeavored to complicate. The reasons given
for the position of the United States upon the doctrine of search,
or visitation simply, are so clearly and forcibly presented, that
one would suppose it must Have carried conviction to all minds
not closed against the light of reason and the power of truth.
And yet it is probable that the result of the deliberations of the
Deputies might have been of a different complexion, had the
American Minister been without influence at the court of Louis
26

402 LIFE AND TIMES
Phillippe. The truth is, the king himself, in consequence of his
previous action, was anxious for the ratification of the treaty.
General Cass had penetrated the diplomacy of the British gov
ernment, and had several private interviews with the king and
M. Guizot, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Before the publica
tion of his pamphlet, he called upon M. Guizot, and expressed a
wish, as the subject was important to his country, and not well
understood, to prepare bis Triews of it, and to spread them before
the French public. M. Guizot said that be saw no objection to
this course, and therefore General Cass can not be accused of
taking an improper or an undiplomatic course. Indeed, he
exerted himself to the utmost to break up the unholy alliance,
and to his own great gratification personally, and to tbe honor of
bis country, and the uninterrupted prosperity of his fellow-citizens
at home, he was signally triumphant.
Believing that this important labor constitutes one of the great
epochs of bis life, we transcribe the appeal to the French people
entire in the succeeding chapter.

OF LEWIS CASS. • 403

CHAPTER XXVI.
The Appeal of General Cass to the People of Prance.
PART I. — The Question Stated — The Motives op the British Gov
ernment — The Position op the United States.
The right of maritime search, now in discussion between the British and Ameri
can governments, is a grave question, practically interesting to all nations to whom
the freedom of the seas is dear, if not in its application to the subject which has
been the cause or the pretext of its assertion, at any rate, from the consequences to
which its. use or abuse may lead. Its connection with the African slave trade is
but incidental, and' the nature of this traffic, which nowhere finds advocates, can
not affect the nature of "the question,- nor the right of a state, nor of a combination
of states, to make an interpolation into the law of nations, which- shall become a
part of that great public code. Great Britain professes to push this point, in order
to destroy the yet existing relics of that trade. We do not question her motives —
that is no part of our purpose. But, in all general discussions, we must take human
nature as it is, with the good and the bad blended together ; and w.e may, without
offense, fairly follow out the application of a principle, and seek its consequences to
the parties.- And we are at liberty, without violating any of the courtesies of. a
liberal controversy, to assume that neither can be indifferent to its bearing upon
their interest, whatever motive of general benevolence may have led to the differ
ence. Great Britain is eminently a maritime and commercial nation,, and, the history
of her naval progress, during the last century and a, half, is pregnant with lessons
for all people interested in the freedom of the seas. She has marched steadily on
to her object. Naval superiority she has acquired, and naval supremacy she seeks.
We say this in a spirit of truth, not of offense. Human ambition is everywhere, in
some form or other, in ceaseless action ; and, upon sea and land, the history of- the
past is but the warning of the future, and nations will strive, as they have striven,
for power. It is impossible that the intelligent government and people of Great
Britain should shut their eyes to the effect of this claim of a right of search upon
their interests, whatever mptives of philanthropy may have led to its first suggestion.
To their flag it will give the virtual supremacy of the seas. We say virtual suprem
acy, because it would be found, in practice, that, ninety-nine times out of a hundred,
it would be her cruisers which would search the vessels of other nations.
During twenty-five years, the British government has urged the government of
the United States to consent to this measure. The application has been steadily
repelled and pertinaciously repeated. In the meantime, treaties have been formed,
at various intervals, between Great Britain and some other nations, establishing a
mutual right of search, and regulating the principles upon which it shall be exer
cised. Within a short time, five of the European powers, two of which have few

404 LIFE AND TIMES
vessels upon the ocean, and, probably, not one on the coast of Africa, had recipro
cally made themselves partial to a similar convention. " Great Britain," says the
London journal, the Times, " has managed, by great exertion, to accomplish this
object." We do not judge, if the expression is rightly chosen. It is certajnly very
significant. And now this principle of the right of search, in a time of profound
peace, heretofore never claimed as a question of right, and so solemnly decided by
the English Admiralty Judge, Lord Stowell, but sought, as a conventional arrange
ment, for the first time since the last general war in Europe, and established by
treaties with several powers, as a matter to be regulated by themselves, is claimed
by Great Britain to be a part of the law of nations, which she has both the right
and the will to carry into effect, as a sort of custos morum for all the maritime powers
of the world. " All our government contends for," says the Times, " is the mere
right to act as constables in boarding suspicious ships, bearing the American flag."
Ahd who made England the great -prefect of police of the ocean, searching and
seizing at pleasure ? And the United States, who have so long been asked to yield
this point by convention, are now told that it is established without them and in
spite of them; and the great ministerial English journal, the Times, in a leading
article of its number of January5th, 1842; after defending this interpolation into tho
law of nations, says that the European powers, parties to the last treaty, will not
brook to be thwarted by any ordinary restiveness. It thus significantly concludes:
"A single war with Great Britain she (the United States) has already tried; a war,
on her part, with all Europe, will be a novelty."
There is certainly no want of frankness here. While the special Ambassador,
Lord Ashburton, goes out with the professed objects of peace and conciliation, we
are told in effect by this leading journal, that the United States have but one
course to adopt, in order to avoid a war with the European world ; and that is, sub
mission to the demand of England. There are powers, parties to the late treaty
upon this subject, which we shall not believe will make themselves parties to a war
with the United States, until we actually hear the sound of their guns. Does the
Times speak by permission, or by command, or by neither ? Is this declaration
a prophecy, as well as threat?
As to the suppression of the slave trade, it is a question which meets no opposi
tion in the United States. The American government, if not the first, was among
the first to give the example to the world of a legal prohibition of this traffic. As
early as March 22d, 1794, they commenced their legislative measures for its repres
sion, and in subsequent laws, passed 10th May, 1800, 28th February, 1803, 2d March, ,;
1S01, 20th April, 1818, and 3d 'March, 1819, they extended and enforced the provis
ions and penalties upon this subject, and rendered liable to heavy fines, and among
other punishments, to an imprisonment of seven years, those who should be en
gaged in this nefarious pursuit. Their armed crusiers have permanent instructions
to examine all the American merchant vessels they meet, and which they have rea
son to suspect; and their tribunals enforce these repressive laws with as much
promptitude and impartiality as those of France or England enforce similar laws,
That violations may occasionally occur, and that the American flag may be some
times abused, we feel no' disposition to deny, — not bythe introduction of slaves into
the United States, for that traffic is unknown, and would be impossible. We may
venture to assert, that not a slave has been imported into the United States for
thirty years. We would not be guilty of deception upon this subject, and if there
is a single exception to this statement, we have never learned it. If American

OF LEWIS CASS. ' 405
interests are -connected with this traffic, it is in the transportationof slaves to Brazil
or the Spanish colonies. But even this is much rarer than is supposed;, and what
has given occasion to the imputation of its frequent occurrence, , is the fact, that the
sharp Baltimore schooners, well known for their speed, are often sold to the Span
ish and Portuguese merchants, and are then fitted out for the slave trade. Every
practical sailor knows them at once; and as they are American built, they, are sup
posed to be American property, when in truth their national character is changed.
But any candid, intelligent man will at once see and acknowledge, that in the scan
dalous traffic like this of human beings, condemned by the public opinion and by
the laws of the United States, and watched perpetually by one of their squadrons
upon the coast of Africa, revolting to humanity, afflicting to all Christians, and re
probated by the civilized world, the pecuniary interests of a few degraded men, who
covertly pursue it, by associating , their capital with the regular slave dealers of
other nations, would not weigh as the small dust of the balance with the American
government in any consideration connected with this matter. This miserable mo
tive has been hinted at, rather than distinctly charged, by some of the English jour
nals. We shall not descend to refute the charge. No administration in the United
States, giving the1 least just ground for such an imputation, could resist the public
indignation. No : it is not African slavery the United States wish to encourage ; it
is, as we shall Sep by and by, American slavery, the slavery of American sailors,
they seek to prevent.
But after all, a crusade of benevolence can not be carried on against any nation,
because its laws are sometimes violated, and its flag abused. If its' government
connives, at such measures, then, indeed, it is justly liable to the reproach of Chris
tendom. But against the United States, there is no pretense, for such an imputation ;
and the question, now under discussion, must be judged, independently of these
accidental evasions, which are common to all nations and to all codes.

PART II. — The Question Met — English and American Pertinacity
— The Reasons why the Former is Wrong- and the Latter
Right — The Greatest Objection op all — The Right op Search
Discussed and Reputed — The Key to American Reluctance
and British Pertinacity — The Practical Consequences op the
Right to Visit, or Search, or Both.
As to a right of/search in time of peace, no one pretends it has heretofore existed.'
The well known English Admiralty Judge, Sir William Scott, afterwards Lord Sto-
well, whose disposition to enlarge, rather than to restrain, the maritime pretensions
of England, no one, who knows the course of his decisions, during the last general
war, will doubt, expressly decided, that such » right was unknown to the law of
nations. This decision, in the case of a French vessel seized upon the coast of
Africa, absolutely puts down all this pretension in the most authoritative manner.
" No nation can exercise a right of visitation and search, upon the common and
unappropriated parts of the ocean, except upon the belligerent claim. No nation
has the right to force their way, for the liberation of Africa, by trampling upon the

406 LIFE AND TIMES
independence of other States, on the pretense of an eminent good, t>y means that
are unlawful, or to press forward to a great principle, by breaking through other
great principles which stand in their way."
But it may be asked, as the object for which this measure is now demanded is
just, why does not the American government assent to the propositions which have
been made 1 Is the reciprocal power more injurious or less honorable to the United
States than to other nations-, who have admitted its obligation ? The question is a
fair one, and ought to be fairly met. If this can not be done, we shall not deny
that the motives of the United States may be fairly suspected, and their conduct
arraigned at the bar of Christendom.
In the first place, we would remark, that there is a natural indisposition, in the
human mind to yield to applications which are accompanied with threats of the
consequences. This sentiment is common to nations as well as it is to indivi
duals, and, in fact, forms part'of the dignity of human nature. English pertinacity
in demanding, has been met by American pertinacity in resisting ; and now, when
the United States are summoned to give their adhesion to a new principle of public
law, against which they have uniformly protested since its first promulgation, and
are told by Lord Aberdeen, that the course of the English government is taken, and
that the claim will be enforced, with the taunt that " it is for the American govern
ment to determine what may be due to a just regard for their national dignity and
national honor," no generous people can fail to find in their present position that
just resistance to dictation, without which there can neither be self respect at home
nor honorable estimation abroad.
But besides, where would end this doctrine of interpolation ? Who can tell the ex
tent to which it may be pushed, or the purposes to which it may be applied? It is by
progressive steps, that many a pretension, hostile to the best dictates of reason and
humanity, has urged .its way to recognition, and taken its place in the code of mari
time law. Belligerent powers are always ready to break down the feeble barriers
with which public opinion has endeavored to protect the rights of peaceful traffic;
and in the Times of the eighth instant, this process is described and defended
with equal frankness and coolness. The lessons of the past are lost upon him, who
does not read in this avowal, the contemplated transformations which the great
maritime code is destined to undergo. An act of violence of yesterday, so pro
nounced by the Duke of Wellington and Lord Stowell, becomes the doctrine of
to-day, and to-morrow .finds itself firmly established, to be defended by jurists,
enforced by cannon, and applied by Courts of Admiralty.
" And the same kind of general proscription, since attempted by Napoleon against
ourselves, has equally failed to gain admittance into the international code. In all
this, history, justice and expediency have alternately triumphed, but each step has
hern the result of a struggle (the italics here and elsewhere are our own) such as is
now pending between ourselves and the United States. Law has had to work its own
way." Significant words these, and as true as they are significant. When force more
and more usurps the place of justice, law works its own way, and it goes on
bearing down before it the doctrine of jurists, the decision of judges, and the rights
of the world.
But apart from these general considerations, applicable to all changes in the
maritime code of nations, there are cogent reasons why the United States should
refuse their assent to this measure, some of which are common to them and to all
other states which do not seek to exercise the police of the seas, or, as the Tiim

OF LEWIS CASS. 407
says, "to be the constables of the ocean," and others, which are proper to them only,
arising out of the peculiar relation which a community of language, manners and
institutions exerts between them and England.
Looking to this right of search, as a measure affecting the commerce of the ocean,
it is arbitrary, vexatious, and not only liable, but necessarily liable, to serious
abuse. It is arbitrary, because it constitutes a naval officer, whatever may be his rank,
the judge to decide upon serious questions and upon grave interests. It permits a
foreigner, under the pretense of settling the national character of a vessel, and the
objectsof her cruise, to indulge his antipathies andhis love of gain, by seizing the
ship and cargo, and imprisoning the crew, and by sending them to a distant port
for examination ; and all this without any practical redress against the wrong doer.
It is vexatious, because all who know anything of the course of boarding ships
and boarding officers, under similar circumstances, know, that the search is pur
sued with little regard to justice or forbearance. There is power on one side and
weakness on the other. The American vessels, during the long period of lawless
domination which the belligerent powers exercised over the high seas for many
years, at the close of the last century and at the commencement of the present,
were too often the victims of a similar search, instigated frequently by cupidity, and
conducted in the most injurious and offensive manner to leave any doubts respect
ing the course which would be taken, should this claim be recognized. In this
condemnation, we speak now of what is history. We stop not to examine the value
of the pretensions by which these aggressions were sought to be justified, that the
antagonist partly had commenced this work of violence ; nor the truth of the
charges, thus respectively preferred. And the vessels of France, of the United
States, and of the Hanse towns, have already had a foretaste of what will occur,
when a few years more shall have consecrated the present doctrine, as an acknow
ledged .principle of international law. The crews will be paraded and examined,
perhaps by a young midshipman, and this offensive operation will be rendered more
offensive, by that kind of insolence which is everywhere the sure accompaniment
of unchecked responsibility. This tendency to abuse can not be better, described
than, it has been by the London Sun, and as its views upon the question are more
authoritative than ours, we shall quote them. It says, that arbitrary habits "are
engendered and maintained in our naval officers by the mode employed to procure
men for the fleet, and those habits make them treat foreign vessels in an arbitrary
manner." So far as respe'cts the treatment of merchant vessels, this is true
to the letter. And once establish this right of search, and the scenes of vio
lence which chequered the ocean for twenty years, will again- be renewed. The
hatches will be broken open, the cargo overhauled, property dilapidated, and many
articles will be taken, as they have been taken, without permission and without
compensation. This has often happened, and is an abuse, inseparable from such
proceedings, — prohibited and deplored, no doubt, by all honorable officers of a
boarding ship, but where might makes right, easily effected, and not easily detected
and punished. The annals of American voyages abound with similar incidents,
which occurred during those stormy periods. And the complaints were not con
fined to the conduct of one of the belligerent powers, the one from the number
of its cruisers, if from no other cause, was much more injurious to the Americar*
commerce than the other.
We speak of all this as an historian, but we speak of it as an historian holding
up the past as a warning, and predicting that the future will bring' with it the

408 LIFE AND TIMES
same consequences, if the same causes are put in operation. The journal, the
Scotsman, is perfectly correct in , its appreciation of the American feeling when it
says, " AVe have little doubt that the arrogant and indefensible right of search,'
claimed by Great Britain in the last war, lies at the bottom of the stubborn hostil
ity of the Americans to the reasonable propositions of our government."
But again, this claim is liable to serious abuse, because there are strong tempta
tions, both national and individual, to pervert the professed objects of the search
into others, which, though not avowed, are apparent, and because the remedy is
distant, expensive and doubtful.
The commerce of Africa is already important, and is becoming more so every day.
The very suppression of the trade in human beings will tend obviously to turn
industry and capital into other branches of employment. England is now exploring
the interior of that great continent, and with her accustomed foresight is pushing
her intercourse with the native tribes, and preparing new means of communication.
Who can doubt but that English cruisers, stationed upon that distant coast, with
an unlimited right of search,. and discretionary authority to take possession of all
vessels frequenting those seas,. will seriously interrupt the trade of other nations, by
sending in their vessels for trial under very slight pretenses, and in part under no
real pretense whatever? For we must not lose sight of one of the most important
elements in all this controversy, which is, that the mere appearance of a merchant-
ship in those regions is ipso facto suspicious. This is the very ground-work of the
English pretension ; the right, as her government now contends, to ascertain by
actual examination, the true character of every vessel found in " certain latitudes,"
which are assumed to be suspicious, as the quarantine regulations pre-suppose
many regions to be always pestiferous. Under these circumstances, a boarding offi
cer, stimulated by that reward which a successful capture always brings with it,
and by a determination, which may not be uncharitably charged to him, of favoring
the trade of his own country, and of discouraging that of another, will readily be
lieve, or affect to believe, not that there is just ground to suspect the destination of
a vessel, that her very appearance upon his cruising ground furnishes, agreeable to
these new institutes, but that the redeeming circumstances about her are not suffi
cient to establish that her cruise is a lawful one, or that she is entitled to the
national character she claims' ; and that she must be sent to a Court of Admiralty,
to one of those great maelstroms which swallowed up so many American shipSf
during that period when there was no right upon the ocean but the right of force.
The vexation and interruption of voyages, the result of this system, are easily under
stood. A trade carried on under such unfavorable circumstances, can not contend
with the trade of a favored nation, who herself exercises the police of the seas, and
who may be harsh or lenient, as her prejudices or interests may dictate. It mnst
be abandoned, as some of the Paris journals of the eighth instant announce, that
the French vessel, the "Sophia," has just changed her destination, rather than sub
ject herself to the vexations which another French ship, the "Marabout," had expe
rienced from the English cruisers upon the coast of Brazil. j4.s to the indignity to
which this proceeding will expose the officers and crews of merchant-ships, that-
must be left to every nation to appreciate for itself. It is not probable that the
pretension will be rendered less offensive by tbe mode of its execution.
But beyond all these objections, applicable in common to every maritime nation,
there is another, far more powerful in its operation, and which, from the peculiar
relation of language, manners and institutions that exists between the United States

OF LEWIS CASS, 409
and Great Britain, renders this measure not only obnoxious, but to the last degree
unacceptable to the American government and people. We would not impute un
worthy motives to a great and intelligent people, and: Great Britain, has done enough
to command for herself her full share of the admiration of the world. But we must
take human nature as we find it, and the code of political ethics is a loose system,
where there is much both of good and evil. Amidst many gradual meliorations in
the Constitution of England, she has adhered with wonderful tenacity to certain
pretensions, arising out of feudal notions, and among others, to one by which she
claims that every person born under her government is forever a British subject,
and that if he is by condition a, seaman, he is liable to be taken wherever he can
be found, and forcibly compelled to serve an unlimited period on board her vessels
of war. This is not a conscription which operates equally upon all, subjecting all
to the same chance, and requiring their services upon established conditions, and
for fixed periods. However, so far as this is a municipal regulation, other nations
have no concern with its justice or policy, except as a subject of general speculation.
But unfortunately for the duration of harmony between the United States and Great
Britain, this pretension is a subject of fearful importance. The British government
claims the right of impressing seamen on board the merchant-vessels of the United
States ; and once, as is well known, they exercised this right on board the Chesa
peake frigate, after an action, in profound peace, when the American ship was com
pelled to yield to superior force. The conduct of the commander was, however,
disavowed, but his zeal was rewarded by promotion. It is now matter of history,.
that for many years the British armed ships boarded the American vessels, wherever
they found them upon the ocean, and.seized their crews, incorporating them with
their own, and compelling them to fight the .battles of a foreign power ; first against
France, and ultimately, after the commencement ofthe war, to which these aggres
sions gave rise, to fight against their own country. In theory, indeed, the British
government did not arrogate to itself the right to impress American citizens, unless
those citizens had been born British subjects. In that case, the new character with
which they were invested gave- them no protection against this new pretension.
But in its practical operation, this power was exercised with a general disregard of
the character of the American crews, the boarding officer being the final judge, and
the cruiser being almost always in want of able seamen. A midshipman entered
an American vessel with absolute power, mustered the crew, declared that such
and such persons, were British subjects, seized them and transported them to his
own ship, to be released by death or by a general peace.
Vain were the protestations of these unhappy victims of lawless aggression ; vain
the opposition of the captain ; vain the proofs, furnished by the papers. His Bri
tannic Majesty's ships wanted seamen, and seamen they took. During many years,
a warm diplomatic correspondence was carried on between the two governments,
but'the argument being exhausted, and the abuse continued, an appeal was finally
made to arms.
The British government said, our seamen seek protection in the United States,
and enter into their marine, and thus escape from the duties they owe to their own
country. We have a right to their services, and we have also a right to take them
wherever we can find them in merchant-ships on the high seas, having first entered
these ships for another purpose.
To this the American government answered: we deny the doctrine of perpetual
allegiance. Our country is open, and if foreigners come here, after a certain

410 LIFE AND TIMES
number of years, and compliance with certain established formalities, they may be
invested with the character of American citizens, and then it is our duty to protect
them. You adopt the same principle, and follow the same practice ; you naturalize
by special acts of Parliament; you naturalize all persons who reside a certain
number of years in your colonies, and you naturalize all seamen who have served a short
term in your navy. At this moment, the governors of some of your colonies are
compelling emigrants from the United States to bear arms against us. We hav©
just turned to McCulloch's Dictionary of Commerce to ascertain how far the Amer
ican government were borne out in their assertion, respecting the naturalization of
foreign seamen by the British law, and there we find, page 1011, that among other
means of naturalization, a foreigner who has " served on board his Majesty's ships
of war, in time of war, for the space of three years, becomes ' a British seaman.'
But his Majesty may by proclamation during war, declare that foreigners, who havei
served two years in the royal navy during such war, shall be deemed as British,
seamen." The act of Congress, respecting the employment of seamen in the American ser
vice, provides, that no person shall be employed in the public or private vessels of
the United States, who is not a native born or naturalized citizen. Another act on
the subject of naturalization provides, that " no person can become a citizen of the
United States, who shall not, for the continual term of five years next preceding hi*
admission, have resided within the United States, without being at any time during
the said five years out of the territory of the United States." In the one country, a
foreigner can enter into the marine service, without the probation of a moment;
and after serving three years, he becomes ipso facto a British seaman. Into the
marine service of the other no one but a native can enter, till he shall have actually
lived five years in the country, without departing from it.
In the whole history of human inconsistencies, few chapters can be found more
striking than this.
But the United States were anxious to avoid a war with Great Britain. They
were willing to concede much to avert this extremity. They exhausted the cata
logue of arguments and of offers. Thus speaks the President of the United States,
in his message of June 13th, 1812, recommending war : " This practice," that of
impressment, "is so far from affecting British subjects alone, that under pretense of
searching for these, thousands of American citizens under the safeguard of publics
law, and of their natural flag, have been torn from their country, and from every,
thing dear to them, have been dragged on board the ships of war of a foreign nation,
and exposed under the severities of their discipline, to be exiled to the most distant
and deadly regions, to risk their lives in the battles of their oppressors, and to be
the melancholy instrument of taking away the lives of their own brethren.
"Against this crying enormity, which Great Britain would be so prompt to avengey
if committed against herself, the United States have in vain exhausted remonstrances
and expostulations : and that no doubt might be wanting of their conciliatory dis
position, and no pretext left for a continuance of the practice, the British govern
ment was formally assured of the readiness of the United States to enter into an
arrangement, such as could not be rejected, if the recovery of British subjects were
the real and sole object. The communication passed without effect." We return
to the point maintained by the American government in the correspondence" to
which we have referred. Independently, said they, of these obvious considerations,

OF LEWIS CASS. 411
(the same we have already presented,) there is another which covers the whole
question. Your right, by your own confession, is not an absolute one. It yields to
our right of sovereignty. You do not claim to come upon our soil, and there to
seize your sailors. Where do you find the right to seize them in our ships, covered
by our flag; which is as exclusive of your jurisdiction, except in certain prescribed
cases in time of war, as the territory of the United States ? If you suffer your
citizens to escape, and to come under our sovereignty, your claim to their services
must yield to our superior claim to national immunity. Like many other rights or
pretensions in society, if this can not be exercised, without violating the privileges
of another party, it must be abandoned.
The British jurists of that day, who administered, and often made the maritime
law, were endowed with sufficient subtlety to discover new principles to suit new
circumstances, and her statesmen had sufficient firmness to adopt and maintain
them. But we doubt, if in the whole progress of that warfare, between orders in coun
cil and imperial decrees, which so long vexed neutral commerce and outraged the
common sense of mankind, a bolder invasion was made into the regions of maritime
metaphysics, than in the promulgation of that doctrine which was to reconcile the
exercise of this right of impressment, with those principles of public law, that had
been too long and too clearly established to be directly controverted. Who was
the discoverer of this, till then, terra incognito, we knew not, but its revelation was
announced by great authority and from a high place. It is to be found in a declara
tion of the Prince Regent of Great Britain, dated July 9th, 1813, made in answer to
the manifesto ofthe American government, recapitulating the causes which had driven
the United States to war ; and it is there gravely maintained, that " His Eoyal High
ness can never admit that in the exercise of the undoubted and hitherto undisputed
right of searching neutral merchant vessels in time of war, (alluding to the ordinary
rights of search, recognized by the law of nations,) the impressment of British
seamen, when found therein, can be deemed any violation of a neutral flag. Neither
can he, the Prince Regent, admit that the taking such seamen from on board such
vessels can be considered by any neutral state as a hostile measure, or a justifiable
cause of war."'
And thus speaks the executive of England. The right to enter an American ship,
for the purpose of impressment, is clearly disclaimed ; but, having entered for a lawful
purpose, then the boarding officer has the right to take any British subjects he may
find ; that is to say, to seize every American sailor, and place him upon the deck
of a British cruiser. We shall not go back to the history of the monstrous abuses to
which this pretension gave birth, and which drove the United States to war. They
would have become a by-word among nations had they tamely submitted to see
their seamen dragged into this worst of slavery. But it is well, with regard to the
future, to investigate the claims of the past. A seaman, on board an American ship,
is protected by his national flag. No British officer can enter, for the purpose of
tearing him from this natural asylum. But, having entered for one object, he may
execute another. Certain belligerent rights are given to him, and he may board all
vessels upon the great highway of nations, in order to enforce them. And having
done, or affected to do this, he may then turn around and pervert his right of entry
to a totally different object. He may violate the sovereignty of the neutral power
by giving effect, not to the code of international law, but to the mere municipal)
regulations of his own country, and under the most arbitrary and offensive circum
stances. No ; all this is but the sophistry of power, determined to attain its object,

412 UFE AND TIMES
and seeking to justify itself. There is no such right of conversion — no just claim
to demand one thing and to do another. The whole pretension shocks the common
sense of the world.
Argument would be lost in its refutation. The analogy of the English law would
lead the British government to a far different conclusion. In England, if a person
has a right of entry for one purpose, and perverts it to another, he renders himself
a trespasser ab initio. . He finds no convertible justification, by which his real object
may be obtained, while he covers himself with a professed one.
According to this right of conversion, when the British forces entered the State
of New York to burn the " Caroline," having 'got within the American territory, for
what they contended to be a lawful purpose, they might have then violated the
national sovereignty at pleasure, and seized all the persons they found, who had
been born British subjects, and transported them into Canada. And why not have
seized their American debtors, if they had any, or done any other act which they
might lawfully do at home, as they claim to enforce their municipal laws upon the
vessels of the United States. This claim can only be supported upon the ground
that these laws ride over those of the United States wherever British power plants
itself, even for the shortest period, and for whatever purpose.
But another high authority, Vae Times, has recently laid down the same doctrine,
more distinctly indeed,/and quite ex cathedra, showing how rapidly these maritime
pretensions gather strength from time and.use. We can not, at this moment, refer
to the number which contains this dictum, but it must have been that of the 6th
or 1th. of January, and will be found in Galignants Messenger of 10th January,
extracted from the London Journal. After laying down the right of search for
enemy's property and articles contraband of war, the Times continues : " It is, also,
we believe, confessed, that if, in the course of search, we find the goods and persons
of our enemies, such goods and persons may be made lawful prizes and prisoners;
the law, however, being punctilious (!) enough to require, in the former instance,
that the captors shall pay freight to the neutral carriers, of whose cargo they possess
themselves. Now, during our wars with France, we exercised this uncontested and
incontestable right against America and all the rest of the world, with this not very
unnatural corollary, (!) that, as we might take the persons of the king's enemies, (a
right given by the law of nations,) we might take the persons of the king's subjects,
who had deserted their duty, (meaning thereby all speaking the English language,)
and were serving in foreign ships," (a right totally unknown to and unrecognized by
the law of nations). "We shall continue our quotations from the Times, because
nothing we could say would more forcibly describe the intolerable abuses of this
pretension, and because, from the position and character of that journal, we have
the best assurance that those abuses are not exaggerated : ¦
" In the practical enforcement, however, of this right or wrong, for, on that point,
it is not now necessary to pronounce, the searching party being, from the nature of
the case, the strongest, and, moreover, ordinarily speaking, persons of summary habits,
were apt to be somewhat arbitrary in their judgments of who was American and
who was English, ' when they doubted they took the trick,' at least so thought and
said the Americans ; and any one may remember that, once taken and lodged in an
English man-of-war, by right or by wrong, it was not a very easy matter to get out
of it ; and, accordingly, the Americans had to stay, with just, as good a chance of
being cut off by a French cannon ball, before he could get his right again, as any of
his English fellow sailors." We pardon the frivolity of manner with which this

OF LEWIS CASS. 413
grave subject is treated, in, consideration of the frankness of that journal, in the
open avowal of a principle which can not fail to excite general reprobation, now the
unnatural excitement of a long and bitter war has passed away.
A nation, which should tamely submit to such pretensions, would merit, as surely
as it would receive, the contumely of the world.
The Times adds " that this dispute (of impressment) now sleeps, though it will
have to be revived, at latest on the next occasion when we find ourselves invested
by a war with the right of which it is the consequence ; and indeed it might be
raised upon thei contemplated treaty, giving a mutual right of search for the preven
tion of the slave trade, unless provided for, as it easily might and probably would
be, by special articles."
But here is the true key to much of the reluctance of the American government
to become a party to any arrangement, which shall add to the category ofthe right
of search ; whether it is likewise the key to the pertinacity with, which* the British
government presses this matter, we do not presume to judge. Until now the right
of search has been a belligerent right, belonging only to a state of war. . . .
Here is the first formal claim to exercise it in time of peace. Impressment is a mu
nicipal right, depending, say the English jurists, upon the mutual relation of
allegiance and protection, and the duties which these reciprocally create. Ordina
rily it is exercised in time of war only, but the government might authorize
its exercise at all times, as the conscription is operative as well in peace as in war.
And surely many cases may occur, where its exercise might be necessary to man
a fleet, before hostilities were actually declared, but while they were considered im
pending. Under such circumstances, this new right of search, bringing -a British
boarding officer legally on board an American ship for a defined object, would
enable him very conveniently, after satisfying himself she neither sought nor con
tained slaves, to seize her crew and reduce them to worse than African bondage ;
because to all their other miseries might be added the obligation to fight against the
flag of their own country.
The Scotsman is not less frank than the Times; " the object ofthe one," says the
former journal, alluding to the right of search as heretofore practised, "was to
discover British sailors in American vessels, and practically gave our naval officers
a power to impress seamen from the ships of another state."
So, having already maintained, under various vicissitudes, the right to seize
American sailors in time of war, as a consequence of her belligerent right of search,
if the present pretension is established, Great Britain can then seize them in time
of peace, as a consequence of her pacific right of search, called visitation, and thus
the marine of the United States will be an inexhaustible fountain, whence in peace
and war she can seek her force.
But it may be said, and indeed the suggestion, as we have seen, is in the Times,
that it is in the power of the American government to frame a convention, which
shall exclude this process of impressment, and therefore the fear of its occurrence
ought not to prevent the adoption of this check to an odious traffic. To this sug
gestion the answer is easy. The United States can enter into no stipulation, which
can be tortured into a recognition of this doctrine of impressment. They can not
l provide for its restriction nor regulation. They can only accept a general declara>
tion from the British government, that their flag shall protect their seamen, at all
times and under all circumstances, and there is little reason to hope that the coun
sels of justice will so far prevail over those of interest, as to lead to such a measure.

414 LIFE AND TIMES
Were it, however, adopted by the British government as the regulation of its
future conduct, it would be hailed in the United States as the harbinger of a brighter
day ;' as the cause and the precursor of an indefinite peace between two nations
having so many reasons for union, and so few for separation.
In such an event, there would be little hazard in predicting, that a satisfactory
arrangement might soon be made, by Which the fullest co-operation of the United
States would be obtained towards the suppression of the slave trade. • The great
difficulty being removed, a mutual spirit of conciliation would soon do the rest.
But till then, the United States can not, in any arrangement giving reciprocally the
right of search, with- a professed view to the extinction of the slave trade, admit a
stipulation, that the doctrine of constructive entrance should not apply, and that
their seamen should be safe from seizure. Such a stipulation would soon be con
strued into an admission of this claim, under other circumstances, and to this the
American government and people will never submit. With them it is a question of
life and death. They went to war to oppose it, thirty years ago, when comparatively
young and weak. And now, after having advanced in the elements of power
with a rapidity unknown in human history, they will not be found wanting to their
duties and honor in the day of trial. An American, at home or in Europe, may
safely predict that the first man impressed from a ship of his country and detained,
with an avowal of the right -by order of the British government, will be the signal.
of war. A war, too, which will be long, bitter, and accompanied, it may be, with
many vicissitudes ; for no citizen of the United States can shut his eyes to thei
power of Great Britain, nor to the gallantry of her fleet and armies. But twice the
republic has come out honorably from a similar contest, and with a just cause she
would again hope for success. At, any rate, she would try.
In the preceding discussion, we have spoken generally of the, right of search,
without being led aside by any distinction, founded upon the purposes, real or avow
ed, of those who exercise it. We have done so, because so far as regards the most
obnoxious consequences to the United States, the liability of their seamen to impress
ment, it is obvious, and so indeed says the Times, that the exercise of this preten
sion, though not forming a just cause of entry, yet being its necessary result, it is
perfectly immaterial, in its practical operation, whether the naval judge, " clothed
with a little brief authority," but deciding summarily upon human liberty, boards
the peaceful trader to ascertain her national character, or to inquire into the objects
of her voyage. But besides this fundamental objection, it is evident, that no vessel
can be liable to examination without some hindrance ; that in all such cases there
may be gross abuses, and that in many, these abuses will occur. The boarding
officer will judge if her papers are regular, or if they are simulated, and if the ac
cidents of the voyage and the nature and appearance of the cargo and equipment
confirm these papers, or render them suspicious. Here is latitude enough for arbi- 4
trary vexation, and for interruptions which may drive an otherwise profitable com
merce into less troubled channels. And these considerations are abundantly
powerful to justify the United States in refusing their consent, both to the conven
tional arrangement proposed for the right of search to ascertain the objects of the
voyage, and to the new doctrine, now first promulgated, of a right of search
to ascertain if the proofs of the vessel's nationality are sufficient to justify her title«
to the flag she bears.
We can not better describe the little difference in its practical operation, which
would be found between the right of search to ascertain the true character of a

OF LEWIS CASS. 415
'vessel, and the right of search to ascertain the object of her voyage, than we find it
done to our hands in the London Sun. One may be called a search, and the other
a visit, but both will be found equally vexatious visitations. The passage of the Sun
is striking, and we shall quote it:
" The Americans may very properly object to our right of search, and may still
have a great inclination to suppress the slave trade ; but, of the two evils, we have
no doubt but the Americans would prefer the eternal existence of the slave trade to
allowing their ships to be overhauled by our men-of-war. If they sanction the
examination, for the mere purpose of ascertaining if a vessel, bearing the American
'flag, is bona fide an American vessel, they sanction a rigid examination of the vessel
herself. The papers may be simulated. How is that to be proved ? By examining
the crew; by ascertaining that the cargo of the vessels corresponds to the manifest ;
by tracing her route in the log-book ; in short, by subjecting her to a complete
search. If that be not done, papers will be once produced, to correspond with the
-flag, and merely to prove that they do correspond, will be of no use whatever." The
Americans are well aware ofthe insults and injuries they would subject themselves
to by admitting this claim to visit their ships; and the Morning Chronicle does
them egregious injustice when it represents their resistance to that claim as grounded
in unrighteousness.
" The correspondence with the British Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, just
published by the American government, comes marvelously in support ofthe remarks
of the Sim, though received since those remarks were written. It gives to them
almost the character of prophecy. The search of five American vessels is complained
of by the American Minister — the Douglas, the Iago, the Hero, the Mary, and the
Susan ; and, in four of these cases, serious complaints are also made, that the crews
were treated with indignity, and the cargoes overhauled and injured, and various
articles taken away. As Lord Palmerston, in his answer to Mr. Stevenson, gives a
summary of the complaints of that gentleman, in the case of one of these vessels,
we shall quote the passage, as an illustration of the practical effects of this new
claim, not having, unfortunately, Mr. Stevenson's letter on the subject within reach.
And we embrace, with pleasure, this opportunity of tendering our thanks to that
able American representative, for the spirit, ability, and dignity with which he main
tained the rights of his country, during the arduous correspondence he carried on
with Lord Palmerston and Lord Aberdeen. But to the summary. 'In these two
communications from Mr. Stevenson,' says Lord Palmerston, 'it is stated that, on
the 21st of October, 1839, Lieutenant Seagrand boarded the Douglas, while she was
pursuing her voyage, on the coast of Africa, examined the ship's papers and the
passengers' passports, broke open the hatches, hauled down the American flag, and
seized the vessel as a. slaver ; that he kept possession of her during eight days
namely, from the 21st of October to the 29th of the same month ; that the officers
and men of the Douglas became ill from exposure to the sun, and that, in conse
quence, three of them died, and the captain is yet in ill health.' It appears, by
another letter from Lord Palmerston, that the boarding crew were charged with
consuming the stores and provisions of the Douglas.
" And, in a third letter from Lord Palmerston, which relates to the Mary, the char-
•pter of the occurrences on board maybe judged by this remark: 'proceedings
which, in Mr. Stevenson's opinion, seem to want nothing to give them the character
of a most flagrant and daring outrage, and very little, if anything, to sink them into
an act of open and direct piracy.'

416 LIFE AND TIMES
"Lord Palmerston then proceeds to justify or deny all these charges, and then
they sleep the sleep of death.
" As to the ill treatment of the crews, and the free use of the provisions and stores
of the vessels, and, frequently, the subtraction of more valuable articles, (in one of
these cases money, a chronometer, and a watch are stated to have disappeared,) all
this is but an old story in the history of vessels boarding and boarded, as we have
already had occasion to observe. How, indeed, can it be otherwise in the constitu
tion of human nature and in the position of the parties ? There is no check for the
present, no responsibility for the future. The most rigorous discipline and the best
disposition could not prevent abuse where a. party of sailors enter the vessel of
another nation, in fact, as masters, parade the crew, examine the papers, break up
the hatches, overhaul the cargo, and feel themselves at free quarters, almost in an
enemy's country. And when the disposition ofthe officers is bad and the discipline
lax, all these evils are fearfully augmented. In the catalogue of naval wrongs
endured by the United States during the long period of belligerent oppression to
which we have referred, the injuries and abuses inflicted by boarding vessels figure
in the front rank. What will they be hereafter, when this doctrine of universal
search, under the guise of an inquiry into the nationality of vessels, becomes conse
crated by time and usage, and is exercised as well in peace as in war ?
" But, after all, what is this distinction which Lord Palmerston and Lord Aber
deen have discovered, and which is now to give to British officers the right, in a
time of profound peace, to enter and search American ships ? We are distinctly
told, by both these statesmen, in their correspondence with the American minister,
that they do not assert this claim of search with a view to ascertain the objects of a
voyage, and to seize the vessel if found engaged in the slave trade. Both admit, in
terms, that, her American character being once established, her cargo, whether men
or merchandise, is beyond the reach ofthe armed cruiser, and that she must be per
mitted to prosecute her voyage, however nefarious its objects may be. But both
equally contend that the flag at the mast-head, or the piece of bunting, as Lord Pal
merston rather contemptuously styles this emblem of sovereignty, furnishes no
evidence of national character, and shall furnish no protection against the entrance
of British force ; that they have a right to board all vessels upon the ocean, examine
their papers, and satisfy themselves respecting their nationality. Lord Aberdeen,
indeed, consoles the government of the United States by the assurance that their
vessels are not entered as their vessels. ' Nor is it as American that such vessels are
ever visited.' Poor consolation this. If Tom is knocked down in the streets, it is little
comfort to him lo be told, I did not knock you down as Tom, I knocked you down as Jack.
The answer to all such pretensions is very simple, and can not have escaped the
sagacity of the British statesmen, who have resorted to this strange process of justi
fication. You commit the act at your own hazard. If you enter a ship or knock
down a man, believing the ship or man is not what appearances indicate, and your
suspicions being correct, if the law, international in one case, national in the other,
gives you the right to use this violence, then you may avow the act and justify it.
But, if you err in these premises, you are responsible for the consequences."
The municipal law of every country is filled with illustrations of this principle.
It is common sense applied to the affairs of men in their social relations as membeAtj
of an organized community ; applied to the affairs of nations in their commercusrj
intercourse with one another upon the ocean, it is the same common sense, then
called public law. If a father or master meet his son or servant, he has a right to

OF LEWIS CASS. 417
examine him to ascertain if he is violating his orders. This we may call the visita
tion of persons. The right cannot be denied. Now, the son or servant may disguise
himself, and assume the appearance and dress of a son or servant of a neighbor, it
may be his livery ; but does this possibility of abuse give the superior the right to
stop in the streets all persons he may choose to suspect, with or without cause, to
be his son or servant, and not even violating the law of the country, but his own
domestic law? Certainly not. If he examine forcibly, he does so at his peril.
Borne out by the result, he is but in the exercise of his right. Deceived, he is a
trespasser, and responsible for his conduct.
We consider it unnecessary to pursue these illustrations further. It would be
but a work of supererogation.

PART III. — The Process by which this Doctrine op Right to Search
and Seize is Attempted to be Maintained — The Correspondence
of the British Secretaries op State por Foreign Affairs An
alyzed.
What, then, is the process by which this new principle is attempted to be justified
and maintained 7 Lord Palmerston thus lays down the doctrine, which is hence
forth to become a part of the great maritime law : The United States Flag, or. bunt
ing, as his lordship calls it, shall exempt no vessel, (whether American or not,) from search,
except " when that vessel is provided with papers entitling her to wear that flag,
and .proving her to be United States property, and navigated according to law.'' And
with a view to ascertain if she is entitled to the flag she bears, and if she is sailing
according to law, a right of entry is claimed for every British cruiser, into every
American vessel, wherever they may meet. And this right of entry Is called not a
search, but a visit.
Lord Palmerston, it will be remarked, lays down as a part of the principle, that a
vessel must be sailing according to law, that is, for a purpose not prohibited by
law, and Lord Aberdeen, who shows more regard for bunting than Lord Palmerston,
concedes that, " doubtless the flag is prima facie evidence of the nationality of the
vessel." A strange designation this, by the, by, for a national pavilion, and we
had almost said, a profane one, to be applied by an English statesman, the Minister
ofa country whose meteor flagis associated with. so many glorious recollections, and
apostrophized in so much glorious poetry. And after all, this emblem of sovereignty
and accompaniment of victory, is but a piece of bunting! Alas! for the prestige of
Et names, when reduced to this matter-of-fact standard.
will not be denied, that this ,is the first solemn occasion upon which this pre-
iqn has been put forth to the world. No elementary writer has advanced it, no
?jurist, ha|tisserted it, no judge has ruled it. The universal exemption of all vessels
in time of ^eace, " from search or visitation," the very words, as we have seen, of
«I Stowell, has heretofore been an uncontested and incontestable principle of the
of .nations, and he added the authority of his decision to the opinions of his
predecessors, the commentators upon the great code of maritime law. When, there
fore, the two British statesmen, who have assumed, or, upon whom has fallen the
27

418 LIFE AND TIMES
task of interpolating this new principle into that code, or as the Times would express
it, who are working the way for the new law, undertake to justify this pretension by
argument, preparatory to its being maintained by force, we may fairly call upon
them to establish their position by undeniable proofs, or by the clearest illustrations.
The burden of discussion is cast upon them, while the nations of the earth, at the
same time judges and parties, are watching the progress of the controversy, anxious,
it may be, to see if this new step, as the Times may well term it, is to be attended
with a new struggle, and if both are to be gained, as so many have been gained
before them.
In carefully analyzing the correspondence, the arguments in support of this claim
may be briefly summed up in these : Without it flags may be sometimes abused.
Without it English cruisers may sometimes be prevented from boarding their own
vessels, and thus the municipal laws of England may be violated. Without it the
treaty stipulations for the suppression of the slave trade can not be so well executed,
as with it. And the traditions of the British navy, and Lord Aberdeen believes, of
other navies, are in favor of its assertion. This is a brief summary of the defense
of the measure.
As to what may be termed the quarter-deck law, we shall dismiss it with a very
cursory examination. Mr. Stevenson calls in question the exactitude of the fact, at
any rate to the extent to which it must reach, in order to support such a claim as
this. That vessels may have been overhauled and entered in time of peace, under
peculiar circumstances, we do not donbt. But it is evident that this practice has
never prevailed in any considerable degree, most certainly not sufficiently so to
render it authoritative, as otherwise it would have given rise to examination and
consideration among the elementary writers, and to discussion among the govern
ments which, from time to time, must have been affected by it. No trace of this
appears, and the conclusion is inevitable that its use has never been established,
nor its abuse sufficiently prevalent nor serious to render it the subject of diplomatic
intervention. If Great Britain had, as she has not, in the exercise of her nival strength, pushed
this usage beyond the point we have indicated, certainly it would be with a bad
grace, she would claim that her own violence should be written down in the law
of nations, and constitute the rule for their future government. We go farther;
vessels will, no doubt, be hereafter spoken and entered, and no one will complain,
because no indignity will be intended, nor will any injury be done. Strictly speak
ing, a trespass may be committed, but the matter will pass off, without exciting the
least sensation, either among the parties or their governments. How different this
is from a claim to enter and search all ships, at all times and in all places, we leave
to the common sense of mankind to judge. We say in all places, because, though
one half only of the Atlantic ocean is tabooed, (as the South-sea islanders express
it,) at the present moment, yet the same power which has laid this interdict uponga
part of one of the mightiest works of God, may extend it, as soon as its interests
dictate, from pole to pole, and from east to west. If that is not already done, it is j
not that the principle is not sufficiently elastic to cover such a space, but only, that
the time of harvest has not yet come. We are aware of our offense against the canons
of criticism in the metaphor, but we may be pardoned the' trespass, in consequence
of the force of the illustration  With respect to the abuse to which the claim
of immunity, made by the United States for their vessels, may be liable, it is not
difficult to show, how greatly it has been exaggerated. This seems to be the favorite

OF LEWIS CASS. 419
argument of Lord Palmerston, and is repeated, under a somewhat different view, by
Lord Aberdeen. Both these statesmen appear to think, that the United States claim
a perfect immunity for all vessels bearing their flag, and as an illustration of the
absurdity of such a pretension, Lord Aberdeen asks Mr. Stevenson, if he supposes
the government of Great Britain would permit " British vessels and British capital
to carry on, before the eyes of British officers, this detestable traffic, etc., by hoisting
the American flag.
This conclusion is no corollary from the premises laid down by the United States.
They advance no such pretension. It is the immunity of their own bona fide vessels,
they seek to secure. They do not deny to the cruisers of all the powers of the earth,
the right to enter and search each the vessels of their own country, which may
concede the privilege, though the flag of the United States may fly at all their mast
heads. But they do deny the right of any such cruisers to search their vessels, and
here lies the root of the whole matter. Certainly, if a British or French frigate
encounters a vessel at sea, which is most assuredly a British1 or a French vessel,
endeavoring to conceal her nationality, under the American flag, such frigate is jus
tified in boarding her, and in disposing of her as the laws of her country may
provide. But this is done at the risk of the boarding ship. If the result proves
that the suspicion was well founded, then the commanding officer will be scathless.
He will have done his duty to his own government, and no injury to another. But
if he has suffered himself to be deceived, then he has violated the rights of a for
eign power, and his sovereign must be responsible for the consequences. He may
still have done his duty to his own government. That will depend upon the strength
of the evidence upon which he acted. But he has committed an injury against another,
and for that injury, atonement may be demanded. But here we come to the prac
tical operation of these general principles, and it is that branch of the subject alone
which is worthy serious consideration.
The two British statesmen attempt to support their p6sition by pushing principles
to their extremes. This may do in the schools, but its place is not in active life, and,
least of all, in the affairs of nations. A British officer meets a vessel bearing an
American flag, but which he has the strongest reasons to suspect to be British, and
engaged in the slave trade. He boards her, conducts himself with perfect propriety,
ascertains his error, and retires, without committing any injury. He is a trespasser,
but no government would ever think of complaining in such a case. A perpetual
right to stop, to search, and to seize is one thing ; a casual act of trespass, conceded
to be such, excused by peculiar circumstances, and immediately acknowledged and
atoned for, is another. The latter may be pardoned. The former is intolerable.
The commander of the boarding vessel is precisely in the condition of a sheriff's
officer, who, with a writ against A, arrests B. Now, on a trial in an action of tres->
pass, which B might institute for this assault and battery, what would be the measure
of damages which an intelligent jury would apply to the case ? They would adopt
precisely the same rule we have already laid down, in the case of the commander.
If the officer had strong reasons to mistake the identity of B, and to suppose he was
A, and if he had conducted himself with perfect propriety, and had really committed
no injury, he would be dismissed with nominal damages ; damages, which, while
they asserted the great principle of liberty, would be yet perfectly valueless in their
amount, leaving the ill-advised complainant to pay the. costs. Such is the illustra
tion of our maritime subject. In this manner the principle is saved, and flagrant
abuses prevented. And why the naked principle is incalculably valuable to the

420 LIFE AND TIMES
United States, is obvious. Upon it turns the claim of impressment. The exercise
of that claim, as we have seen, is the consequence of a legal right of entry. So long
as this entry is illegal, so long the American seamen are, by British confession, safe
from British power. We may illustrate this principle still further, and it is well to
do so, because Lord Aberdeen pushes the immunity even to the protection of piracy,
and some of the English journals have expressed a very patriotic fear of that result.
Let us examine this matter. The cruiser of a civilized power approaches a region
where a pirate is known to have recently been committing depredations. His
appearance is described, and he is anxiously watched. A vessel, with the flag of
the United States, heaves in sight, and she bears a great resemblance to the corsair.
She is entered, and the mistake is discovered. The act would be pardoned, and,
especially, as the crime is proscribed bythe law of nations — a law which all powers
should support and enforce. And it would not be difficult to suppose a case, where
the public ship of a nation might be attacked, and 'under such strong presumption
of her being a pirate, as to excuse, though not to justify, the aggression. When
piracy was prevalent in the West Indies, some years since, the smaller vessels of the
American squadron employed in its suppression, were often disguised to deceive the
pirates. If one of them had been mistaken by a French or British frigate for a
piratical cruiser, she would have been attacked, but the matter would have been
amicably arranged, as was the controversy respecting the action between the Amer
ican frigate, the " President," and the British sloop-of-war, the " Little Belt," which
occurred in profound peace, but was the result of mutual misunderstanding. Now
Lord Palmerston and Lord Aberdeen do not claim the right, in time of peace, under
any circumstances, to search a vessel of war, in order to ascertain her nationality.
Here the bunting rides inviolate. But does it follow that, because a pirate hoists the
flag of a Christian power, and assumes the appearance of one of her armed ships, he
is therefore beyond the reach of his pursuers ? Or that all the French vessels of
war upon the ocean may be searched by a British ship, because the latter chooses
to suspect they are pirates? Such pretensions would be absurd. The public vessel
is inviolable in principle by universal consent, as the private vessel was till this
pretension arose. The immunity of the one has not prevented the suppression of
piracy, nor would the immunity of the other prevent the suppression of the slave
trade. Neither ought to be forcibly entered by a foreign power, but, if their guise
is assumed, and in such a manner as to deceive the honest cruiser, circumstances
might occur to justify him in attacking the one and ih entering the other.
But pursuing the analogy and pushing the principles, as Lord Palmerston pushes
it, ii is evident that, if the possible abuse of their flag, for the purpose, among other
things, of carrying on the slave trade, is a proof that the merchant vessels of the
United States may be stopped and searched, then their armed ships may be also
stopped and searched, or every corsair, who may, in like manner, hoist their flag, may
roam the ocean untouched. We leave the dilemma where the argument originated.
With our views there is no difficulty. These we have sufficiently explained. Piracy
has been put down without any violation of the freedom of the seas, or ofthe inde
pendence of the nations. The slave trade may be put down also, with the same
sacred regard to those great principles. If occasional trespasses are committed in
obtaining the one object or the other, let these be judged as they arise. Sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof. Let violence not be encouraged and shielded in
advance, and one ofthe best works of man — the code of opinion — by which the strong
is restrained and the weak protected upon the ocean, be broken up, and its frag
ments scattered to the wind.

OF LEWIS CASS. 421
We come now to the consideration of this principle as the British statesmen lay
it down, and more particularly in its application to the slave trade. We have seen
that Lord Palmerston, who certainly expresses himself less guardedly than Lord
Aberdeen, qualifies his general postulatum concerning the search of the vessels of
the United States by this limitation, that there must be circumstances justifying the
suspicion that they are not American property, and that their voyages are illegal. Lord
Aberdeen goes farther. He claims no right of search, " except under the most grave
suspicions and well founded doubts of the genuineness of its (the vessel's) charac
ter." And he, too, requires that the object of the vessel should be " illegal."
The most grave suspicions and well founded doubts of what, Lord Aberdeen ? Of vio
lating your municipal laws ? If that proposition is meant and can be maintained,
then England is much nearer universal domination upon the ocean than the most
jealous observer of the maritime " steps " has ventured even to insinuate. She has
only by statutory provision to declare, as she already declares in principle, that the
employment of her native born subjects in the American marine, military or com
mercial, is illegal, and she can then enter the ships of the United States, and seize
their crews, without resorting to the sophism, (we speak as a logician, not offens
ively,) which actually casts an air of ridicule upon the grave question, and by which
the true object is attained under a pretended one.
She has only to declare piratical the transportation of the merchandise of France,
as she has declared piratical the slave trade, and then every French ship sailing the
ocean, and every other one, indeed, may be stopped and searched, to ascertain if
they carry the wines of Bordeaux, the silks of Lyons, or the rich and' elegant
manufactured articles of Paris. From such a search, to seizure ahd condemnation
is but another step ; and the tri-colored bunting of France, and the striped bunting
of the American Union might disappear from the face of the seas.
Let no man say that such things will not happen. Upon this subject we can no
more assert what is probable, than we can predict what will happen. No step in
this onwa.d progress can be more irreconcilable with common right and common
sense, than was the proper blockade of half Europe, without even the. pretense that
this interdict was supported by an armed vessel, if it were but a gun boat, to watch
one hundredth part of the coast thus pronounced to be hermetically closed.
But what constitutes this illegality, we are nowhere distinctly told. Indeed, the
whole reasoning of Lord Aberdeen, upon this branch of the subject, is marked
with a confusion certainly not the characteristic of that accomplished statesman,
but the result of the position he felt it his duty to take. He says, in one part of his
dispatch, " that the present happy concurrence of the states of Christendom (Qu.
some of the states of Europe ?) in this great object, not merely justifies, but renders
indispensable the right now claimed and exercised by the British government."
This, it will be observed, was written before the conclusion of the late treaty be
tween five of the European powers, upon this subject, and therefore has relation
only tb the previous isolated treaties ; though that circumstance, in our view, what-,
ever it may do in that of Lord Aberdeen, changes nothing in the rights of the
parties to this controversy. That all the powers of Christendom have not conceded
this right of search will not be disputed ; for we suppose the United States may
fairly claim to belong to that great brotherhood of nations. Is it possible Lord
Aberdeen means all his words clearly express ? Will he openly assume the princi
ple, that the concurrence of some of the powers of Europe, great or small, in a
measure, even when avowedly and specifically confined to themselves, immediately

422 LIFE AND TIMES
and ipso facto changes the law of nations, and sanctifies the principle of this new-
measure ? If some future Napoleon should arise, and by a general continental con
vention, attempt to exclude England from the markets of the world, would this
act of violence become legal ? Would it impose upon that country the moral duty
of submission, because the " happy concurrence of some of the states of Christen
dom in the great object" had not only legalized, but had rendered the process by
which their decree was to be enforced, not merely justifiable, but indispensable?
This is no reasoning for the nineteenth century, and we can no longer occupy
ourselves with it.
If the right of search is here placed, as we see, upon the obligation created by
the partial treaties for the suppression of the slave trade, there are passages in the
dispatches of both Lord Palmerston and Lord Aberdeen, where it is placed upon
the municipal law of England. These are to be found where Lord Aberdeen
invokes the necessity of examining American ships, to ascertain if they are not
" British ships with British capital," carrying on a traffic " which the law (the mu
nicipal law of England) has declared to be piracy." And Lord Palmerston says,
that without the right of searching American vessels, " even the laws of England
might be set at defiance by her own subjects." And so they may be evaded in a
thousand ways, and have been evaded by means furnished by ships, both English'
and foreign. And why confine this claim of search to the evasion of the laws,
respecting the slave trade ? Why not extend it to all cases which may happen, and
stop and seize upon the ocean all vessels suspected, or pretended to be suspected,
of aiding in such evasion ? And why should not a French cruiser overhaul and
search any merchantman, foreign as well as French, which, it may be pretendedji
has on board a young conscript fleeing from the conscription ? This branch of the
discussion has already extended too far. We do not believe it is necessary for any
intelligent reader that we should farther push the refutation of the pretension, that
a British boarding crew may enter any American ship she meets, with a view to
give effect to the British laws. That time may come, and perhaps will come, if this
step is gained. But before then, many strange events may come to pass.
But it will be seen, also, that this illegality which we are in search of, is created,
not only by treaty stipulations and municipal laws, but by the law of nations: To
the last authority the United States avow their entire submission, and what that
ordains they will cheerfully obey. Lord Aberdeen says, that the fraudulent abuse
of the American flag " constitutes that reasonable ground of suspicion which the
law of nations requires in such a case." Let Lord Aberdeen put his finger upon
that part of the law which applies to " such a case," and all opposition to the pre
tensions of his country is at an end. But it is the fair provision which is demanded,
and not a substitute, created by a false analogy. This doctrine is not to be
supported by transferring to this subject principles and practices, applicable only
to a state of war, and to acts which are then "illegal" by the unanimous consent
of mankind.
But, after all, supposing the law to be as laid down, that American vessels may be
searched because their voyages may be sometimes " illegal," what are the circum
stances which justify the exercise of this measure, agreeably to the British doctrine?
We repeat the rule, as stated by Lord Aberdeen. No vessel bearing the American
flag ought to be visited by a British cruiser, except " under the most grave suspi
cions and well founded doubts of the genuineness of its character." What is the
practical application of this rule? Why, American vessels are visitedt in the;

OF LEWIS CASS. 423
language of Lord Aberdeen, " in certain latitudes and for a particular object." That
is to say, their very appearance in " certain latitudes" is a " grave suspicion," and
thence follows the entry, the detention, the search, and, it may be, the seizure! If
this is not reversing the natural order of things, and casting the burden of proof
upon the injured party, we confess our inability to understand the subject. This
amounts to a complete blockade of the great Southern ocean, from Rio Janeiro to
the Bight of Benin. How long it may continue, and how much further it may
extend, we leave to history to tell.

PART IV. — The African Slave Trade, as Piracy, Considered.
There is a, tendency in the communications of both the British Secretaries of
State for Foreign Affairs to consider the African slave trade as piracy. This point
established, and all opposition to this claim of search, in cases bona fide suspicious, '
would cease. Lord Palmerston speaks of " slave trading pirates," and Lord Aber
deen of " piratical adventurers."
But this is loose language, except so far as it has reference to municipal laws.
The slave trade is nefarious, unjustifiable,, and ought everywhere to be proscribed
and rigorously punished. But it is one of that class of acts whose criminality de
pends upon the laws of different countries. A nation or a combination of nations
may call it piracy, and apply to their own citizens the punishment usually
prescribed for that crime. But this change of names'changes nothing in the nature
of things, and piracy is now, by the law of nations, what it has been for ages past.
As to the status of slavery itself, it were idle to contend it is illegal by the common
consent of mankind. It has existed since the earliest ages of the world,, and there
is probably no nation, ancient or modern, among whom it has not been known. By
some, it has been abolished, and where it yet survives we hope its condition has
been meliorated. This is certainly true of the United States. A general disposition
is gaining ground to improve the situation of this unfortunate class of society. This
is felt in the Southern States of the American confederacy as well as elsewhere, and
he who should judge of the treatment'of the slaves in that region, by their treat
ment in the West India colonies, would do the Southern planter egregious injustice.
The best proof of this assertion is the fact, disclosed by the statistical tables pub
lished by the American government, that in some of the slave States the slaves
increase faster than the white population, and another fact, not less significative, is
the rate of their natural augmentation. This is found to be between twenty-five
and thirty per cent, in each decennial period. A very respectable countryman now
here, in whose statement we place full confidence, has just informed us, he has
examined the subject, and finds, though there are more than fourteen millions of
free white persons in the United States, and but two millions and a half of slayes,
yet the number in the latter class, over one hundred years of age, is almost double
that in the former.
We are no slaveholder. We never have been. We never shall be. We deprecate
its existence in principle, and pray for its abolition everywhere, where this can be
effected justly and peaceably, and safely for both parties. But we would not carry
fire, and devastation, and murder, and ruin into a peaceful community, to push on

424 LIFE AND TIMES
the accomplishment of that object. But after having visited the three quarters of
the old continent, we say before God and the world, that we have seen far more, and
more frightful misery, since we landed in Europe, and we have not visited Ireland yet, than
we have ever seen among this class of people in the United States. Whatever may
be said, there is much of the patriarchal relation between the Southern planter and
the slave. And as to the physical distress which is seen in Europe, resulting from
a want of food, and from exposure to a rigorous winter without adequate clothing,
we believe it to be so rare, as not to form a just element in the consideration of this
matter. But the subject of the emancipation of two millions and a half of human
beings, living among another population, of different race and color, and with
different habits and feelings, is one of the gravest questions which can be submitted
to sdciety to solve. It can be safely left only to those who are to be so seriously
affected by it; and there it is left by the Constitution of the United States. It is a
matter with which the general government has no, concern.
And so with respect to the slave trade. It is a traffic which can be traced back
to the time of Jacob, whose son was sold into Egypt; and down, in some form or
other, during the successive ages which have intervened, to the last century, when
by treaty arrangements with Spain, England obtained, as a great commercial favor,
the privilege of supplying the Spanish colonies with slaves,* and to the present,
when, after many years of bitter opposition, the English Parliament voted the aboli
tion of the slave trade, but when some of the greatest names-j- in England were
found in the minority. These statesmen by their votes not only pronounced the slave
trade to be legal and expedient, but moral, also, so far as that consideration formed, at
that time, a motive of legislative action. That it is illegal, by the great code of
public law, no statesman,' nor publicist, or well informed man, will seriously contend.
Thanks to the advancing opinions of the age, its atrocity is generally acknowledged^
and the obligation of Christian states to extirpate it, almost everywhere felt and
obeyed. But it is not permitted, in order to attain a great good, to commit a great
evil. In order to break up the traffic, to break down the barriers which centuries have
been rearing, and by which the weak are everywhere protected against the strong,
the peaceful against the warlike ; the law of nations is but general opinion, illus
trated by able jurists, and sanctified by time, and by universal acquiescence. Touch
it rudely, and the whole fabric will disappear, leaving the nations of the world, in
their mutual relations, as they existed in the most barbarous age.
Most wisely and most impressively, therefore, did Lord Stowell say, " No nation
has the right to force their way, for the liberation of Africa, by trampling upon the
independence of other states, on the pretense of an eminent good, by means that
are unlawful ; or to press ' orward to a great principle, by breaking through other
great principles which stand in their way."
* The first article of the treaty of Madrid, of 26th March, 1718, is thus conceived : Whereas the
assiento which was formed with the Company Royal of Guinea, established in Prance, to furnish negro
slaves for the West Indies, has expired, and the queen of Great Britain wishing to enter into this com
merce, and in her name the English Company, etc.
f In looking over Clarkson's History of the Abolition of the Slave Trade, we find that the cabinet of
Mr. Pitt was divided upon this subject, and that the sincerity of that distinguished man in the support
of it was generally doubted. And Clarkson states, that from the known sentiments of the king, the
veto of the bill was feared. Among the oppononts we find the Duke of Clarence, (afterwards William
tho Fourth,) who callod the supporters of the bill fanatics and hypocrites. Lords Thurlow, Rodney,
Shefflold, Eldon, Saint- Vincent, Liverpool, Sidraouth, (who was Mr. Addington,) Hnwksbury, (who was
Mr. Jonkinson,) Mr. Dundas, Colonel Tarleton, Major Scott, etc.

OF LEWIS CASS. 425
Words of deep wisdom and of solemn wearing; and lamentable is it, that their
obligation has scarcely outlived the able and. venerable judge by whom they were
pronounced. And above all is it to be deplored, that the. first public practical dis
avowal of' these sentiments should come from a country whose law they were
ruled to be.
We have already adverted to the opinion of the Duke of Wellington, in connection
with that of Lord Stowell. This we did from memory ; but at the moment of writing
this part of our remarks, we have been enabled to refer to a debate, in the House of
Lords, 10th July, 1839, where his sentiments are fully disclosed. With that spirit
of frankness and sagacity which are not the least eminent am.ong the qualities of
that eminent man, he predicted the issue to which this pretension must lead. He
said, "the clause in question made it lawful to detain any vessels whatever, on
suspicion on the high seas, and demand their papers ; and the persons exercising
such authority, were moreover indemnified for all the consequences. Was it in
tended that the vessels of any power in Europe might be searched, and afterwards
allowed to proceed on their voyage, whether we had treaties with, those powers or
not? Such a law would be a perfect novelty in the legislation of this country, and
the House ought to well pause before they adopt it."
Again, on the 15th August, the duke remarked: " It was well known that with
the United States we had no convention; there were, indeed, engagements, made by
diplomatic notes, but nothing went to. show the least disposltiqn, on their part, to
permit the right of detention and the search of papers; and if there was one point more
to be avoided than another, it was that relating to the visitation of vessels belonging
to the Union. He warned government not to proceed, but rather to issue an order
in council or a declaration of war."
We quote the remarks of Lord Brougham, because they are equally honorable to
himself, to truth, and to the American government. " It could not be disguised that
we were peculiarly situated with respect to the United States, because we had not
affected any treaty conferring-such right of search. It should be borne in mind that
the . United States, at the very earliest period they were enabled to do so by the
Federal Union, had adopted the abolition of the slave trade, and were, in fact, the
first to make it piracy for any one of its subjects to carry it on. The government of
the United States was not so strong as a monarchical government, nor had it such
direct and powerful means of controlling its subjects." And he remarks, with respect
to the sale of American ships to persons carrying on the slave trade : " but the people
might not, after all, be answerable for 'the purposes to which they were devoted, not
more so, certainly, than an English shipbuilder who sold vessels, constructed in his,
yard, which were afterwards dispatched to the coast of Africa.''
We shall not add a word to the authority of these high names. Their decisions
need no commentary from us.

PART V. — What the United States have done to put down the
Slave Trade — The Consequences of Persistence in the Right
op Search by England.
Keeping in view the preceding course of discussion, it is obvious that, upon the
principles heretofore received among mankind, if the United States should peremp
torily refuse all co-operation in any effort to put down the slave trade, they would

426 LIFE AND TIMES
be responsible only to the public opinion of the nations, and to Him by whom nations
rise and fall. " It would be but the consequence," says the London Sun, " of our for
mer proceedings, which have made it impossible for the Americans to admit the claim.
By committing injustice on our own people, we have bred up our officers to arbi
trary habits, which have made them arbitrary to other nations, and the consequen
ces debar England from following out her humane wishes to suppress the slave trade."
But the United States refuse no such co-operation. They have interdicted, as we
have seen, this trade to their citizens, and have provided exemplary punishments
for the transgressors. They have, for many years, kept a squadron upon the coast
of Africa, to aid in its suppression, and they are now making arrangements for its
augmentation. We do not affect to deny that a general right of search would assist
the objects which all Christian powers are seeking to attain. It would be an addi
tional means of detection. But such a right is not at all indispensable to success.
Much has already been done, and the work is going on now. It would be greatly
promoted if the markets, in countries to which slaves are yet transported, were
closed to this traffic. If these unhappy victims of lawless violence could not be sold,
tbey would not be bought. Let a general effort be made with the Spanish, Portu
guese, and Brazilian governments, to induce them to act vigorously in this matter,
by judicious municipal regulations faithfully executed, and a powerful means of
success will be put in motion, without "breaking down the great principles which
now stand in its way." .„„
That the efforts to suppress the slave trade may be rendered, without the adop4
tion of this obnoxious measure, is evident, from a suggestion in a London journal^
which, with just feeling, seeks to avert the impending consequences of this claim of
search. This journal proposes that an officer of the British and American navies
shall reciprocally sail in one of the cruisers of the respective nations, and that such
officer shall exercise the right of search, in the vessels of his own country, thus
ascertaining their character and objects, and seizing them, when guilty, without any
violation of the rights of sovereignty. We do not stop to examine this proposition;
we merely allude to it to show, that in a spirit of accommodation, means may be
found to reconcile all avowed objects with national dignity and independence. Such
a plan would possess one advantage. It would be truly reciprocal ; whereas the
proffered power to search is but the mockery of a reciprocity toward the United
States, whose institutions never will permit impressment as a means of manning
their navy. While, therefore, the British officer enters to search and impress, and
the American officer enters to search, the inequality is too glaring to need illus=
tration. But, after all, what kind of philanthropy is that which seeks not merely to put
down the African slave trade, but to put it down by the employment of one means
among many, and which means, if persisted in as threatened, will as surely involve
two great nations in war, as to-morrow's sun will rise upon both? And who can
tell the issue of such a war, not merely to the parties themselves, that we shall not
touch, but to the civilized world? Who can tell the questions of maritime right
which will arise during its progress, and of maritime wrongs which will be inflicted?
Who can tell how soon its sphere will be enlarged, and the oppressions of Africa be
lost sight of in the struggles of Europe and America?
It is strange, indeed, but so it is, that one of the modes proposed for the liberation
of tho negro from the traffic of his flesh and blood, will necessarily lead to the
bondage of the American seaman ; where his flesh and blood are not indeed sold,

OF LEWIS CASS. 427
but where they are taken without price, and may be swept away by the cannon of
his own country. "When they doubted they took the trick" — -words which all
Americans should grave upon their hearts. We may safely appeal to any generous
Englishman and F renchman, and ask what would be their sensations if told, yes,
we do seise your citizens, we will seize them ; when we doubt, we take the trick. Let each
answer for himself, and that answer will disclose the feelings of the Americans ; for
this trick it is a man, an American citizen. By and by, after law shall have worked
its way far enough, the trick may become a French citizen, and what sort of a struggle
will come when that step is taken ?
But should the United States yield to this claim, what security is there for them,
or for nations like them, interested in the freedom of the seas, that it would not be
followed by another and another pretension, till the British flag rode triumphantly
over the waters of the earth ? How far is to be pushed this crusade of benevolence,
which would involve east and west in one common calamity, in order to attain, in
its own way, an object which must come, and that speedily? There are significant
signs abroad that this is but the commencement of a system, destined to a wide
extension. Already the project has been publicly discussed in England, of putting
a stop to slavery by putting a stop to the sale of its products. It has been sup
ported in the journals, and advocated, we believe, in Parliament. The scheme has
not yet ripened into a plan. But benevolence is sometimes shrewd, as well as active,
and the proposition, so far, is merely to interdict the sale of these products in Eng
land; yet who can tell how soon the question may enter, in an improved form, into
the maritime code of nations ? It would be but another step, and though it might
be accompanied by another struggle, leading to universal war, what cares the phi
lanthropist for this ? Law would work its own way. Slavery is wrong as well as the
slave trade. We can not enter upon the territory of another nation, to suppress it.
But we will seize its products upon the ocean ; they shall become contraband of
peace ; no cotton, rice, coffee, sugar nor tobacco, not the product of free labor,
shall be lawful freight. And thus the object being just, the meansmust be just also.
But here we drop the discussion, leaving every reflecting man to draw his own
conclusions. Most sincerely do we hope that Lord Ashburton carries out, to the
American government, some modified proposition it can accept. But we freely
confess, looking to the pretensions of both parties, and knowing the feelings of our
countrymen, that we do not see upon what middle ground they can meet. Our
fears are stronger than our hopes ; and sad will be the day when two such nations
go to war. Even if England were clearly right, as in our opinion she is clearly
wrong, she might forbear much, without any imputation upon her honor. She has
won her way to distinction by a thousand feats in arms, and, what is her better title
to renown, by countless feats in peace : triumphs of genius, of skill, of industry,
and of enterprise, which have gained her a name that the proudest may envy, and
that few can hope to equal. She has given birth to an empire in the west ; an
empire whose extent and duration it passes human sagacity even to conjecture.
There are planted her laws, her language, her manners, her institutions. A thouSr-
and ties of interest unite these kindred people. Let England cherish this as her
most glorious work ; but let her recollect, too, that a spirit equal to her own ani
mates the republic, and, though she may be crushed, she will not be dishonored.

428 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTEE XXVII.
General Cass Protests to the French Government — Notifies the Secretary of State — Treaty not Ratified
—His Course Approved by the President— The Protest to the French Government.
On the fourteenth of February, 1842, General Cass left at the
office of Foreign Affairs, his protest against the proposed treaty.
It was warmly approved by his countrymen, and the national
administration at Washington, although differing in political
views, acknowledged the eminent services rendered by him. It
is American in tone and sentiment, and worthy of its author.
Having taken his stand before the people of France, he could do
no less than place among the archives of the. legation and of the
French government, his disclaimer of the right of Europe to
make the proposed combination, and his remonstrance thereto.
Although he did not yet know the views of his government, he
felt that his duty lay in this direction, and he took the responsi
bility entirely to himself. It is too intimately connected with the
appeal, to be separated from it in a history of his life. The two
go together, and should be kept together, to appreciate truly his
position and feelings on this occasion.
On the fifteenth of February he officially advised the Secretary
of State of his proceedings, and enclosed copies ofthe appeal and
the protest, and in this communication he fully reports the pro
gress of this affair. He reminded the Secretary of State that he
was in the midst of stirring circumstances, and could form a safe
judgment of the dangers which menaced the American govern
ment, and pressed upon the notice of the Department the necessity
of instant and extensive arrangements for offensive and defensive
war ; all other questions, personal, local, or political, should give
way before this paramount duty; and that, for aught he knew, a
hostile squadron might carry to the United States the first news
of war. He admitted that, perhaps, his appeal to the French
nation might not be regarded as a very diplomatic dispatch. "It
is not so, certainly, so far as diplomacy consists in mystery, either

OF LEWIS CASS. 429
of thought or expression," said the General. " I have felt strongly,
and I have attempted to speak plainly. I do not belong to the
school of that well known French statesman who said, 'that, lan
guage was given to conceal thoughts.' I must claim your indul
gence for my candor, in consideration of my motives. I see the
difficult position of my country, and most anxious am I that it
Bhould be seen and appreciated at home. That done, I have no
fear for the result."
On the thirtieth of April he apprised the Department that the
quintuple treaty, purporting to be for the suppression of the slave
trade, had not been ratified by France, and, from all indications,
he thought it would not be, and at the same time intimating that
he had not then heard from his own government on this subject.
On the seventeenth of May, he acknowledged the receipt of Mr.
Webster's dispatch, containing the gratifying information that his
conduct was approved; and on the twenty-sixth of May, he advised
the Department that the treaty had been discussed in the Cham
ber of Peers and in the Chamber of Deputies, and the sentiments
expressed were unanimously against the measure, and that the
exciting subject was at rest. " Legation of the United States, "1
" Paris, February 13th, 1842. /
"\Sie : The recent signature of a treaty, having for its object the
suppression of the African slave trade, by live of the powers of
Europe, and to which France is a party, is a fact of such general
notoriety, that it may be assumed as the basis of any diplomatic
representations which the subject may fairly require.
" The United States, being no party to this treaty, have no right
to inquire into the circumstances which have led to it, nor into
the measures it. proposes to adopt, except so far as they have
reason to believe that their rights may be involved in the coupse
of its execution. Their own desire to put a stop to this traffic is
everywhere known, as well as the early and continued efforts they
have adopted to prevent their citizens from prosecuting it. They
have been invited by the government of Great Britain to become
a party to the treaty, which should regulate the action of the com
bined governments upon the subject. But, for reasons satisfactory
to themselves, and I believe satisfactory to the world, they have
declined this united action, and have chosen to pursue their own

430 LIFE AND TIMES
measures, and to act upon their own citizens only, without subject
ing these to any kind of foreign jurisdiction.
" In a communication from Lord Palmerston. her Britannic
Majesty's principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to Mr.
Stevenson, the American Minister at London, dated twenty-sev
enth August, 1841, Lord Palmerston claims a right for the British
cruisers, and avows the intention of his government to exercise it,
to search American vessels at sea in time of peace, with a view to
ascertain their national character. He adds, that ' this examina
tion of papers of merchantmen suspected of being engaged in the
slave trade, even though they hoist the United States flag, is a
proceeding which is absolutely necessary that British cruisers,
employed in the suppression of the slave trade, should continue
to practice,' &c, &c.
" In a communication from the successor of Lord Aberdeen, to
Mr. Stevenson, dated October 13th, 1841, the views and determi
nation announced in the first are confirmed ; and Lord Aberdeen
thus states the ground upon which rests this pretension to search
American vessels in time of peace : ' But the undersigned must
observe that the present happy concurrence of the states of Christ
endom in this great object, (the suppression of the slave trade,)
not merely justifies, but renders indispensable, the right now
claimed and exercised by the British government.' That is to
say, the right of entering and examining American vessels, to
ascertain their nationality.
" It is, no part of my duty to offer any comments upon this pre
tension, nor upon the reasons advanced in support of it. And if
it were, I should find the duty far better performed for me than I
could perform it for myself, in the annual message of the Presi
dent of the United States to Congress, of December 7th, 1841. In
that document will be found the views of the American govern
ment upon this subject, and it is there emphatically declared, that
' however desirous the United States may be for the suppression
of the slave trade, they can not consent to interpolations into the
maritime code at the mere will and pleasure of other governments.
We deny the right of any such interpolation to any one or all the
nations of the earth, without our consent. We claim to have a
voice in all amendments or alterations of that code, and when we
are given to understand, as in this instance, by a foreign govern
ment, that its treaties with other nations can not be executed

OF LEWIS CASS. 431
without the establishment and enforcement of new principles of
maritime police, to be applied without our consent, we must em
ploy language neither of equivocal import nor susceptible of
misconstruction.' " Tou will perceive, sir, by these extracts, that the British gov
ernment has advancedva' pretension which it asserts to be indis
pensable to the execution of its treaties for the suppression of the
slave tradej and to which the President of the United States has
declared that the American government will not submit. This
claim of search, it will be observed, arising, as is asserted, out of
existing obligations, has relation to the isolated treaties for the
abolition of this traffic which were in force at the date of the
communications of Lord Palmerston and of Lord Aberdeen. It
is now known, that the combined treaty upon this subject is more
extensive in its operations, and more minute in some of the details
of its execution, than the separate treaties with France, which
preceded it, and equally indefinite in the duration of its obliga
tions. Of course, measures were not only 'justifiable, but indis
pensable,' for the execution of the latter will find equal justice and
necessity in the obligations of the former.
" With this previous declaration made by one of the parties to
this quintuple treaty, concerning its operations, the American
government can not shut their eyes to their true position. The
moral effect which such a union of five great powers, two of which
are eminently maritime, but three of which have perhaps never
had a vessel engaged in that traffic, is calculated to produce upon
the United States and upon other nations, who, like them, may
be indisposed to these combined movements, though it may be
regretted, yet furnishes no cause of complaint. But the subject
assumes another aspect, when they are told, by one ofthe parties,
that their vessels are to be forcibly entered and examined, in order
to carry into effect these stipulations. Certainly the American
government does not believe that the high powers, contracting
parties to the treaty, have any wish to compel the United States,
by force, to adapt their measures to its provisions, or to adopt its
stipulations. They have too much confidence in their sense of
justice to fear any such result, and they will see with pleasure'
the prompt disavowal made by yourself, sir, in the name of your
country, at the tribune of the Chamber of Deputies, of any inten
tions of this nature. But were it otherwise, and were it possible

432 LIFE AND TIMES
they might be deceived in this confident expectation, that would
not alter in one tittle their course of action. Their duty would
be the same, and the same would be their determination to fulfill
it. They would prepare themselves with apprehension, indeed,
but without dismay ; with regret, but with firmness ; for one of
those desperate struggles which have sometimes occurred in the
history of the world, but where a just cause and the favor of Prov
idence have given strength to comparative weakness, and enabled
it to break down the pride of power.
" But I have already said that the United States do not fear
that any such united attempt will be made upon their independ
ence. What, however, they may reasonably fear, and what they
do fear, is, that in the execution of this treaty, measures will be
taken which they must resist. How far the act of one of the par
ties putting its construction upon its own duties, and upon the
obligations of its co-contractors, may involve these in any unlooked-
for consequences, either by the adoption of similar measures, or
by their rejection, I do not presume to judge. Certain it is, how
ever, that if the fact, and the principle advanced by Lord Aber
deen, are correct, that these treaties for the abolition of the slave
trade can not be executed without forcibly boarding American
ships at sea in time of peace, and that the obligations created by
them confer not only the right thus to violate the American flag,
but make this measure a duty, then it is also the duty of France to
pursue the same course. Should she put this construction upon
her obligations, it is obvious the United States must do to her as
they will do to England, if she persist in this attack upon their
independence. Should she not, it does not become me to inves
tigate the nature of her position with respect to one of her asso
ciates, whose opinion respecting their relative duties would be so
widely different from her own. But I may express the hope that
the government of his Majesty, before ratifying this treaty, will
examine maturely the pretensions asserted by one of the parties,
and see how these can be reconciled, not only with the honor and
interest of the United States, but with the received principles of
the great. maritime code of nations. I may make this appeal with
the more confidence, from the relations subsisting between France
and the United States, from a community of interest in the liberty
of the seas, from a community of opinion respecting the principles

OF LEWIS CASS. 433
which guard it, and from a community in danger, should it ever
be menaced by the ambition of any maritime power.
"It appears to me,. sir, that, in asking the attention of his Maj
esty's government to the subject of the quintuple treaty, with a
view to its reconsideration, I am requesting nothing, on the part
of the United States, inconsistent with the duties of France to
other powers. If, during the course of the discussion upon this
treaty, preparatory to the arrangement of its provisions, England
had asserted to the other parties the pretension she now asserts to
the United States, as a necessary consequence of its obligations, I
can not be wrong in presuming that France would not have signed
it without guarding against this impending difficulty. The views
of- England are now disclosed to you, but, fortunately, before its
ratification. And this change of circumstance may well justify
the French government in interposing such a remedy as it may
think is demanded by the grave interest involved in this question.
" As to the treaties of 1831 and 1833, between France and Great
Britain, for the suppression of the slave trade, I do not consider it
my duty to advert to their stipulations. Their obligations upon
the contracting parties, whatever these may be, are now complete ;
and it is for my government alone to determine what measures
the United States ought to take to avert the consequences with
which they are now threatened, by the construction which one of
the parties has given to these instruments.
"I have the honor to transmit, herewith, a copy ofthe message
of the President of the United States to Congress, in December
last, and of the annual documents which accompanied it. Among
the latter will be found the correspondence between the British
Secretaries of State and Mr. Stevenson, upon the subject herein
referred to. From these you will learn the respective views of
the American and British governments.
"It is proper for me to add, that this communication has been
made without any instruction from the United States. I have
considered this case as one in which an American representative
to a foreign power should act, without awaiting the orders of his
government. I have presumed, in the views I have submitted to
you, that I express the feelings of the American government and
people. If, in this, I have deceived myself, the responsibility will
be mine. As soon as I can receive dispatches from the United
28

434 LIFE AND TIMES
States, in answer to my communications, I shall be. enabled to
declare to you either that my conduct has been approved by the
President, or that my mission is terminated.
" I avail myself, &c, "Lewis Cass.
" His Excellency M. Guizot,
" Minister of Foreign Affairs."

'»*

OF LEWIS CASS. 435

CHAPTER XXYIH.
t
Disappointment of England— The Washington Treaty— General Cass resigns his Mission— The Corres
pondence — England's Construction of the Treaty.
The British government,, having failed to secure. the approval
of its scheme by the Chamber of Deputies, was anxious to retreat
with some appearance of honor ; and disdaining to appear before
the world as entirely unsuccessful in her project, coupled with the
wish to impress the other great powers with her sincerity and
laudable motives in suggesting the quintuple treaty, sought an
opportunity to open a negotiation relative to the slave trade with
the United States. With this view, Lord Ashburton was sent as
a special ambassador to Washington, clad with authority to adjust
¦and definitely settle all matters of difference between the two
countries. The negotiation was opened between his lordship and Mr. Web
ster, the Secretary of State, and a treaty concluded. Mr. Webster,
in communicating this treaty to General Cass, in France, called
his attention particularly to the clauses relating to the suppression
of the African slave trade. The provisions of the treaty, in rela
tion to this branch of the negotiation, did not meet with the views
of General Cass. He considered the omission to procure a renun
ciation of the offensive claim of England to the right of search,
while engaged on this very subject, placed him in a false position,
and rendered his situation, as Minister to France, unpleasant.
With powers of mind which grasp, as it were, by intuition, every
subject to which they are applied, united to various and extensive
acquirements, he had exposed the mischief that lurked in the
quintuple treaty ; he had shown that the whole eastern coast of
America, south of the thirty-second degree of north latitude, came
within its gigantic sweep. No vessel of the contracting parties
could ever have been approaching New Tork, Boston, Philadel
phia, or Charleston, with a cargo from any part of the world, south
of Savannah, without risk of being searched for slaves by British
cruisers, the voyage stopped, and the vessel ordered to some British

436 LIFE AND TIMES
Court of Admiralty for adjudication. Almost beyond credibility,
yet the words of the treaty prove it. The space for British search
comprehended more than seventy degrees of latitude. Nay ; it
might have been exercised upon all the vessels going to or from
New Orleans, in the waters of the Gnlf of Mexico. What a blow
to commercial pursuits was happily warded off by the bold and
unprecedented movement of General Cass ! He, by the stroke of
his pen, as it were, foreclosed British supremacy on the high seas,
and barred the door against her fanaticism there, that she might
do her work more thoroughly and quickly on the land. He thus
exposed himself to the wildest anti-slavery fanaticism of England,
in the enlightened and fearless vindication of the rights of his
country, and was showered with calumnies by the tory press of
Britain and defamatory peers in Parliament. Lord Brougham
was mad with rage at the defeat of this portentous treaty by the
talents, sagacity, and patriotism of General Cass. He thundered
from the tory benches, and exhausted the vocabularies of Johnson
and Walker. And notwithstanding the American Minister had
thus successfully performed his duty as an American Minister
' should have done, and that, too, without feeling, at the time, tbat
any very especial credit was due to his patriotism, and was thus
exposed to the growl and roar of the British lion, still, it turned
out, in the sequel, that he was not to escape indignity and injustice
from his own government, in the person of Daniel Webster, the
Secretary of State. The proof is on record, or we might want
faith in such a charge. It is contained in the correspondence
between Mr. Webster and himself, transpiring after his return
from France ; but never was retribution sooner brought about, as
far as the parties were concerned, and his own victory over Mr.
Webster was complete. No two judgments can differ about this.
The necessity that created this correspondence was the more pain
ful to General Cass, because they were classmates in youth at
Exeter, and always retaining for each other sentiments of respect
and friendship ; indeed, each wishing for the other a prosperous
voyage through life. Tears afterwards, in personal intercourse^
General Cass, from 6ome remarks made by Mr. Webster, was led
to doubt whether the latter did not, in all this matter, act from the
promptings of others. Suffice it to say, that cordial intimacy be
tween them was re-established, and continued unbroken to the
day of Mr. W.'s death ; and the eulogy pronounced by' General

OF LEWIS CASS. 437
Cass in the Senate, upon the death of Mr. Webster, evidences the
warm personal sentiments he entertained towards him. The flame
that illumined the matchless intellect of the one, is already extin
guished in the silence of death ; and that of the other, in the
ordinary course of nature, must, ere long, partake of the same
destiny. And were it not necessary to a just appreciation of Gen
eral Cass' position and subsequent action relative to the Ashburton
treaty, so called, the following letters would be omitted. As it is,
we reproduce them. There would be a hiatus without them.
[Mr. Cass to Mr. Webster.]
"Leoation of the United States, 1
"Pams, October 3d, 1842. ' J
" Sir: — The last packet brought me your letter of August 29th,
announcing the conclusion of a treaty with Great Britain, and
accompanied by a copy of it, and of the correspondence between
the ministers charged with the negotiations, and directing me to
make known to Mr. Guizot the sentiments of the American gov
ernment upon that part of the treaty which provides for the co-
operation of the United States in the efforts making to suppress
the African slave trade. I thought I should best fulfill your
intentions by communicating a copy, in extenso, of your letter.
This I accordingly did yesterday. I trust I shall be able, before
my departure, to transmit to you the acknowledgment of its receipt
by Mr. Guizot.
" In executing this duty, I felt too well what was due to my
government and country to intimate any regret to a foreign power
that some declaration had not preceded the treaty, or some stipu
lation accompanied it, by which the extraordinary pretension of
Great Britain, to search our ships at all times and in all places,
first put forth to the world by Lord Palmerston the 27th of August,
1841, and on the 13th October following again peremptorily
claimed as a right by Lord Aberdeen, would have been abrogated
as equally incompatible with the laws of nations, and with the
independence of the United States. I confined myself, therefore,
to a simple communication of your letter.
"But'this reserve ceases when I address my own government,
and connected as I feel my official conduct and reputation with
this question of the right of search. I am sure I shall find an
excuse for what might otherwise be considered presumption, if, as
one of the last acts of my official career, I submit to you, and

438 LIFE AND TIMES'
through you to the President, the peculiar circumstances in which
I am placed by the conclusion of this treaty, and by the commu
nication of your letter to Mr. Guizot.
" Before proceeding further, permit me to remark that no one
rejoices more sincerely than I do at the termination of our diffi
culties with Great Britain, so far as they are terminated^ That
country and ours have so many moral and material interests
involved in their intercourse, that their respective governments
and inhabitants may well feel more than ordinary solicitude for
the preservation of peace between these two great nations. Our
past history, however, will be unprofitable, if it do not teach us
that unjust pretensions, affecting our rights and honor, are best
met by being promptly repelled when first urged, and by being
received in a spirit of resistance, worthy the character of our
people, and of the great trust confided to us as the depositories
of the freest system of government which the world has yet
witnessed. <
" I had the honor, in my letter of the 17th ultimo, to solicit
permission to return to the United States. That letter was written
the day a copy of the treaty reached Paris ; and the remark whieli
I then made to you, that ' I could no longer be useful here,' has
been confirmed by subsequent reflection, and by the receipt of
your letter, and of the correspondence accompanying it. I feel
that I could no longer remain here honorably for myself, or
advantageously for our country. ,
" In my letter to you, of the 15th February last, transmitting a
copy of my protest against the ratification of the quintuple treaty
for the suppression of the African slave trade, I took the liberty
of suggesting the propriety of demanding from Lord Ashburton,
previously to entering into any negotiation, a distinct renunciation
of this claim to search our vessels. I thought then, as I do now,
that this course was demanded by a just self-respect, and would
be supported by that tribunal of public opinion which sustains
our government when right, and corrects it when wrong. The
pretension itself was one of the most flagrant outrages which
could be aimed at an independent nation ; and the mode of its
enunciation was as coolly contemptuous as diplomatic ingenuity
could suggest. We were told that to the doctrine that American
vessels were free from the search of foreign cruisers in time of
peace, ' the British government never could or would subscribe ; '

OF LEWIS CASS. / 439
and we were told, too^ there was reason to expect that the United
States would themselves become converts to the same opinion ;
and this expectation was founded on the hope that ' they would
cease to confound two things which are in their nature entirely
different, and would look to things and not to words.' And the
very concluding paragraph of the British correspondence tells
us, in effect, that, take whatever course we may please,- England
will adhere to this pretension to board our vessels when and where
her cruisers may find them. A portion of this paragraph is
equally, significant and unceremonious. ' It is for the American
government,' says Lord Aberdeen, ' alone to determine what may
be due to a just- regard for their national dignity and national
independence.' I doubt if, in the wide range of modern diplomacy,
a more obnoxious claim has been urged in a more obnoxious,
manner. "This claim, thus asserted and supported, was promptly met
and firmly repelled. by the President, in his message at the com
mencement of the last session of Congress ; and in your letter to
me, approving the course I had adopted in relation to the ques
tion of the ratification by France of the quintuple treaty, you
consider the principles of that message as the established policy
of the government. Under these circumstances of the assertion
and denial of this new claim of maritime police, the eyes of
Europe were upon these two great naval powers, one of which had
advanced a pretension, and avowed her determination to enforce
it, which might at any moment bring them> into collision. So far
our national dignity was uncompromised.
' " But . England then urged the United States to enter into a
conventional arrangement by which we might be pledged to concur
with her in measures for the suppression of the slave trade. Till
then we had executed our own laws in our own way. But yield
ing to this application, and departing from our former principle of
avoiding European combinations upon subjects not American, we
stipulated, in a solemn treaty, that we would carry into effect our
own laws, and fixed the minimum force we would employ for that
purpose. Certainly, a laudable desire to terminate this horrible
man-stealing and man-selling, may well justify us in going further
in changing one of the fundamental principles of our policy, in
order to effect this object, than we wo'uld go to effect any other.
It is so much more a question of feeling than of reasoning, that

440 LIFE AND TIMES
we can hardly be wrong in yielding to that impulse which leads
us to desire to unite our efforts with those of other, nations for the
protection of the most sacred human rights. But while making
so important a concession to the renewed application of England,
it seems to me we might well have said to her, before we treat
upon this matter, there is a preliminary question connected with
it which must be settled. We will do no act which may by any
possibility appear to be a recognition of your claim to search our
vessels. That claim has arisen out of this very subject, or, at any
rate, this subject has been the pretext for its assertion; and if we
now negotiate upon it, and our concurrence is yielded^ you must
relinquish as solemnly as you have announced this most offensive
pretension. If this is not done by now making a conventional
arrangement with you, and leaving you free to take your own
course, we shall, in effect, abandon the ground we have assumed,
and with it our rights and honor.
- " In carefully looking at the seventh and eighth articles of the
treaty for our co-operation in the measures for the suppression of
this traffic, I do not see:that they can change, in the slightest de
gree, the pre-existing right claimed by Great Britain to arrest and
search our vessels. That claim, as advanced both by Lord Pal
merston and Lord Aberdeen, rested - on the assumption that the
treaties between England and other European powers upon this
subject could not be executed without its exercise, and that the
happy concurrence of these powers not only justified this exercise,
but rendered it indispensable. By the recent treaty we are to keep
a squadron upon the coast of Africa. We have kept one there for
years — during the whole time, indeed, of these efforts to put a stop
to this most iniquitous commerce. The effect of this treaty is,
therefore, to render it obligatory upon us, by a convention, to do
what we have long done voluntarily — to place our municipal laws,
in some measure, beyond the reach of Congress, and to increase
the strength of the squadron employed on this duty. But if .a
British cruiser meet a vessel bearing the American flag, where
there is no American ship-of-war to examine her, it is obvious that
it is quite as indispensable and justifiable, that the cruiser' should
search this vessel to ascertain her nationality, since the conclusion
of the treaty, as it was before. The mutual rights of the parties
are in this respect wholly untouched, their pretensions exist in full
force ; and what they could do prior to this arrangement they

OF LEWIS CASS. 441
may now do ; for though they have respectively sanctioned the
employment of a force to give effect ' to the laws, rights and
obligations of the two countries,' yet they have not prohibited
the use of any other measure which either party may be disposed
to adopt.
" It is unnecessary to push these considerations further ; and in
carrying them thus far, I have found the task an unpleasant one.
Nothing but justice to myself could have induced me to do it. I
could not clearly explain my position here without this recapitu^
lation. My protest of the 13th February distinctly asserted that
the United States would resist the pretensions of England to search
our vessels. I avowed^ at the same time, that this was but my
personal declaration, liable to be confirmed or disavowed by my
government. I now find a treaty has been concluded with Great
Britain and the United States, which provides for the co-opera tion
of the latter in efforts to abolish the slave trade, but which con
tains no renunciation by the former of the extraordinary preten
sion, resulting, as she said, from the exigencies of these very
efforts ; and which pretension I felt it my duty to denounce to the
French government. In all this I presume to offer no further
judgment than as I am personally affected by the course of the pro
ceedings ; and I feel they have placed me in a false position,
whence I can escape but by returning home with the least possi
ble delay. I trust, therefore, that the President will have felt no
hesitation in granting me the permission which I asked for.
"I am, &c, "Lewis Cass.
"Daniel Webster,
" Secretary of State, Washington."
General Cass,, upon the receipt of the first intelligence ot
the ratification of the treaty made at Washington with Great
Britain, resigned his mission, and in a dispatch under date
of September 17th, 1842, requested the President's permission to
return home, and apprised' the Secretary of State that his inten
tion was to be ready to embark for the United States on' the
nineteenth of November following. The President, acknowledging
the loss to this country, by the withdrawal of General Cass from
the French court, reluctantly gave his consent.
Mr. Webster, under date of November 14th, replied to the
above letter of General Cass, but the same did not reach him at

442 LIFE AND TIMES
Paris. Upon reaching New Tork, a duplicate was delivered to
him, and from the latter city he immediately addressed to Mr.
Webster the following rejoinder.
[Mr. Cass to Mr. Webster.] New Yoek, December 11th, 1842>.
" Sir. — Upon my arrival here yesterday, the duplicate of your
letter of November 14th was delivered to me. I embrace the first
moment in my power to acknowledge its receipt.
" I am too well aware of what is due from me to the government
to renew, or unnecessarily to prolong, the discussion of the sub
ject contained in my letter of October 3d. In submitting to you
the views I entertained, I fulfilled a duty which, in my opinion^
circumstances imposed upon me. But I should coneider myself
obnoxious to the censure of improper interference, with which" you
have not sparingly reproached me, but from which I trust I shall
satisfy you I am free, did I seek to make my correspondence with
the department the vehicle for obtruding my sentiments upon the
government. Still, I am anxious not to be misunderstood, and
more especially since you give me to understand that the commu
nications which have passed between us upon this subject are to
be published, and thus submitted to the great tribunal of public
opinion, which will be called upon to decide respecting the course
I have deemed it necessary to adopt, as well as the manner in
which I have fulfilled this task. And as you have in several in
stances misapprehended my views, and adopting your reasoning
to your constructions rather than to my sentiments, and as I have
full confidence in your desire to do me justice, I must beg leave
briefly to lay before you such considerations connected with my
letter, p.nd your comments upon it, as are essential to a correct
judgment between us. And first, with respect to the procedure
on my part.
" Tou object to my whole course of action in this matter,
because it appears to you to be intended as a sort of protest
or remonstrance against a transaction of the government, &c.
" I have been very unhappy in the mode in which I have
expressed myself, if I am, justly liable to this charge. My letter
is not a protest or a remonstrance. It is a simple answer to a
dispatch which I had the honor to receive from you., In your
letter of August 29th, you communicated to me the views of the

OF LEWIS CASS. 443
President in relation to the treaty then recently concluded with
England, and you also authorized me to make known these views
to the French government. This I did, both in conversation and
in writing. Here was a dispatch requiring my action, and which
received it in good faith. But I did not coincide with you in
opinion, respecting an important bearing of the treaty. I thought
it left us in a worse position than it found us ; and so thinking, I
deemed it my right and felt it my duty to lay before you the im
pression which the whole matter had left upon my mind. I did
so, and the result is before you. Under these circumstances was
I guilty of indiscretion or.of an impertinent interference still more
offensive, which it seems to me from the tone of your letter is the
construction you put upon my action?
" This question will, perhaps, be but answered by another. Is it
a duty of a diplomatic agent to receive all the communications of
his government, and to carry into effect their instructions sub
silentio, whatever maybe his own sentiments in relation to them?
Or, is he not bound as a faithful representative to communicate
freely, but respectfully, his own views, that these may be consid
ered and receive their due weight in that particular case, or in
other circumstances involving similar considerations ? It seems
to me that the bare enunciation of this principle is all that
is necessary for my justification. I am speaking now of the pro*
priety of my action, not ofthe manner in which it was performed.
I may have executed the task well or ill ; I may have introduced
topics unadvisedly, and urged them indiscreetly. All this I leave
without remark. I am only endeavoring here to free myself from
the serious charge which you bring against me. , If I have mis
apprehended the duties of an American diplomatic agent upon
this subject, I, am well satisfied to have withdrawn, by a timely
Designation, from a position in which my own self-respect would
not permit me to remain. And I may express the conviction that
there is no government, — certainly none this side of Constanti
nople — which would not encourage, rather than rebuke, the free
expression ofthe views of their representatives in foreign countries.
But, independently of this general objection to all action on my
part, you present another, perhaps still more formidable, but
which is applicable only to the circumstances of this case. With
out repeating in full the view you urge upon this part of the
subject, I shall condense the objection into the proposition that

444 LIFE AND TIMES
the expression of my sentiments to the government upon this
occasion might induce England hereafter ' to rely upon my
authority for a construction favorable to her own pretensions, and
inconsistent with the interest and honor of the United States.'
" In the first place, I would remark that I have written for my
own government, and not for that of England. The publication
of my letter which is to produce this result, is to be the act of the
government, and not my act. But if the President should think
that the slightest injury to the public interest would ensue from
the disclosure of my views, the letter may be buried in the arch
ives of the department, and thus forgotten and rendered harmless.
" But even were immediate publicity to be given to it, I know
my own insignificance too well to believe it would produce the
slightest influence upon the pretensions or the course of England.
The English public, and especially the English statesmen, are too
sagacious to need the suggestions of any foreigner, and too per
tinacious in the assertion of their claims to seek his authority for
their support. When England, in her progress to that supremacy
upon the ocean which has been the steady object of her ambition
for centuries, and will continue to be so, abandons a single preten
sion after she has advanced it, then there may be reason to believe
she has adopted a system of moderation, which may be strength
ened or weakened, as the opinion of others is favorable or unfa
vorable to her. There is no evidence that that time is near. But
were it otherwise, does it follow that in all discussions between
nations it is the duty of every man to believe his own government
has attained every object which the interest or honor of the coun
try requires, or not believing it, to remain silent, and to refrain
from all representations, either to the government itself or to the
public, with a view to the ultimate correction of the error, and to
the relief of his country from a false position? I must confess I
do not carry my patriotic devotion thus far. I agree that when
nations have appealed from argument to force, and when a war is
raging, it is the duty of every citizen to put all other considera
tions behind him, and avoiding profitless and party discussions
upon the past, to join with head, heart and hand to repel the com
mon foe. At such a time I would not speak words of censure
even to my countrymen, lest I should be overheard by the enemy.
And that this is not with me a barren doctrine, I trust I have
given sufficient evidence in perilous times. But I was not prepared

OF LEWIS CASS. 445
for that excess of patriotic zeal (pardon me the expression,
for such it appears to me,) which would carry this reserve into all
the actions of the government, as well in peace as in war. I
believe that in our recent treaty with England, sufficient precau
tion was not taken to guard against her claim to search our ships.
This belief I entertain in common with many other citizens, in
office and out of office ; and I, as well as they,1 have expressed it.
It has been declared in the Senate, in the public journals in every
district of our country ; and I can not feel that this avowal of
our sentiments, in whatever form it is made, whether official or
unofficial, justly subjects us. to the charge of taking a course
which may hereafter enable other governments to ' set up new
pretensions.' " Permit me now to advert to the serious charge you have
made against me, of venturing upon a statement which is a tissue
of mistakes. This statement you quote, and it is that part of my
letter in which, after showing that, to- a certain point of time, our
national honor had been preserved inviolate, I proceed to show
that the subsequent course of events had not been equally fortun
ate. I remark that England never urged the United States to
enter into a conventional arrangement, by which the joint action
ofthe two countries in the suppression of the slave trade might
be secured. Tou pronounce this statement a mistake, and assert
that the proposition came from our government.
"That the particular mode in which the government should act
in concert, as finally arranged in the treaty, was suggested by
yourself, I never doubted, and if this is the construction I am to
give to your denial of my correctness, there is no difficulty upon
the subject. The question between us is untouched. All I said
was, that England continued to prosecute the matter ; that she
presented it for negotiation, and that we therefore consented to its
introduction ; and if Lord Ashburton did not come out with
instructions from his government to endeavor to effect some
arrangement upon this subject, the world has strangely misunder
stood one of the great objects of his mission, and I have misunder
stood that paragraph in your first note, where you say that Lord
Ashburton comes with full powers to negotiate and settle all
matters in discussion between England and the United States. But
the very fact of his coming here, and of his acceding to any stipu
lations respecting the slave trade, is conclusive proof that his

446 LIFE AND TIMES
government were desirous to obtain the co-operation of the United
States. I had supposed that our government would scarcely take
the initiative in this matter, and urge it upon that of Great Brit
ain, either in Washington or London. If it did so, I can only
express my regret, and confess that I have been led inadvert
ently into an error.
" Tou then proceed to remark, in continuation of this tissue of
mistakes, that in entering into this arrangement, the United States
did not depart from the principle of avoiding European combina
tions upon a subject not American, because the abolition of the
slave trade is equally an American and European subject. This
may be so. I may be wrong in the application of the principle,
but such an erroneous conclusion scarcely justifies the epithet of
an adventurous statement, one of a tissue of mistakes. But, apart
from this, I still think that combinations of this kind are among
the ' entangling alliances ' against which the great statesman,
whose exposition of our Constitution will go down to posterity
with the instrument itself, warned his countrymen ; and the per
petually recurring difficulties which are presenting themselves in
the execution of conventions between France and England upon
this subject, should be a caution to nations against the introduc
tion of new maritime principles, whose operations and results it is
difficult to foresee.
" But is the suppression of the African slave trade one of those
American objects in the attainment of which we ought to seek the
co-operation of other nations, and regulate our own duties and
theirs by treaty stipulations ? I do not think so. In the first
place, the principle would necessarily lead us to form alliance with
every maritime nation. It is not England alone whose flag rides
over the seas. Other countries must co-operate, if any co-opera
tion is necessary ; and if we have made propositions to England
to join us in this effort, I do not see why we stop there, and de
prive ourselves of the aid which the action of other nations would
afford. I doubt if the people of this country are prepared for
such extensive combinations.
" But again, while fully agreeing with you in all the odium you
cast upon that infamous traffic, it appears to me that any object
interesting to humanity, and in which nations may with propriety
engage, has the same claim, if not in degree, at least in principle,
upon our interference, and calls upon us for a union with other

OF LEWIS CASS.

447

nations to effect it. It may be easily seen, not where such a doe-
trine would conduct us — that escapes human sagacity — but to
wards what ruinous consequences it leads.
" Tou conclude this branch of the subject, by informing me
that you are directed by the President to bring to my ' serious con
sideration and reflection, the propriety of such an assumed narra
tion of facts, as your dispatch in this respect puts forth.' I shall
not say one word to give the President any cause of offense, and,
if I felt that I was justly obnoxious to this censure, I should sub
mit to the rebuke in silence. He would have a right to make it,
and it would be my duty to acquiesce ; but I have that confidence
in his innate love of justice, that he will receive my explana
tions, and judge me by my words, and not by unauthorized con
structions. " Now, in all that I have said in the paragraph to which you
allude, and which you have so strongly qualified, you have pointed
out but one fact as erroneous, and that is the assertion that the
introduction of the subject of the slave trade into the treaty, was
due to the application of England ; and whether even this was an
error, depends upon the construction to be given to your expla
nation. All else — I repeat it — all else, to the very least idea, is
matter of inference ; it is my deduction from the circumstances
of the case. I may be right or wrong, logically, in the conclusions
I have reached, but certainly I am not morally responsible for
their correctness, as I should be if I asserted merely naked facts.
It is, therefore, with not a little astonishment I have read and
re-read what I wrote, and the commentary you have been pleased
to make upon it. It is neither necessary nor proper that I should
renew the general subject of my letter,, and therefore I do not feel
it my duty to trouble you with any remarks respecting the views
you have- presented me, of the pretensions of the British govern
ment to search our ships ; but, when you proceed to array me
against myself, I must claim the right to vindicate my own con
sistency. You quote me, and quote correctly, as saying that up
to the delivery of the annual message of 1841, our national dig
nity was uncompromised. Tou then ask what has since occurred
to compromise this dignity ? and you add, emphatically, that I
shall myself be the> judge of this, because in a subsequent part of
my dispatch, I say the mutual rights of the parties are wholly
unchanged ; and you ask if they are unchanged, what ground

448 LIFE AND TIMES
there is on which to found a complaint against the treaty? I
think that a very brief retrospect will be the best answer I can
give to this question, and that it will redeem me from the implied
charge of inconsistency.
" I never said nor intimated in my.dispatch to you, nor in any
manner whatever, that our government had conceded to that of
England the right to search our ships. That idea, however, per
vades your letter, and is very apparent in that part of it which
brings to my observation the possible effect of my views upon the
English government; but in this you do me, though I am sure un
intentionally, great injustice. I repeatedly stated that the recent
treaty leaves the rights of the parties as it found them. My difficul
ty is not that we have made a positive concession, but that we have
acted unadvisedly in not making the abandonment of this preten
sion a previous condition to any conventional arrangement upon
the general subject. I had supposed till I read your letter, that
this view was too distinctly expressed in my dispatch to admit of
any misconstruction. I will condense into a small space what I
deem-it necessary to say in defense of my consistency.
" England claimed the right, in order, as she said, to carry into
effect certain treaties she had formed for the suppression of the
slave trade, to board and search our vessels upon the high seas
wherever she might find them. Our government, with energy and
promptness, repelled this pretension. Shortly after, a British am
bassador arrived in our country, having powers to treat upon this
matter of the slave trade. The negotiation terminated by an ar
rangement which secures the co-operation of the United States
in the efforts that England is making upon this subject ; but not
a word is said upon the serious claim that subjects to the naval
inquisition of a commercial rival our ships, which the enterprise;
of our merchants is sending to every part of the globe, and yet
this claim arises out of the very subject matter embraced in this
treaty. We negotiate with England for the suppression of the
slave trade, at the very moment her statesmen are telling us, in no
measured terms, that to suppress it she will violate our flag, and
that she will never give up this pretension.
" Now here, it appears to me, the government should have
stopped. The English negotiator should have been told, 'We
abhor as much as you do the traffic in human beings, and we will
do all that our peculiar institutions permit to put an end to it;

OF LEWIS CASS. 449
but we will not suffer this matter to be made a pretext for wound
ing our honor and violating our rights; we will not take a single
step till you renounce this claim; we have denounced it already;
and if we should negotiate upon the subject matter without settling
this preliminary question, it may seem like an abandonment of
the ground we have taken, or an indifference to the conse
quences.' " Had this course been pursued, the sincerity of the British
government would have undergone a practical test, from which
there would have been no escape. It would not have been neces
sary to quote the last dispatch of Lord Aberdeen, to show what
he meant in another, or Lord Palmerston in the first. If snch a pro
position had been made and accepted, our honor would have been
vindicated, our rights secured, and a bright example of sincerity
and moderation would have been given to the world by a great
nation. If. it had been rejected, that would have proved that our
co-operation in the suppression of the slave trade was a question
of minor importance, to be sacrificed to the preservation of a pre
tension intended to introduce an entire change in the maritime
police of the world.
" Why this very obvious course was not adopted, I am utterly
at a loss to conjecture; and that it was not, is precisely the objec
tion to which the whole arrangement is liable. Instead bf the
high ground we should then have occupied, we now find ourselves
seriously discussing the question whether or not England will en
force this claim. That she will do so when her interest requires it,
I have no more doubt than I have that she has already given us
abundant proof that the received code of public law is but a feeble
barrier when it stands in the way of power and ambition. Lord
Palmerston and Lord Aberdeen both tell us she will.
" Tou refer to that part of my letter in which I observe that the
effect of the new stipulation is to place our municipal laws, in
some measure, beyond the reach of Congress, and remark that
such is often the effect of commercial treaties. It is so, and we
can only expect to obtain commercial advantages by stipulations
for corresponding advantages, which, while they endure, are be
yond the reach of ordinary legislation. This is a matter of neces
sity. But this necessity does not exist in the punishment of
crimes. We are able to enforce our own laws; and I do not see
that the power to enforce those of England gives us any just
29

450 LIFE AND TIMES
compensation for permitting her to interfere in our criminal code,
whether the offense is committed upon the land or upon the water.
It seems to me a principle fraught with dangerous consequences,
and which a prudent government had better avoid.
" There is but one, other topic which I consider it necessary to
advert to, but that is an important one, and I pray your indul
gence while I briefly allude to it.
" Tou speak of the ratification of the treaty by the- President
and Senate, and add, that it does not appear to you that I had
any grounds of complaint because their opinion was at variance
with mine. I submit that this is making an issue for me which I
have not made for myself. In no part of my letter will be found
the slightest imputation upon the President or Senate, for the rat
ification of this treaty. I could not make such an imputation,
for the plain reason that I never censured the ratification. lam
under the impression that if I had had a vote to give, I should
have been found among the majority upon that occasion. This,
however, would have been upon the condition that some declara
tion should be annexed to the act of ratification, denouncing the
pretension to search our ships. I would then have sent the in
strument to the British government, and placed upon them the
responsibility of its final rejection or ratification; and I am sure
we should have had the opinion of the world with us under such
circumstances. "The rejection of a treaty duly negotiated, is a serious question,
to be avoided, whenever it can be without too great a sacrifice.
Though the national faith is not actually committed, still it is
more or less engaged ; and there were peculiar circumstances,
growing out of long-standing difficulties, which rendered an ami
cable arrangement of the various matters in dispute with England
a subject of great national interest. But the negotiation of a
treaty is a far different subject. Topics are omitted or introduced
at the discretion of the negotiators, and they are responsible, to
use the language of an eminent and able Senator, for ' what it
contains and what it omits.' This treaty, in my opinion, omits a
most important and necessary stipulation, and therefore, as it
seems to me, its negotiation in this particular was unfortunate for
the country.
" In conclusion, I beg you to tender the President my thanks
for the kind appreciation he made of my services in the letter of y

' OF LEWIS CASS. 451
recall, and to express to him my hope that, on a full consideration
of the circumstances, he will be satisfied that, if my course was
not one he can approve, it, at all events, was such as to relieve
me from the charge of an improper interference in a subject not
within the sphere of my duties.
" I must pray you, as an act of justice, to give the same pub
licity to this letter that you may give to my letter of October 3d,
and to your answer. "Yery respectfully, &c, "Lewis Cass.
" Hon. Daniel Webster, " Secretary of State."
The foregoing letters were made public by a call of the Senate
Upon the President for the correspondence relating to the quintu
ple treaty. When General Cass was at Washington, upon his
return to this country, which was after the receipt, by the Secre
tary of State, of his letter of December 11th, 1842, he supposed
that the controversy between himself and Mr. Webster was at an
end. He saw the Secretary of State on several occasions, and no
intimation to the contrary was made by that officer. In February
he left Washington, and returned to Detroit. On the seventh of
March following,, to his great surprise, he received a communica
tion from Mr. Webster, post-marked Washington, February 23d,
1843, but bearing date' December 20th, 1842, and., at which last
date, General Cass was at Washington. Having received no
answer while there, or intimation that there would be any to his
letter of December 11th, 1842, he considered, and so stated, that
the correspondence was terminated. But this last communication
of Mr. Webster opened it afresh, although evidently ante-dated
some two months. It is fair to infer that Mr. Webster, desiring
to have the last word, prepared and published, with the official
correspondence, a reply to General Cass' letter of December 11th,
and which was not seen by the General until the following March,
and to which, of course, he had no opportunity of replying, prior
to the authoritative call of the Senate for the correspondence. This,
certainly, was a singular proceeding, and, to use the mildest term,
very disingenuous. It compelled General Cass again to appear
before the public with the following rejoinder :

452 LIFE AND TIMES "Deteoit, March 7th, 1843.
"Sir: — I have just received your letter dated December 20th,
1842, and post-marked 'Washington, February 23d, 1843,' which
commences by stating that my letter of the 11th instant (that is,
my letter of December 11th, 1842,) had been submitted to the
President. " I had no desire to continue the correspondence which has
arisen between us. I had said all I felt called upon to say in my
own defense, and I had determined there to leave the subject.
This determination I expressed to you immediately before I left
Washington in January, when you intimated to me that you should
probably answer my letter of December 11th. I should not have
departed from this resolution had I not felt it due to myself that
the actual date of the receipt of your letter should be established.
I have reason .to suppose that the correspondence between us has,
ere this, been submitted to Congress, and that it will thus come
before the nation. Tour late letter has, no doubt, made part of
these documents, and persons reading it may well suppose it was
written the 20th of December last, and received by. me while I was
yet at Washington.
" The error will, no doubt, be readily explained at the Depart
ment, for I need hardly say I am sure it was unintentional. But,
in the meantime, it may do me serious injury; for, while at the
seat of government, where this correspondence was well known,
I more than once stated that my letter of December 11th was
unanswered. " It is essential, therefore, to me, that it should be known that
this statement was true ; and this can now only be done by spread
ing the correction as widely as the error has been spread.
"This is my first and principal reason for again writing to you,
and, without this reason, I doubt if I should have broken the
silence I intended to keep, though there are passages in your
letter that might well have induced me to depart from this reso
lution. The correspondence has already grown to a^n unreason
able length, and I am very unwilling to prolong it ; but, as I am
compelled to write, from the circumstances adverted to, I shall,
without further apology, proceed to examine some of the topics
presented in your last letter, and, also, to call to your observation
some very offensive remarks contained in your dispatch* of No
vember 14th, and, to my surprise, repeated in the recent one.

OF LEWIS CASS. 453
Before doing this, however, I shall advert to one view presented
in the November letter, and which the haste with which my reply
was written prevented me from considering.
"Even if I had entertained a desire still further to discuss the
questions which have arisen between us out of the treaty of Wash
ington, the course which events, connected with that treaty, are
now taking, would have rendered such a measure wholly unne^
cessary for any purpose I had originally in view. All I feared and
foretold has come to pass. The British pretension to search our
ships, instead of having been put to rest, has assumed a more
threatening and imposing form, by the recent declaration of the
British government that they intend to enforce it. As yon already
know, the 17th of last September, the very day I read the treaty
in a New Tork paper, I solicited my recall, I stated to you I felt
that I could not remain abroad honorably for myself nor usefully
for our country ; and that I considered the omission of a stipula^
tion in that treaty, which settled the African slave trade question,
to guard against the right of search or visitation, or by what other
name it may please the British government and country to express
this claim to violate our flag and to board our vessels, as a fatal
error, considering, particularly, that this pretension had been first
put forth and justified in connection with that traffic. And so
viewing the subject, I felt that the course I had taken in France,
in opposition to the ratification of the quintuple treaty, which was
intended to engraft this principle upon the law of nations, had not
been supported bythe government as I thought it should have
been. <
" In my protest to M. Guizot, of February 13th, 1842, I had
staked my diplomatic situation and character upon this support.
" Tour letter of April 5th, 1842, conveyed the President's ap
proval of my conduct, and this you consider, in your letter of
November 14th, 1842, as. taking from me all further responsibility.
"Tou say that 'having delivered my letter. to M. Guizot, and
having read the President's approbation of that proceeding, it is
most manifest that you could, in no degree, be responsible for
what should be done afterwards, and done by others.' Tou add,
as a corollary from this proposition, that ' the President, therefore,
can not conceive what particular or personal interest of yours was
affected by the subsequent negotiation here, or how the treaty, the
result of that negotiation, should put an end to your usefulness as

454 LIFE AND TIMES
a public minister at the court of France, or in any way affect your
official character or conduct.'
" The answer to this is so obvious, that I can not but express my
surprise that it has escaped your observation. A diplomatic agent,
without instructions, takes a responsible step, which he thinks
called for by the honor and interests of his country. He states
that he acts without the knowledge of his government, and that,
if unsupported, he must return home. Tou think that the appro
val of his course by his own government absolves him from all
further responsibility, and that, happen what may, his honor and
usefulness are unimpaired. My opinion is far different. If his
government approve his course upon paper, and abandon, in effect,
the measures he advocates, he can not represent his country as his
country ought to be represented abroad. And I may safely add,
that no man, fit to be sent upon a foreign mission, would hesitate
a moment as to the course he ought to pursue. He would not
entrench himself behind his paper approval, for, if he did, he
would hear words of reproach respecting his government, which
no man of honor could submit to. In my case you approved my
proceedings, but, as I say and believe, you did not guard against
this pretension of England to search our ships, which occasioned
my interposition, as it should have been guarded against; and
thus, in fact, left me unsupported.
" It is by this process of feeling and reasoning that I reached
the conclusion you censure in no measured terms ; and I trust you
will now see ' how the treaty, the result of that negotiation, should
put an end to my usefulness as a public minister at the court of
France.' " It put an end to it because I said the American government
would resist the right of search. The government said the same
thing, but, unfortunately, went on to make a treaty respecting the
slave trade, with England, without saying a word about this pre
tension, at the very time England had announced to the world
that she would search our ships, in order to carry into effect the
treaties she had negotiated with other nations upon this very sub
ject matter. And now I am gravely told that I might have
remained, after this, the representative of my country, because my
official conduct and character were not affected.
" I am not considering which of us is right in his view of the
proper course of the governmeat respecting this treaty. I lay that

OF LEWIS CASS. 455
out of the question. I contend that, in my opinion, I was not
sufficiently supported, and this being so, that I ought to have re
turned. Tou contend that my opinion has nothing to do with the
matter ; that the government took upon itself the responsibility,
and therefore, even if a treaty had afterwards been negotiated
' containing provisions in the highest degree objectionable, how
ever the government might be discredited,' the minister was free;
and that his ' usefulness ' could not be thereby affected.
"I shall not argue this point with you. It is a question of
feeling, quite as much as of reasoning, and he who would remain
at a foreign court under these circumstances, to represent a ' dis
credited ' government, has no sentiments in common with me upon
the subject. Tou state in your letter, dated December 20th, that
a declaration guarding against this claim to search our vessels
would have been ' no more suitable to this treaty than a declaration
against the right of sacking our towns in time of peace, or any
other outrage.' Tou, enlarge upon this proposition, and, in fact,
a considerable portion of your letter is occupied with the defense
of the omission of such a declaration. You suppose I had
advanced the idea ' that something should have been offered to
England as a benefit, but coupled with such a declaration or
condition, as that, if she received the boon, it would have been
a recognition by her of a claim, which we make as a matter of
right.' " You add, that the President, satisfied of the justice of the
American doctrine, has ' avoided to change this ground, and to
place the just right of the country upon the assent, express or
implied, of any power whatever.' ' The government thought no
skillfully extorted promises necessary in any such cases,' &c. All
this, and much more in your letter upon this topic, appear to me
very extraordinary. I never made a suggestion of the nature you
suppose. I never, for a moment, presumed the government would
hold out to England a consideration , for the disavowal of this
pretension. What I really said, I will here repeat, from my letter
to you of February 15th, 1842; but, before quoting the paragraph,
I will make a quotation from what immediately precedes, to show
that I had a correct notion of what would be the course of Eno--
land. The holy Chinese war is ended, and the British army has
withdrawn to the east of the Indies. The pattern- republic, as we
are contemptuously called,' can now be attended to.

456 LIFE AND TIMES
>lAfter showing that this pretension to search our .ships is a
claim to which this country can never submit, I remark : ' The
next question is, will England yield?' 'It is our safer course to
believe she will not, and, looking to her line of policy, that, too,
is our natural course. Wherever she has planted a foot, whether
on marsh, moor, or mountain, under the polar circles as under the
tropics — I will not say never; that word does not belong to the
deeds of man — but rarely has she withdrawn it. Whenever she
has asserted a pretension, she has adhered to it, through good
report and through evil report, in prosperity and in adversity,
with an iron will and a firm hand, of which the history of the
world affords no equal example since the proudest days of the
Roman empire,' &c. ; ' and the time has come when we must look
her designs in the face, and determine to resist or to yield. War
is a great evil, but there are greater evils than war, and among
these is national degradation. This we have never yet experienced,
and I trust we never shall.'
'"If Lord Ashburton goes out with such modified propositions
upon the various questions now pending between the two govern
ments as you can honorably accept, the result will be a subjeet of
lasting gratification to our country. And more particularly if, as
I trust, before entering into any discussion, he is prepared to give
such explanations as will show, that we haye misunderstood the
intentions of the British government respecting this claim of a
right' to change the law of nations, in order to accommodate it to
their treaty stipulations and its practical consequences — a claim
to enter and search our vessels at all times and in all places— this
preliminary proceeding would be worthy of the gravity of the
circumstances, and equally honorable to bqth governments.'
" Whether, in all I said above respecting the tenacity of Eng
land in the prosecution of her claims, new or old, I was justified
by the characteristic traits of her history, let me be judged by the
late emphatic declaration of the chief of the British cabinet, made
to the House of Commons, and through them to the world ; and
which, we are significantly told, was cheered by both sides of the
House ; and whether I am right in saying that I never thought of
proposing that a 'benefit' should be offered to England for the
relinquishment of this pretension, as you alledge, let me be judged
by my own words.

OF LEWIS CASS.

457

"My letter of December 11th is in accordance with these views.
After stating the nature of this claim, I continue : 'Now here, it
appears to me, the government should have' stopped. The English
negotiator should have been told, We abhor as much as you do
this traffic in human beings, and we will do all our peculiar insti
tutions permit, to put an end to it. But we will not suffer this
matter to be made the pretext for wounding our honor and violat
ing our rights. We will not take a single step, till you have
renounced this claim. We have already denounced it; and if we
should negotiate upon this subject matter, without settling this
preliminary question, it would seena like an abandonment of the
ground we have taken, or an indifference to the consequences.'
" This last paragraph touches, in my opinion, the true issue
between us of this part of the controversy. You say that the
insertion of a declaration against the right of search ' would have
been no more suitable to this treaty, than a declaration against
the right of sacking our towns in time of peace,' &c, &c. ; and
hence draw the conclusion that its omission was both honorable
and politic. As this sin of omission is the principal charge I make
against this treaty, and as it is the one you labor most earnestly
to reason away, I must be permitted again briefly to refer to it.
"The British government, in order, as they said, to execute
certain treaties they had formed for the suppression of the slave
trade, claimed the right to board and examine American ships.
The American government denied this pretension, and thus stood
the parties before the world. * Then comes a British negotiator to
our shores, to settle the subjects in difference between the two
countries. Two of these are settled. One is this slave trade
question — the very question which gave rise to the monstrous
pretension that is preparing for us so much trouble. And this is
distinctly admitted in the President's message, which states that,
' after the boundary, the question which seemed to threaten the
greatest embarrassment was that connected with the African
slave trade.'
"Tou negotiated upon the subject matter, knowing the construc
tion the British government had given to its other slave trade
treaties, and knowing, what is clear in itself, as stated in my let
ter of October 3d, 1842, and what Sir Eobert Peel has now fully
confirmed, that ' if a British cruiser meet a vessel bearing the
American flag, where there is no American ship to examine her

458 LIFE AND TIMES
it is obvious that it is quite as mdispensable. and justifiable: that
the cruiser should search this vessel to ascertain her nationality,
since the conclusion of the treaty, as it was before.' The error,
therefore, was in negotiating upon this very subject, leaving to
the other party to say, we have concluded an arrangement respect
ing the slave trade with you, since our mutual pretensions con
cerning the right of search have be'en made known; you were
aware that our claim arose out of that subject, and, as you have
not guarded against it, we shall enforce it.
" As to the analogy between such a claim and one to sack a
town in time of peace, it is a sufficient answer to say, that when
such a pretension is solemnly put forth to the world by England,
I shall think any government deserving the severest reprobation,
which would go on and negotiate upon a subject matter connected
with the origin of such a claim, without sufficient security against
it; more particularly if, as in this case, the subject matter relates!
to a question, of general benevolence, urged upon us, no doubt, by
the most philanthropic motives, but which no just principle requires
us to intermeddle with, at the sacrifice of the first attributes of
our independence.
" Tou make some remarks upon the impropriety of requiring
from any nation a solemn renunciation of an unjust pretension,
and you proceed to observe that the President ' has not sought,
but, on the contrary, has sedulously avoided, to change the ground
and to place the just rights of the country upon the assent, ex- '
press or implied, of any power whatever.' ' The government
thought no skillfully extorted promises necessary in any such
cases.' " As to the extortion of promise, it is a question of ethics, which
has no place here. As to the propriety of requiring a nation
formally to disavow an unjust pretension before entering into a
negotiation with her, or, if she will not do so, of then telling her,
we shall stand upon our public denial of your claim, and will not
negotiate with you, it seems to me that such a course is equally
honorable and politic. Is not diplomatic history full of these
efforts to procure such disavowals ? and who before ever expressed
a doubt of the policy of these measures ? Have we not, time
after time, endeavored to induce England to stipulate, that she
would not impress seamen from our ships ? And did you not, in
the course of the late negotiation with Lord Ashburton, strive

OF LEWIS CASS. 459
to procure the solemn abandonment of this claim? There is con
clusive proof of this in your letter to the British Minister, of Au
gust 8th, 1842, where you say, after having conversed with him,
.that 'the government of the United States does not see any utility
in opening such negotiation, unless the British government is
prepared to renounce the practice in all future wars'
" Tou remark, also, in the same letter, that ' both before and
since the war, negotiations have taken place between the two gov
ernments, with the hope of finding some means of quieting these
complaints' (of impressment). Tou allude, also, to the conven
tion formed for this purpose by Mr. King, in 1803, and to the.
' utter failure of many negotiations upon this subject.'
"Were all these fruitless efforts, so long carried on, liable to the
objection you raise, that any nation, calling upon another to disa
vow an unjust pretension, weakens its own cause, and ' that no
interpolation of a promise to respect them, (that is, our rights and
dignity,) ingeniously woven into treaties, would be likely to afford
such protection.'
" Now, what" becomes of the analogy you seek to establish, and
which, by a reductio ad dbsurdum^ is intended to show that these
conventional disavowals of contested pretensions are ' skillfully
extorted promises,' inconsistent ' with our dignity and interests ?
What becomes of the claim to sack our towns in time of peace,
and of ' protests,' which you liken to Chinese figures painted on
cities, to frighten away the enemy ?
"From the time of Washington to this day, almost every ad
ministration has sought to procure from the British government
a solemn relinquishment of her claim to impress our seamen, and
never before was it discovered that the effort was unworthy and
dishonorable. "And, during all the period of the long war between England
and France, at the close of the last century and at the beginning
of this, when the laws of nations and the rights of neutrals were
equally contemned, how many attempts were made by our gov
ernment to induce that of Great Britain to abandon her unjust
pretensions, and to stipulate that she would no more exercise
them? and that, too, for a 'boon.' Our public documents are
filled with proofs of this. I shall refer to one or two, which even
you will deem conclusive.
"In a letter from Mr. Madison to Messrs. Monroe and Pinkney^

460 LIFE AND TIMES
f
dated May 20th, 1807, our negotiators are told that, ' without a
provision against impressment, substantially such as is contem
plated in your original instructions, no treaty is to be concluded.'
" Again, in a letter from Mr. Madison to Mr. Monroe, dated(
January 5th, 1804, the former remarks that ' the plan of a con
vention, contemplated by the President, is limited to the cases of
impressment ofour seamen, of blockades, of visiting and search
ing our vessels, oi contraband of war, and of the trade with hostile
colonies, with a few other cases, affecting our maritime rights,
embracing, however, as inducements to Great Britain to do us
justice therein, a provision for the surrender of deserting seamen
and soldiers, and for the prevention of contraband supplies to her
enemies.' " Then follows the plan of a convention for these purposes.
" And this project was the work of Mr. Madison, directed by
Mr. Jefferson, and addressed to Mr. Monroe. The ' rights and
dignity ' of the United States were as safe in their hands as they
will ever be in mortal hands. And even if I had recommended,
as I have not, a ' boon,' or ' favor/ or ' benefit,' to be given to
England, in consideration of her relinquishment of this offensive
claim, I should not have wanted higher precedents to justify me.
" Tou object to the suggestion I made, that a declaration should
have accompanied the ratification of the treaty, denying the right
to search our ships ; and you ask, apparently emphatically, if
this had been done, and if the British ' government with equal
ingenuity had appended an equivalent written declaration that it
should not be considered as sacrificing any British right, how
much more defined would have been the right of either party,
or how much more clear the meaning and interpretation of the
treaty ! '
" I am very unwilling to believe you do not wish to deal sin
cerely with me in this matter; and I must, therefore, attribute the
strange error you have committed in the construction of my lan
guage, to a hasty perusal of it. Had you read it with due care,
you would have found that I spoke not of an ex parte declaration,
but of a declaration mutually assented to, and which thereby
would have become a portion of the treaty: a declaration, putting
a construction upon the instrument, which would thus have been
ratified with a knowledge of it. After meeting your assertion, that
the tendency of my letter was to impute blame to the President

OF LEWIS CASS. 461
and Senate for the ratification of the treaty, and showing that
it was not the ratification but the negotiation I censured, I add,
' I am under the impression, if I had had a vote to give, I should
have been found among the majority upon that occasion. This,
however, would have been upon the condition that some declara
tion should be annexed to the act of ratification, denouncing the
pretension to search our ships. I would thus have sent the instru
ment to the British government, and placed upon them the
responsibility of its final rejection or ratification, and I am sure
we should have had the opinion of the world with us under such
circumstances.' I need add nothing to this branch of the subject.
It is clear, that I spoke here of a conditional ratification, depend
ing upon the assent to be given by the other party to the, declara
tion concerning the claim of search. There would have been here
no room forthe diplomatic retort you suggest. There could have
been no counter declaration, for then the whole arrangement
would have been void. As I said in my letter of December 11th,
'Had this course been pursued, the sincerity of the British
government would have undergone a practical test, from which
there would have been no escape. It would not have been
necessary to quote the last despatch of Lord Aberdeen to show
what he meant in another, or Lord Palmerston in the first. If
such a proposition had been made and accepted, our honor would
have been vindicated, our rights secured, and a bright example of
sincerity and moderation would have been given to the world by
a great nation. If it had been rejected, that would have proved
that our co-operation in the suppression of the slave trade was a
question of minor importance, to be sacrificed to the preservation
of a pretension intended to introduce an entire change into the
maritime police ofthe world.' 'Why this very obvious course
was not adopted, I am utterly at a loss to conjecture; and that it
was not, is precisely the objection to which the whole arrangement
is liable. Instead of the high ground we should then have
occupied, we find ourselves seriously discussing the question
whether or not England will enforee this claim.'
"There was a very un courteous tone pervading your letter to
me of November 14th, 1842; a kind of official loftiness, which,
however it may suit other meridians, does not belong to an
American functionary writing to an American citizen. My answer
to that.letter was very hastily written. It was prepared, as you

462 LIFE AND TIMES
will perceive by the date and by your receipt of it, the very day
the postmaster of New Tork handed me your communication.
"I was aware that the subject ought to occupy more time, and
that justice was not done to it. But you had intimated pretty
distinctly in your letter, that our correspondence was to be pub
lished, and I was apprehensive it might, somehow or other, find
its way to the, public before I could correct the erroneous impres
sion which your letter was calculated to produce. Under these
circumstances, my attention was drawn to the general course of
reasoning, rather than to the mode in which this was conveyed ;
and, although there were one or two paragraphs, so plainly
uncourteous, that they could not escape my observation, still I
passed them by, having little taste for a war of words ; but, in
your letter dated December 20th, and received February 23d,
these offensive expressions are repeated, and the same process is
adopted to prove me guilty of misstatement, which is contained
in the preceding letter. I met this attempt at that time without
any reference to the language which you used; I shall meet it
again ; but I shall take leave to precede my defense by reminding
you of the comity which an American Secretary of State owes to
his countrymen. Tou say 'the President is not a little startled
that you should make such totally groundless assumptions of fact,
and then leave a discreditable inference to be drawn from them.
He directs me not only to repel this inference, as it ought to be
repelled, but ,also to bring to your serious consideration and
reflection , the propriety of such an assumed narrative of facts as
your dispatch, in this respect, puts forth.'
" ' The President can not conceive how you should have been
led to adventure upon such a statement as this. It is but a tissue
\of 'mistakes? 'All these statements, thus by you made, and which
are so exceedingly erroneous,' &c.
"And, in your last letter, you say that, ' in attempting to escape
from some of i the mistakes of this tissue, you have fallen into
others,' &c.
" Following your example, it would have been easy to find a
retort for these expressions, which would want neither point nor
truth. But my own self-respect, and, still more, my respect .for
that great tribunal of public opinion, which is to judge between
us, forbid me from imitating your course upon this occasion. I
would remind you, that there is nothing in your official position,

OF LEWIS CASS. 463
nothing in, our relative situation, which can justify this lofty
assumption of superiority. I doubt if a parallel can be found in
diplomatic history since Napoleon swayed the destinies of the
world. But the use which you make of the President's name in this
undignified language, is even more to be regretted than the epithets
themselves. That high functionary should not be invoked, when
a private citizen is thus assailed. Under different circumstances,
such conduct might be imitated by the other party, and a system
of crimination and of recrimination introduced into the corres
pondence of the Department, equally injurious to the public
interest, and incompatible with the public honor. Upon the
present occasion no such result will happen. 1 have too much
respect for the Chief Magistracy of my country, and too much
regard for the distinguished individual who occupies that high
post, to introduce his name unnecessarily into this discussion;
and, notwithstanding you have appealed to him, I shall still con
sider the language as yours, and not as his. Many others would
not be as forbearing. I say the ' language,' for it is that which I
censure. I do not question your right, nor the right of any other
person, freely to examine and to meet statements and argu
ments at discretion ; but let this be done with the courtesy of a
gentleman. " I shall now proceed, as briefly as possible, to examine these
charges of an assumed narrative of facts; of groundless assump
tions, and of a tissue of mistakes, which you have once and again
preferred against me. But, first, let us see what is the grave
fault you alledge I have committed. I will state it in your own
words :
" 'Before examining the several objections suggested by you, it
may be proper to take notice of what you say upon the course of
the negotiation. In regard to this, having observed that the na
tional dignity of the United States had not been compromised
down to the time of the President's message, at the last session,
you proceed to say: But England then urged the United States to
enter into a conventional arrangement, by which we might be
pledged to concur with her in measures for the suppression ofthe
slave trade. Until then, we had executed our own laws in our
own way. But, yielding to the application, and departing from
our former principle, of avoiding European combinations upon
subjects not American, we stipulated, in a solemn treaty, that we

464 LIFE AND TIMES
would carry into effect our own laws, and fixed the minimum
force we would employ for that purpose.'
" After this quotation, you thus continue : ' The President can not
conceive how you should have been led to adventure upon such
a statement as this. It is but a tissue of mistakes. The United
States yielded to no application from England ; the proposition for
abolishing the slave trade, as it stands in the treaty, was an Amer
ican proposition; it originated with the executivegovernmentof
the United States, which cheerfully assumes all its responsibility.
It stands upon its own mode of fulfilling its duties, and accom
plishing its objects. Nor have the United States departed, in this
treaty, in the slightest degree from their former principles, of
avoiding European combinations upon subjects not American ;
because the abolition of the African slave trade is an American
subject as emphatically as it is an European subject, and, indeed,
more so, inasmuch as the government of the United States took
the first great step in declaring that trade unlawful, and in at
tempting its extinction. The abolition of this traffic is an object
of the highest interest to the American people and the American
government; and you seem strangely to have overlooked the im
portant fact, that nearly thirty years ago, by the treaty of Ghent,
the United States bound themselves, by a solemn compact with
England, to continue ' their efforts for its entire abolition,' both
parties pledging themselves, by that treaty, to use their best
endeavors to accomplish so desirable an object.'
" ' Again, you speak of an important concession made to the
renewed application of England. But the treaty, let it be repeated
makes no concession whatever to England. It complies with no
demand, conforms to no request. All these statements, thus by
you made, and which are so exceedingly erroneous, seem -calcu
lated to hold up the idea that, in this treaty your government has
been acting a subordinate or even a complying part.' And then
follows the grandiloquent passage I have already quoted, com
mencing in such a solemn style, that the President was ' startled'
at all these grievous offenses of mine.
" Thus stands your charge in the letter of November 11th, 1842.
It is renewed in that of December 20th. In my answer to the
first I vindicated myself, and I thought successfully, against your
complaint, and never supposed it would again rise up in judgment
against me. I told you, that you had qualified as a tissue of

OF LEWIS CASS. 465
mistakes a paragraph which contained one statement, as a fact, to
wit: that England had urged our government to enter into a
treaty stipulation for putting an end to the slave trade, to Which
we yielded. I told you still further, why I, as well as the world,
supposed that tbe application for this stipulation came from Eng
land. She had pursued this object- steadily for forty years, and
she had sent out a special minister charged to negotiate upon that
as well as upon other subjects* We had no interest to form a
slave trade convention. Tou refer to the treaty of Ghent as
creating obligations upon this matter, but that treaty makes not
the slightest allusion to any further arrangements, and has no
more connection with the treaty of Washington than With the
convention respecting armed vessels upon the lakes. It was com
plete in itselfj and neither required nor looked to any other
stipulations between the parties. And we had executed it in good*
faith. " For these reasons, I supposed that Lord Ashburton came out to
propose to us to enter into another treaty upon this subject ; and
I. thus stated it as an historical fact. In my answer, I further
called to your observation that the rest ofthe paragraph was mat
ter of inference or deduction, not admitting qualifications applic
able, not to inferences, but to assertions. As I shall, by and by,
have occasion to refer again to this branch of the subject, I shall
not pursue it any further at present. '
. "In your last letter you reiterate, in substance, what you had
previously said, and add, that 'it would appear from all this, that
that which in your first letter- appeared as a direct statement of
fact, of which you would naturally be presumed to have had
knowledge, sinks at last into inference and conjecture.' Now,
here is a very obvious error, which, by the slightest attention to
what I said, would have been avoided; but I will not qualify the
mistake as a tissue of anything. I did not say that the statement
of facts to which you refer was all matter of inference. I said,
expressly; that the statement respecting the desire of England,
that we should enter into this negotiation, was put forward as a
well-known fact, but that ' all else — I repeat it, all else — to the
very least idea, is matter of inference.' Let the correctness of
this assertion be judged by a reference to the paragraph. Tou
continue: 'But in attempting to. escape from some of the mis*
takes of this tissue, you have fallen into others.'
30

466 LIFE AND TIMES
" Tou then refer to my statement, that England continued to
prosecute the matter, and that we consented to its introduction.
This, however, it is very clear, is but the same idea before sug
gested and combated in your first letter. Tou say ' the English
minister no more presented the subject for negotiation than the
government of the United States presented it.'
" Tou then ask me to ' review my series of assertions on this
subject, and see whether they can possibly be regarded merely as
a statement of your own inferences.'
"It would be but a waste of time to repeat what I have already
said, that I assumed as an historical fact, believed by everybody^
that Lord Ashburton came to urge the negotiation of this treaty,
and that upon this point we yielded tothe desire of England. '»
When you say this is one of the ' inferences ' to which I refer,
you furnish me with language and statements which are not my
own. " But, after all, why this strange pertinacity in dwelling upon this
point? Why this studied and repeated attempt to prove me guilty f
of a tissue of mistakes, because I believed Lord Ashburton sub- '
mitted propositions upon the question of the slave trade, and that
our government acceded to them ? I have already shown that
this opinion was a natural one, and held in common with the
country, and I trust I shall show this still more clearly. But even
if not so, how does this change the state of things ? Does it prove ¦
that the negotiator was more sagacious, or the treaty more useful'
and honorable ? The result is the same, and the inquiry is there
fore confined to the process. You will please to recollect, I
objected that we had yielded to the application of England, and
made a treaty upon this subject, without guarding against a dis
honorable pretension she had advanced respecting it.
" This is the whole charge which has provoked all this ' start
ling ' reproof. To this you answer, as though this answer took
away all censure, that the ' British Minister no more presented
the* subject for negotiation than the government of the United
States presented it ; ' that is, in other words, that the matter was
jointly conducted and terminated. And is it possible you can
believe that this circumstance takes away the grave responsibility
of an improvident arrangement, which left us worse than it found
us ? and, what is sincerely to be deplored by every American,
which led the President of the United States, in his annual

OF LEWIS CASS. 467
message to Congress — a document read by the world — to put a con
struction upon this instrument which the English Prime Minister
has contradicted in the most solemn manner, and in no measured
terms? The President, in his message of 1841, says that this
claim of ' visit and inquiry ' was ¦ regarded as the right of search,
presented only in a new form, and expressed in different words,' and
he adds that he had denounced it as inadmissible by the United
States. He then proceeds to speak of the recent treaty, and thus
continues : ' From this it will be seen that the ground assumed in
the message, (to wit, that the United States would never submit
to this new-fangled claim of ' visit and inquiry,') has been fully
maintained, at the same time that the stipulations of the treaty of
Ghent" are to be carried out in good faith, by the two countries,
and that all pretense is removed for interference with our com
merce for any purpose by a foreign government.'
" This construction the English government deny, and boldly
avow their adherence to the claim to board and examine our ves
sels. Now, where can you find one word in the treaty which but
intimates that this question respebting ' visitation ' has been even
taken up or touched? Unfortunately, no such word is there ; nor
is there any principle of sound construction which can supply it's
place.. What I said to you, in my letter of October 3d, upon this
topic, may, perhaps, produce more impression now than it did
then. It has been marvelously confirmed. I remarked: 'In
carefully looking at the 7th and 8th articles of the treaty, provid
ing for the suppression of this traffic, I do not see that they change
in the slighest degree the pre-existing rights claimed by Great
Britain to search our ships. That claim, as advanced both by
Lord Palmerston and Lord Aberdeen, rests on the assumption
that the treaties between England and other European powers
upon this subject could not be executed without its exercise, and
that the happy concurrence of these powers not only justified, but
rendered it indispensable. By the recent treaty we are to keep a
squadron on the coast of Africa. We have kept one there for
years ; during the whole time, indeed, of these efforts to put a
etop to this most iniquitous commerce. The effect of the treaty,
therefore, is to render it obligatory upon us, by a convention, to
do what we have long done voluntarily — to place our municipal
laws in some measure beyond the reach of Congress, and to
increase the strength ofthe squadron employed on this duty.

468 LIFE AND TIMES
" ' But if a British cruiser meet a vess.el bearing the American,
flag where there is no American ship, of war to examine her, it is
obvious that it is quite as indispensable and justifiable that the
cruiser should search this vessel to ascertain her nationality, 6ince
the conclusion of this treaty as it was before. The mutual rights
of the parties are in this respect wholly untouched ; their preten
sions exist in full force, and what they could do prior to this
arrangement they may do now ; for though they have respectively
sanctioned the employment ofa force to give effect 'to the laws,
rights, and obligations of the two countries,' yet they have not
prohibited the use of any other measures which either party may
be disposed to adopt.'
" What was opinion when I wrote, has now become fact.
" In, all this I beg not to be misunderstood. I do not wish
again to subject myself to the charge you made against me of
favoring the pretensions of England. That is one of the last of
fenses. I desire to commit, or, if I know myself, that I. am likely to
commit. I think the pretension she advances to search our ves
sels, and to call this search a ' visitation,' is one ofthe most injuri
ous and unjustifiable claims of modern days. I would meet the
first exercise of it by war. It leads directly to impressment, and
subjects our whole commercial marine to the mercy of a jealous
rival. It is but another step in her march towards universal
domination. I do not believe our government have acknowledged
this claim, or ever thought of acknowledging it. I believe the
President and all his cabinet are too honorable and too patriotic,,
ever to harbor a thought of their surrendering one of our proudest
national rights. But, as I said before, it is an act of omission, and
not of commission, I censure. It is because a treaty has been
made embracing the slave trade, and because no security is found
there against the exercise of this pretension, which threatened, as
the President said in his message, the greatest embarrassment,,
ami was ' connected with the African slave trade.'
" But to return to your charge of my want of good faith in this
' tissue of mistakes.' In any discussion concerning the origin and
nature of the propositions which led to the 7th and 8th articles of
the treaty of Washington respecting the slave trade, you have
greatly the advantage over any antagonist. It is a remarkable
fact, and withont precedent, probably, in modern diplomacy, that
not one written word is to be found in the documents relating to

OF LEWIS CASS. 469
this treaty, which passed between the negotiators, and which led
to this new and important stipulation. I presume these function
aries met often, and conversed upon the various topics pending
between them, and that then some protocol of their meeting, or
some correspondence, was prepared, embodying their views. One
would suppose that this course was necessary, as Well for them
selves as for the information of their governments, and, I may
add, in the case of the American negotiator, for the information
of the people — equally his sovereign and the sovereign of the gov
ernment he represented. Was all this omitted, or has it been
suppressed ? As was said by a Senator from Pennsylvania, in
the debate upon the ratification of the treaty, and said with as
much truth as beauty: ' The tracks of the negotiators were npon
Band, and the returning tide has effaced them forever.'
" In the question relating to impressment there is no such reserve.
We have a letter on that vital subject from each party ; and yet
this correspondence led to nothing, and when it was prepared, it
was known it would lead to nothing. Why it is there, it passes
my comprehension to judge. When, in conversation with the
British negotiator, you found he was not prepared to make any
concession upon this subject, why introduce it at all, and give his
government another opportunity to assert its pretension, and to
avow its determination to enforce it ? What was gained by this ?
You could hardly expect to shed new light upon a question dis
cussed by Jefferson and Madison ; and you could hardly expect
that any declaration of resistance to the practice could be more
emphatic than the resistance of the last war, and the numerous
remonstrances against the doctrine with which our diplomatic
history abounds. An important subject i6 introduced into the
treaty without any discussion, and another, still more important,
is discussed without introduction, and with the full knowledge
that it would not be introduced. Allow me again to spread before
you the paragraph you quote, and which contains the ¦ tissue of
mistakes' which occupies so conspicuous a place in your letter :
"'But England then urged the United States to enter into a
conventional arrangement, by which we might be pledged to
concur with her in the measures for the suppression of the slave
trade. Till then we had executed our own laws in our own way;
but, yielding to this application, ahd departing from our former
principle of avoiding European combinations upon subjects not

LIFE AND TIMES
American, we stipulated in a solemn treaty that we would carry
into effect our own laws, and fixed the minimum force we would
employ for that purpose.'
" This is the whole charge, as you make it. This is the paragraph
in reference to which you say, ' the President can not conceive
how you should have been led to adventure upon such a statement
as this.' Now let us analyze this matter, and see if it is as
' startling ' as you suppose. How many facts are here stated?
and, of these, how many are denied or doubted?
"First. — England urged us to make a treaty for the suppression
of the slave trade.
"Second. — We yielded to this application.
"Third.— Before then, we had executed our own laws in our
own way.
"Fourth. — We departed thereby from an old principle of avoid
ing European combinations upon subjects not American.
" Fifth. — We stipulated we would carry into effect our own laws.
" Sixth. — We fixed the minimum force we would employ for
that, purpose.
" Here is the whole indictment. Now for the defense.
" I suppose I may pass over the second fact. It depends entirely
upon the first, and is, in truth, a part of it. If England urged
this treaty upon us, and we thereupon assented to the negotiation
of it, we of course yielded to the application. I suppose I may
pass over the third fact : no one will dispute its truth; or, if it
is denied, let it be shown when, before now, our laws were enforced
by virtue of treaty stipulations. I suppose I may pass over the
fourth. It is matter of opinion, as I said in my former letter — of
inference. No one can place it in that category of facts, for the
truth of which he who advances them is morally responsible.
Tou say that the suppression of the slave trade is interesting to
the United States, and that therefore we have not departed, in the
formation of the treaty, from the wholesome maxim of non-com
bination. I say it is interesting, also, but that our duties can be
fully performed without any European combination; and that
such a mutual arrangement is injurious, and violates one of the
articles of our political faith : and. in proof of the danger of these
arrangements, I refer to the 'perpetually recurring difficulties
which are presenting themselves in the execution of the conven
tions between France and England upon this subject.' I suppose

OF LEWIS CASS.

471

I may pass over the fifth fact, for ho one can question that, by the
treaty, we do stipulate to carry into effect our own laws. The
eighth article expressly declares that the object is ' to enforce the
laws,' &c, of each pf the two countries. I suppose, also, I may
pass over the sixth fact, for the same /eighth article provides that
the squadron to be employed in suppressing the slave trade shall
' carry in all not less than eighty guns.' Here is the minimum.
We thus remove five of these condemned facts from the act of
accusation. There remains one to support the charge you have
made, and to justify the unqualified language you have employed.
And what is this solitary proof of my bad faith? Here it is. I
said that England had urged our government to enter into stipu
lations for suppressing the slave trade, to which we had yielded.
I am ' startled ' myself at the importance you attach to my views
of this matter, and to the gravity of the reproof these have led to.
I have already remarked, that all the wOrld supposed Lord Ash
burton came here with propositions upon this, as well as upon
some other subjects, in dispute between the two 'governments ;
( and, at the moment I am writing, I find in the papers an extract
of a letter from Mr. Everett to you, presented to the House of
Representatives by Mr. Gushing, which fully confirms my previous
impressions. In that letter Mr. Everett says, he was told by Lord
Aberdeen, on the 27th of December, 1841, that Lord Ashburton
was going to the United States ' with full power to settle any point
in discussion, embodying what was called the right' of search,
which was the most difficult.' And another incident comes
opportunely to confirm all this. It is the statement of a Senator
who, from his position, ought to know the circumstances, and who.
from his high character, is entitled to all credit: Colonel King
said, in the Senate, on the 23d ultimo, speaking of this claim to
visit our vessels, ' It was intolerable. Here, then, was a direct
point of collision, and that was what brought Lord Ashburton to
this country with the view of adjusting this difficulty.'
" I may express the surprise I felt when I read the following
paragraph in your last letter, urged with as much emphasis as
though the merits of the treaty, and of our whole controversy,
turned upon this point; truly, when such undue importance is
given to a topic so little meriting it, when its discussion occupies
seven folio pages of your last letter, and three pages of its prede
cessor, and when the view you present is most elaborately prepared,

472 LIFE ArND TIMES
I may well presume that a substantial defense of your various
positions is not easily found. This is the paragraph :
" 'Suppose your letter to go before the public unanswered and
uncontradicted ; suppose it to mingle itself with the general
political history of the country, as an official letter among the
archives of the Department of State; would not the general mass
of readers understand you as reciting facts, rather than as drawing
your own conclusions? as stating history, rather than as presenting
an argument? It is of an incorrect narrative that the President
complains; it is that, in your hotel in Paris, you should undertake
to write a history of a very delicate part of a negotiation carried
on at Washington, with which you had nothing to do, and of which
you had no authentic information, and which history, as you
narrate it, reflects not a little on the independence, wisdom, and
public spirit of the administration.'
" Strange, indeed, that this ' history,' and ' narrative,' and ' deli
cate part of a negotiation,' &c-., &c, &c, are to be charged to a
simple suggestion, or assertion, if you please, that Lord Ashburton
came over to make propositions to the government respecting the
slave trade, which were accepted.
" But, before quitting this topic, I shall appeal to your own
authority. Tou remarked to me, in your letter of November 14th,
that 'the United States yielded to no application from England.
The proposition for abolishing the slave trade, as it stands in the
treaty, was an American proposition : it originated with the exec
utive government of the United States, which cheerfully assumed
its responsibility^' Tou remarked, in your letter of December
20th : ' Now the English minister no more presented the subject
for negotiation than the government ofthe United States presented
it ; nor can it be said that the United States consented to its
introduction in any other sense than it may be said that the Brit
ish minister consented to it.' All this is too diplomatic for me.
I can neither clearly comprehend what is meant in the last quota
tion, nor, so far as I comprehend it, can I reconcile it with the
other. Whether either fairly contradicts my suggestion, that the
introduction of the slave trade stipulation into the treaty was due
to the application of England, 1 leave to those who are more com
petent to judge your language than I am, to determine. At first,
it is a guarded proposition, that the provision, as it stands in ihe
treaty, is the work of the American government ; and, at last, this

OF LEWIS CASS.

473

provision > owes its paternity as much to one government as to
the other.
" But I may well appeal to your own candor to say if the special
pleading in the first quotation meets the issue between us. I said
we consented to the introduction of the slave trade stipulation into
the treaty upon the application of England, and you do not spare
your reproof for this assertion through ten pages of your letters,
because the proposition, as it stands in the treaty, was an Ameri
can proposition.
" But, if you mean by all this, that Lord Ashburton did not
make any proposition to our government upon this subject, but
that you pressed it upon him, as you would seem to intimate, in
order to repel the suggestion I made, then I must be permitted to
say that there is nothing more extraordinary in all our diplomatic
history. I shall not enlarge upon this topic, but merely ask what
benefit an American negotiator saw for his country in this arrange
ment, connecting us with another nation, and exposing us, both in
principle and practice, to consequences which human sagacity can
not even conjecture? I will ask, in the words of the President's
message, what adjustment of a difficulty of great magnitude and
importance, in relation to this mattervtook place, if it was not this
very question ? What other 'embarrassment (still in the Words
of the message,) was connected with the African slave trade ? '
Both Lord Palmerston and Lord Aberdeen, in 1841, expressly
disavowed the right to search American vessels, with a view to
prevent their engaging in the slave trade. They both declared,
and Sir Robert Peel repeated the declaration in his late speech,
(I quote the words of the last :) ' The right of search, connected
with American vessels, we entirely disclaim. Nay, more ; if we
knew that an American vessel was furnished with all the mate
rials requisite for the slave trade, &c, still We should be bound to
let that vessel pass on.' And that our government knew these
views, is distinctly stated by the President, in his message, who
says that Lord Aberdeen 'expressly disclaimed all right to detain
an American ship on the high seas, even if found with a cargo of
Blaves on board, and restricted the pretension to a mere claim to
visit and inquire.' ' This claim,' the President adds, ' was regarded
as the right of search presented only in a new form and expressed
in different words, and I, therefore, felt it my duty to declare, in
my annual message to Congress, that no such concession could be

474 LIFE AND TIMES
made ; and that the United States had both the ability and incli
nation to enforce their own laws,' &c. I repeat, then, what other
point remained to be adjusted upon this general subject, but this
very claim of visitation ? and if this was not adjusted, as it is now
clear it was not, what ' adjustment ' did take place ? And why ,
was the stipulation introduced into the treaty, as though we could
not keep a squadron pn the coast of Africa, and execute our own
laws, without binding ourselves in a solemn convention with Great
Britain to do so? — and all this, you intimate, without even a
request on her part !
" I here close this controversy ; and I shall close the correspond
ence by a few remarks upon the serious position in which our
country is now placed. It affords me no pleasure to find that all
I foretold, respecting the course ofthe British government in rela
tion to this pretension to search our ships, has been signally
confirmed by the recent declaration of Sir Robert Peel. The
accomplishment has soon, too soon, followed the prediction. I
said, in my letter to you of February 15th, 1842, as I have already
stated, that England rarely, if ever, abandoned a pretension, and
that, in my opinion, she would enforce this. And in my letter to
you of December 11th, 1842, speaking of the probability that she
would carry into effect her doctrine, I said : ' That she will do so
when her interest requires it, I have no more doubt than I have
that she has already given abundant proofs that the received code
of public law is but a feeble barrier when it stands in the way of
power and ambition. Both Lord Palmerston and Lord Aberdeen
tell us she will.' And now a greater than either has said so, and.
as the London Times expresses it, he has said it in the most em
phatic manner. And what, then, is our position ? Sir Robert
Peel has declared that the British government never will re
linquish this claim to search our vessels, calling it a visitation;
and the London Times, the great exponent of the principles and
purposes of the English government and aristocracy, said, on the
31st of last December, a month before this declaration, that 'Eng
land has not abandoned one tittle of her claim (to search our
vessels) ; the treaty does' not afford the smallest presumption that
she has ; and the United States would find that the right would
continue to be unflinchingly, (aye, that is the word,) unflinchingly
exercised.' And it adds, that this ' essential right of the British
navy ' would never be relinquished. Sir Robert Peel is a cautious

OF LEWIS CASS. 475
statesman. He does not deal in abstractions. , He does not make
declarations, in the face of the world, to remain inoperative, par
ticularly when such declarations are cheered by both sides of the
House, in a manner to show, beyond a doubt, that they are re
sponded to by the public feeling ofthe country. And the Times,
Well informed of the views of the government a month before they
were communicated to the nation, would not have said that the
right would be unfimchingly exercised, if it were to remain a dead
letter. " We all know to what this pretension leads, and to what it is
intended to lead: that it will virtually subject our whole commer
cial marine to the English navy. It is an insult to the common
sense of the world to talk about a difference, in their effects,, be
tween a, search for one purpose, and a search for another; and to
call a search to ascertain the character of a vessel, and to carry
her in for condemnation — at the will of a midshipman, perhaps,
if he believes, or affects to believe, she belongs to one country
and claims to belong to another — to that great gulf, always ready
to swallow American property, a British court of admiralty, — to
call, I say, such a search a visitation, and, by this change of name,
to justify the pretension — all this was reserved for the nineteenth
century. For, what is a 'visitation?' It is not enough to look
at the flag; for any ' bunting, ' as Lord Palmerston calls it, may
be hoisted. It is not enough to look at the men, for all marines
contain foreigners as well as natives. . It is not enough to look at
the papers, for these may be simulated. It is not enough, to look
at the log:book, for that may be false or forged. It is not enough
to look at the cargo, for that proves nothing. But it, is obvious
that all these will be looked at to satisfy the inquisitor and his
inquisition. "The London Sun said, last year, very justly, 'If the Americans
sanction the examination of their ships, for the mere purpose of
ascertaining if a vessel bearing the American flag is bona fide an
American vessel, they sanction a rigid examination of the vessel
herself.' And it is to be borne in mind, that the right to examine
pre-supposes the right to send in, if the examination is not satis
factory to the officer, and to condemn, if not satisfactory to the
judge. What follows, let our history from 1793 to 1815 tell.
" But this is the least injury sought to be entailed upon us.
Heretofore, agreeably to her own doctrine, England could only

476 i LIFE AND TIMES
impress our seamen in time of war; for she claimed the right to
board our vessels, merely as a belligerent right, which ceased when
she was at peace. And she conceded — and so said the Prince
Regent, in his celebrated declaration of January 9, 1813, in answer
to the manifesto of the American government — that a British
cruiser could not board an American ship for the purpose of im
pressment ; but that, having once entered under a legal right,
then the boarding officer could 6eize whoever he pleased, to be
transferred to a foreign navy, there to fight against his own coun
try. Now, the British government has devised a plan by which
our vessels may be boarded in time of peace, and thus the whole
seamen of the United States may be placed at the disposition of
England, in peace and war.
" We now understand the full value of impressment, and why
Lord Ashburton would not relinquish it; and we understand what
the London Times means when it says that ' this" right of visita>
tion, which is to be ' unflinchingly exercised,' is essential to the
British navy.'
" No pretension, in modem times, has advanced more rapidly
than this. It is but a year or two since Lord Stowell, the well-
known English Admiralty judge, solemnly decided that 'no
nation can exercise a right of visitation (mark that word !) and
search upon the common and unappropriated part of tbe ocean,
except upon the belligerent claim.' And still later, the Duke of
Wellington said, in the House of Lords, ' that if there was one
point more to be avoided than another, it was that relating to the
visitation of vessels belonging to the (American) Union.' The
first time we heard of this pretension, as a serious claim, was from
Lord Palmerston, on the 27th of August, 1841, and the next was
from Lord Aberdeen, on the 13th of October following ; and
it was then put forth as ' indispensable and justifiable,' in the
execution of certain slave treaties formed with the ' States of
Christendom.' Now the British government claim that it has
become a settled part of the law of nations. And our ships are to
be searched, says Sir Robert Peel, to ascertain if a ' grievous
wrong has not been done to the American flag;' This is really
one of the most extraordinary assumptions of modern days. Our
flag is to be violated, to see if it has been abused ! The whole
country knoWs where the 'grievous wrong' would be, if this
principle were carried into practice.

OF LEWIS CASS. 477
" There aro a thousand reasons, founded upon common ancestry,
upon language,upon institutions, and upon interest, why we should
earnestly desire peace with the English people; but will their
government permit it? , This I doubt. England has great power,
and she is. not slow to exercise it. She has great pride, and she
is not slow to indulge it. We are in the way both of her ambi
tion and of her interest; and ambition and interest!, need never
march far in search of pretexts for war.
" It becomes every American to ask, if he is prepared to yield
this right of search. For myself, I think it is better to defend the
outworks than the citadel; to fight for the first inch of territory
rather than for the last; to maintain our honor when attacked^
rather than to wait till we have none tp be attacked or maintained;
and such, I trust and hope, will be the unwavering determination
of the government and of the country.
" Wha,t I anticipated, when I commenced this letter,.has come to
pass. The documents called for by Colonel Benton have been
sent into the, Senate,, as I perceive by the last papers. Tour
recent letter will now go out with the others, and reach the Amer
ican people. I have no. means of clearing myself from the diffi
culties you have spread round me, but by submitting my views,
as you have submitted yours, to the decision of the country. I
am now a private citizen. Twice, since I became such,' you
have presented to me, in elaborately prepared documents, your
sentiments upon some important topics, arising out of the late
late treaty. These documents now make part of the political his,-
tory of the country. There are, therefore, no considerations of
duty, nor of propriety, to restrain me from appealing to the same
great tribunal to judge between us, — from endeavoring to redeem
myself from some severe charges you have made against me. I
have been written at, but the public bave been written to. I shall,
therefore, not hesitate to authorize the immediate publication of
this letter, being little disposed to leave it to be buried in the
archives of the Department of State,
" At the moment of signing my letter, the President's message of
February 27th, 1843, respecting the treaty of Washington and the
right of search, has reached me. I think every Arnerican should
go With the President in his reprobation of this doctrine. I refer,
however, to the message, to say, that had it been in my possession
when the body of this letter was prepared, I should have quoted

478 LIFE AND TIMES
it instead of quoting the other messages, because in this the views
are more elaborately prepared than in those, showing that the
claim of visitation was perfectly comprehended by our govern
ment when this treaty was negotiated; that it was denounced as
wholly inadmissible, and that the treaty was supposed to have
made. ' a practical settlement of the question.'
"One or two reflections force themselves upon my mind, which
I shall submit to you, even at this late moment.
" In the first place, this claim to search our vessels, under the
pretense of visiting them, though connected in its origin, or rather
announced as connected, with the African slave trade, is co-exten
sive with the ocean. The principles upon which it rests, so far as
they rest on any, are of universal application ; for wherever a
British cruiser meets a vessel bearing the American flag, such
cruiser may wish to know if a.' grievous wrong' bas been com
mitted, and whether she is truly what she appears to be.
" Such are the necessary consequences of this doctrine, and such *
we now ascertain is the extent to which it is to be pushed. It is*',
distinctly announced by Sir Robert Peel, in his late speech, that
this right of visitation is not necessarily connected with the slave
trade, and this is confirmed by the Times, which says, ' that this
right has obviously no intrinsic or necessary connection with the
slave trade,' and ' that it is a part of the marine code of nations.'
" How, then, could a conventional arrangement, obliging us to
keep a squadron upon the coast of Africa, guard against its exer
cise,' or ' supersede,' in the words of the message, ' any supposed
necessity, or any motive, for such examination or visit?' Again:
how could it guard against these effects, even if the operation of
the doctrine were limited to search or visitation in slave trade
latitudes? England said to us — We have made a treaty with
France, by which we have a right to search her ships, and to send
them in for condemnation, if they are engaged in the slave trade.
If we can not search your ships, we can not execute this treaty,
because a French vessel, by hoisting an American flag, will place
herself beyond the reach of our cruisers ; therefore, we shall visit
your ships.
"Now, it is manifest, that our squadron upon the coast of
Africa will not change in the slightest degree this state of things. '
A French vessel may still hoist an American flag, and thus protect
a cargo of slaves, so far as this protects it, in any part of the great

OF LEWIS CASS. 479
ocean, from the African coast to the coast of Brazil. Is this
squadron of eighty guns, or is any vessel of it, to be everywhere?
And where it is not, what will, prevent any ship from placing an
•American flag at its mast-head?
" I am stating, not defending, the British doctrine, and I do not
enter here into those obvious considerations which demonstrate its
fallacy and injustice. This I have attempted elsewhere, but with
what success it does not become me to judge. I attempted to
show, that because any of the 'states of Christendom' choose to
form treaties for the attainment of objects, military, commercial,
ov philanthropic, such ^ mutual arrangements give them no right to
change the established laws of nations, and to stop and search our
vessels upon the great highway of the world. It is the slave trade
to-day, but it may be the sugar trade to-morrow, and the cotton
trade the day after. But, besides, it is obvious that all the cases
put by the British political casuists, in support of this new doctrine,
are mere questions of identity, where he who does the deed and
boards the vessel acts, not upon his right, but upon his responsi
bility, and, like the sheriff who arrests a person upon a writ, is
justified, or not, according to the result.
"But it is clear that this claim, as asserted, is not at all incon
sistent with our new treaty stipulation ; that this stipulation does
not render unnecessary the exercise of the, claim; and, therefore,
as it does not expressly, so neither does it by fair implication,
'make a practical settlement' of the question; nor does 'the
eighth article ' remove ' all possible pretext, on the ground of mere
necessity, to visit and detain our ships upon the African coast,
because of the alledged abuse of our flag by slave traders of other
nations.' " Very respectfully, &c,
"Lew. Cass.
"Hon. Daniel Webster,-
" Secretary of State, Washington."
Mr. Webster never answered this letter. He merely informed
General Cass, in a brief note, that he had glanced at portions of
it, and, after more attentive perusal, if occasion required, he
would reply to it at length. This " occasion " he never found : and,
to this day, the reasoning and argument of General Cass stand
without even an attempt at refutation.

480 LIFE AND TIMES
The English ministry construed the clauses in the treaty of
Washington as General Cass supposed they would. The important
question of the right of search was left just where it was found
when the negotiation was opened. The parties to the treaty ,
differed in their understanding of its meaning, and ,the govern
ment of Great Britain did not conceal its intention to deny the
construction put upon it by the government of the United States.
In fact, it went farther, and took the ground that the question of
search did not enter into the negotiation, and was not even dis
cussed : and that, as for concession, it was neither asked nor given.
And a denial of these high positions of Britain — reflecting as
they do upon the conduct of our government, when Jefferson and
Madison were in the ascendant— will be sought for in vain among
the archives of the American government, for the four years pre
ceding the advent of. Mr. Polk to the Chief Magistracy. The
apprehensions, therefore, entertained by General Cass, when he
first saw the provisions of th6 treaty of Washington, were fully
realized. . It was the dictate of patriotism, and a proper regard for
the honor of his country, and for the memory of the distinguished,
statesmen with whom he had been for so many years intimately,
and officially associated, that prompted him to retire from the
American Legation at Paris. ' He did right, and so said the over
whelming voice of the people of the United States. With this
cheering approbation, he could well bear with composure the,
attacks, of his political opponents, and the abuse of foreign peers
and presses.

OF LEWIS CASS. 481

CHAPTER XXIX.
, , , General Cass retires from the French Court — Public Dinner — Arrival at Boston — Enthusiasm of the
People — Their Address to General 'Cass — Arrival at New York — Public Demonstrations — Letter of
Mr. Dickerson — General Cass5 Reply — The Public Press~- Arrival at Washington — Tour to Detroit
— Reception at Home.
When it was known in France that General Cass had asked
leave to retire from the diplomatic service, his fellow-citizens
from the United States, in France, were loud in their regrets.
They were unanimous in sentiment relative to the course he had
pursued on the quintuple treaty. They were proud of their Min
ister, and again and again congratulated him on the glorious
result of his efforts. If in their power, they would prevail upon
him to remain ; but they were equally unanimous in sentiment,
that a continuance of his residence at that court was incompatible
with his own honor, and that his determination to embark for the
United States, after they were advised of the treaty of Washing
ton, was his only alternative. They, however^ invited him to
partake of a public dinner before his departure, as an 'evidence of
their esteem. This was accepted, and the American consul at
Havre, Mr. Beasley, presided at the festive board. Sogreat was
the desire to be present on this occasion, that many American
residents and travelers, then in Paris, were unable to gain admis
sion. The festivity terminated in the presentation of an elegant
address to General Cass, to which he made a suitable response ;
and bidding them a hearty farewell, departed for the United
States with his family, leaving Mr. Ledyard, the Secretary ofthe
Legation, as charge d'affairs till a minister arrived.
After a short voyage across the ocean in the steamer Columbia,
he landed in the city of*Boston on the 6th of December, 1842,
and on the succeeding day was greeted with the following letter,
,. #gne(i Dy numerous prominent citizens of this metropolis of New
' s? England, from the hands of a large committee.
31

482 LIFE AND TIMES " Boston, December 7th, 1842.
" Sir : — The undersigned, citizens of New England, would
congratulate your Excellency on -your safe return to your native
country, after your faithful services and energetic proceedings at
an important crisis in your distinguished mission ; and respect
fully request that you will give them and their fellow-citizens an
opportunity of expressing personally the high respect which your
public career and private virtues have uniformly inspired.
"Returning, as you do, with the approbation of that generous
people who were the first, and, for a long time, the only friends of
our fathers, we should prefer that the meeting should be at such
a time as would suit your convenience, in Faneuil Hall — the spot
in which,. of all others, Americans would desire to welcome her
deserving ones."
General Cass' arrangements were such as to preclude delay, and
he was ponstrained to decline this proffered hospitality. His
fellow-citizens, nevertheless, thronged his apartments at the hotel
during his brief sojourn in that city, without distinction of party.
This was but the first in a series of public manifestations of appro
bation. His faithful services and energetic proceedings at an
important crisis in his mission, had endeared him to every Amer
ican heart; and there was all over the country a spontaneous
exhibition of admiration for the man who stood forth, unsustained
by his own government, against the potentates of the old world.
He immediately passed on to New York, en route for Washing
ton. He had scarcely reached his lodgings in New Tork, before
he was waited upon by many citizens, to congratulate him upon
his safe arrival upon the shores of his native land, and to tender
him a public manifestation. The authorities of the city came to
pay him their respects, and tendered him the use of the Governor's
rooms in the City Hall. With a grateful appreciation of all this
kindness, he was compelled to forego the pleasure of its enjoyment.
He desired to hasten on quietly to the Federal capital. , But to
his own amazement, his fellow-citizens treated him as the man of
the nation. He felt that he had acted ^wisely in France^ and yet
he did not take to himself any special glory for having dpne
simply what he thought it his duty to do. Not so was his con; .
duct viewed by the people among whom he now began to move. '
Hardly conscious of it himself, to them it was the sublimity of

OF LEWIS CASS. 483
patriotism, to see the single-handed representative of a Republic
stand before the magnates of Europe, in one of its proudest capi
tals, and unawed by the blandishments of its power, and the
learning of its nobility, there bid them defiance, and in the thunder
tones of an American freeman, proclaim that lys country would
never allow her ships, with the stars and stripes streaming from
the mast-head, to be stopped on their peaceful course by any or
all of the nations of the earth. This sensation thrilled the Amer
ican heart. The vibration was felt to the remotest corners of the
Republic Mahlon Dickerson, Secretary of the Navy under a previous
Democratic administration, hearing that General Cass had landed
in Boston, hastened from his home in New Jersey to intercept
him in New York. He would have him tarry at( Trenton, as he
passed along the route southward, for the people of Jersey wanted
to take by the hand their distinguished fellow-citizen. This was
out of the question, and Mr. Dickerson handed to General Cass
the following letter : "New York, December 10th", 1,842.
" Mt Dear Sir : — You must have observed, since your arrival
at Boston, that you have been recommended, in many of the public
papers in different parts of the United States, as a candidate for
the chief executive office of the republic, and, particularly, that
you were nominated to that office at a large Democratic meeting
at Harrisburgh, on the 21st ultimo. The manner in which your
nomination is mentioned by some of the Whig papers, is such as
to exeite a suspicion, among those who do not know you, that you
favor Whig principles, and some have said that your views on a
national bank are identical with those of the Whigs. I know that
there is no ground for such suspicions, and that you are entirely
willing that your views upon those subjects should be known to
all parties. From the long and friendly relations which have
existed between us, before as well as during the time we were
fellow-members ofthe cabinet of President Jackson, and ever since,
I take the liberty of asking from you such explanation of your
views upon these subjects as shall be entirely satisfactory to your
political friends. With the highest respect and esteem, I am your
friend and humble servant,
"Mahlon Digeeesqn.
"To General Lewis Cass."

484 LIFE AND TIMES
And to this General Cass promptly replied as follows :
"New Yoke, December 10th, 1842.
"Mv Dear Sir : — I have received your letter of this day, and
have no' difficulty in giving you a prompt and unequivocal answer
to the questions you present to me.
"I am a member of the Democratic party, and have been so
from my youth. I was first called into public life by Mr. Jeffer
son, thirty-six years ago, and am a firm believer in the principles
laid down by him. From the faith, as taught and received in his
day, I have never sWerved a single instant. So much for my
general sentiments.
"With respect to a national bank, I think the feelings and
experience of the country have decided against it, and that no
such institution should be chartered by the general government.
I will add, that my residence in France, and a careful observation
of the state of that nation, have satisfied me that, while a due
degree of credit is highly useful in the business concerns of a
country, a sound specie basis is essential to its permanent pros
perity. .
" With great regard, I am, dear sir, truly yours, "Lewis Cass.
"Hon. Mahlon Dickerson."
It is true,, as mentioned in Mr. Dickerson's letter, several news
papers, in many sections of the country, had mentioned the name
of General Cass in connection with the Presidency, and a large
assemblage of Democrats, residing in Harrisburgh, in the State of
Pennsylvania, and* that vicinity, had expressed their desire that
he should be the Democratic candidate at the Presidential election
in 1844. To all these expressions of partiality for himself for this
high office, whilst he was not insensible of the great honor done
him, he had but one reply to make, and that was, that the office
of President of the United States was neither to be sought nor
declined. But when the cherished political principles of his life
were assailed — no matter from what quarter — it would have been
inconsistent with his entire previous career, as the reader of these
pages is already aware, if he had not promptly faced his foes.
Hence, he stooped to give the above reply to his old friend Dick
erson. He, in fact, was not then aspiring for the nomination, and
entertained not the slightest expectation of canvassing for the

OF LEWIS CASS.

485

Presidency in 1844, or at any other time. 'His mind was upon
the valuable work which he had just performed for his country
men in the other hemisphere, and he was highly gratified with the
voice of approval which he was constantly hearing.
In consequence of receiving, at New York, the duplicate of Mr.
Webster's letter, before adverted to, his stay in that city was pro
longed a few days, and, on the fourteenth of December, he received,
at the Governor's room in the City Hall, the calls of large delega
tions of citizens. They were far from being formal calls. >' The
people came in masses, and paid him the homage of their respect.
Congress was in session when he reached Washington, and the
members visited his rooms, and gave him a cordial welcome.
From thence homeward to Detroit, as he passed through the prin
cipal cities arid towns in Pennsylvania and Ohio, all classes came
forward to see him. His route was through these States in accord-'
ance with the previously expressed wishes of their citizens. They
desired to receive and take by the hand the man who had led thb
volunteers to war in 18.12, and who, thirty years afterwards, en
countered and baffled the same enemy whom he assisted to over
throw on the river Thames. His route was a continuous triumph,
the more valuable because it was the spontaneous tribute of esteem
to one who was then a private citizen, devoid of the allurements
of official station ; and, as he approached Michigan, the people
became enthusiastic in their preparations to receive him. The
municipal authorities, and various civil associations, united with
private citizens to show, in an impressive manner, their high
appreciation of the benefits they, as citizens,'had received from
his services.
The citizens of Detroit vied with each other and their neighbors
in Ohio in their arrangements to receive him. A committee met
him on the way at Upsilanti; and escorted him to Detroit, where
he arrived on the fourteenth of February. A large concourse of
citizens, with the Governor of the State, members of the Legisla
ture and military and civic associations, had assembled to greet
and welcome him to his home in the City of the Straits. The
proceedings were creditable to the people of Detroit, and gratify
ing to the object of their attentions. With an emotion that betrayed
how deeply he was affected by these congratulations and manifes
tations of regai*d from his old neighbors, he spoke of the welcome
his countrymen had given him, after seven years' absence beyond

486 LIFE AND TIMES
the seas, and remarked — " from the time I set foot upon my native
shore ac Boston, to this last manifestation of good will, I have to
acknowledge the spontaneous proofs of regard everywhere shown
to me, and the recollection of which will disappear but with the
termination of life."
At the conclusion of the ceremony of reception, he was escorted
by the battalion of Frontier Guards, and a long procession of citi
zens, to his rooms at Dibble's Exchange.
We have before observed that the personal relations subsisting
between General Cass and Louis Phillippe were of a cordial char
acter. They became so in consequence ofthe extraordinary exer
tions made by the American Minister to gain the ear of the king
in the diplomatic circle ; and each became more and more person
ally interested with the other as the acquaintance progressed ;
the former, because the king, from his own knowledge, could
appreciate, and did appreciate, with all the enthusiasm of an
enraptured traveler, the expansive country which the Minister had
the honor to represent at the French capital.
Louis Phillippe appeared to take delight in recounting his
reminiscences of the mountains, valleys, and forests of America ;
and, what may seem surprising to most republicans, held in high
personal respect the laws and institutions of the United States.
Impressed with these sensations, it is not for us to apologize for
his career on the throne of excitable France. A bright morning"
of hope dawned upon the commencement of his reign ; the dark
pall of (to him) an endless night shrouded its termination.
A letter from him to General Cass, given below, shows that we
do not mistake his views, or their social position to each other.
"NEmLtT, 13th July, 1838.
" Mt Dear General : — I return, with many thanks, the letter
you were so good. as to leave for me with General D'Houdetot. I
have also to thank Mr. Lewis, since the contents of his letter gave
me such satisfaction that I read it over to the queen and to my
family. The general suffrage of the American nation in favor of
my son, is very gratifying to us. I only regret that he could not
stay longer in America, but I will send him there again.
" In tbe first place, to express his gratitude and mine for the'
attentions of which he has been the object, and also to express the
high sense I entertain of the recollections kept of me in America,

OF LEWIS CASS. 487
and which were so kindly manifested to my son, and, in the next
place, my dear General, because my own experience has taught
me that America and England are good schools, and that much
may be learnt in that intercourse which could not be acquired
elsewhere. " Believe me, sir, very sincerely,
"Your affectionate "Loins Phillippe.
" General Cass, &a., &c, &c." "

488 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER XXX.
Private Affairs — General Cass' Pecuniary Troubles — His Wish — Named for the Presidency^-Letter to
the Indiana Committee — The Cincinnati Meeting — General Jackson's Letter.
After an absence of twelve years, seven of which were spent in
foreign lands, General Cass again found himself at his home in
Detroit. During this time great changes had occurred. Many
of his Old cherished neighbors and personal friends had gone the
way of all flesh ; some had removed further west. The city limits
were enlarged, new streets opened, and buildings erected. The
young men of the schools had grown to manhood, and now were
the business men of the town-. New faces met him upon every
hand. Still the old landmarks remained, and the same wide river
flowed along the quays. It was Detroit, and he was glad once
more to be at home. Nearly forty years had elapsed since his
public career began, and now, for the first time during all that
eventful period, he was divested of official care and responsibility.
He was a private citizen. He could now devote some attentions
to his private affairs ; and, unfortunately, it was needed.
The five hundred acres of land, known as the Cass farm, pur
chased in 1816 for twelve thousand dollars, had, to a great extent,
been subdivided into city squares, streets, and lots, and sold to
divers purchasers upon credit. The pecuniary embarrassments
that convulsed the business relations of the country, had overtaken
them; and, in most instances, the land reverted to General Cass,
encumbered with taxes and municipal assessments. He had been
under the necessity, while a resident in France, to resort to his
private resources to meet the expenditures. The salary was insuf
ficient. He came home, therefore, in straightened circumstances,
pecuniarily. He had hoped to find his debtors prosperous, and
able to hold the lots of land sold to them. It was otherwise. To
add to his perplexities, thirty-two thousand dollars — a part of it his
paternal inheritance — deposited in the Bank of Michigan when
he was about to depart for Europe, were irrevocably lost, by the

OF LEWIS CASS. 489
failure and utter bankruptcy of that institution. To avail himself
of the use of bis landed estate, it was necessary to discharge the
liens of the State and city, and make improvements. He had not
the money at his command to do this, and it was necessary to
resort to a loan. He applied to his friend Ward, a banker in
Wall street, for the limited sum of three thousand dollars. . The
application was flatly denied. This was the more inexplicable to
the General, for the security was abundant ; he had, in other days,
rendered Mr. Ward spine kind offices, and the banker, he thought,
had the money. A kind friend, however, voluntarily came forward,
upon whom General Cass had not the slightest claims, and fur
nished the desired accommodation. With this he stemmed the tide
of adversity.
It required effort, however, to do so. He was sixty years of
age, with a family of children, for Whom he would be glad to, leave
an inheritance that should shield them from want. At any rate,
he would wish to feel, when he left them, that his son and three
daughters, two of whom were married, were not entirely thrown
upon the charities of the people. To the attainment of this, he
proposed to devote the residue of his life. Pecuniary misfortune,
for the first time, had crossed his path. And when, seven years
before, he bade his native land adieu for a season, he had consoled
himself with ,the reflection, that, let what would happen, he had
placed the proceeds of his father's estate upon the banks ofthe
Muskingiim, where they- would be kept safe for his own descend
ants. Alas ! the uncertainty of all human expectation.
But, although out of office, he soon, found that it was quite diffi
cult to withdraw his mind from public concerns. The people
appeared ,to be indisposed to allow him to remain in retirement ;
and constantly he was in the receipt of letters asking for his views
upon political topics. Circumstances beyond his own control
made his name prominent among the number of eminent states
men from Whom the selection of the next chief magistrate would
be made. His own wish was to be let alone.' If he ever, in the
course of events, was to occupy the Presidential chair, he, would
prefer to postpone the time. He desired official repose, and an
opportunity to pay some little attention to his own private affairs.
But the more he protested the greater was the ardency of his,
friends. He vacillated, and' finally concluded to let events take
their own course,

490 LIFE AND TIMES
As he reached Columbus, Ohio, on his way homeward, he wag
met wi,th a letter from the Democratic State Convention of the
State of Indiana. This letter requested his views upon four points;
namely — the propriety of a national bank, the distribution of the
public lands among the States, the subject of a protective tariflj
and constitutional amendments. He did not object to giving his
views specifically and fully, but he was aware that their publicity
would create the impression that he was not indifferent in his- as
piration to the Presidency. Still, he was told that his sentiments'
would do good in shaping public opinion upon these subjects—
especially in Indiana, where he was so well and so favorably
known, — and therefore it was his duty to give them, without stop?1
ping to calculate their effect upon the Presidency, so far as he was
personally concerned. The Democratic party in Indiana were in
a minority in that State; it was situated in the heart of the west^
and the ascendancy of correct political principles, in all that region,.
was desirable. The source from whence the request came entitledi
it to his respect, and he gave the following reply.
"•Columbus-, Ohio, Feb. 8th, 1843.
" Gentlemen : — Your letter, enclosing the resolutions of the
Democratic Convention of the State of Indiana, was addressed to
me at Washington, but did not reach that city till after I had left
there. It was then forwarded to me at this place, and in conse
quence of having stopped on the route, considerable delay has-
occurred in its receipt. I make this explanation to account for
that delay.
" I shall now proceed to answer the questions proposed by the;
convention, briefly, but frankly, satisfied it will be more agree
able to yourselves, and your colleagues of the convention, that I
should be explicit, than, that I should be led into tedious dis
sertations. " With respect to a national bank, I have to remark that I have
always entertained doubts of the power of Congress to chartef
such an institution. The indirect process by which this power is>
deduced from a very general provision of that instrument, has
never been satisfactory to me. < But there is the less necessity for
entering more in detail into the constitutional question, as it seems
to me the public voice has pronounced itself, and justly, against

OF LEWIS CASS. 491
the incorporation of any national bank by Congress; No such
institution should, in my opinion, be established; <
" In answer to the second question, which relates to the distri
bution of the proceeds of the public lands among the several
States, I reply, that T think no such distribution shouldbe made.
I will state, in a few words, the grounds of this opinion. The
necessary revenue for the support of the government of the United
States, must come from the people, and it must be supplied by
direct or indirect taxation, or by -the sale of public property. The
general sentiment is opposed to direct taxation by the general
government in time of peace; and of course there are left but the
otber two sources of supply to meet its expenses. Their proceeds
must constitute the revenue of the country; and if one of them is
abstracted or diminished, an additional burthen is thrown upon
the other. Whatever sum the necessary expenses of the govern
ment may require, if the proceeds of the public lands make no
part of it, the whole must be raised by taxation. If they make part
of it, then the amount of taxation is diminished by thp sum sup
plied by these proceeds. It follows that any proposition to divert
the proceeds of these lands from the support of government, is, in
fact, but a proposition to lay taxes on the people. If a permanent
annual revenue of eighteen millions of dollars is necessary for an
'economical administration of the government, and if two millions
of these are produced by the sale >of public lands, let the source of
this supply be diverted to some other object, and these two mil
lions must be provided by the imposition of taxes. All this is too
clear to need further illustration. A proposition then to distribute
the proceeds of the public lands among the several States, is, in
effect, but a proposition to increase the taxation of the people of
the United States through the medium of the general government,
in order that the amount thus increased may be paid into the
treasuries of the respective States. To me it appears perfectly
clear, that whatever may be the annual sum produced by the sale
of lands, that sum is a part of the revenue of the country, and that
it is just as competent for Congress to take any other two millions,
supposing that to be the amount, from the public treasury, and
divide them among the States, as to select for that purpose the
dollars actually produced by the land sales. It seems to me that
such a course of action would be injurious in practice, dangerous in
principle, and without warrant in 'the Constitution of the United

492 LIFE AND TIMES
States. The theory of our political institutions. is familiar to us all.
The governments ofthe confederated States have their, respective
rights and duties clearly defined, and each within its propersphere
is independent of the others: each raises and expends its revenue,
and performs all the functions of a sovereign State. What right
has one to interfere with another, unless in cases marked out by the
Constitution itself? If tbe general government can provide a
revenue for the respective States, and does provide one, it is clear
that one great distinctive feature of our political system will dis
appear, and that the relations between the confederation as such,
and the individual States composing it, will be wholly changed.
Human sagacity can not foretell what would be the entire result of
this state of things, but it is easy to predict that this new applica
tion of tbe money power would give to the government of the
United States a strength never contemplated by the American
people, and irreconcilable with our constitutional organization)
and that it would lead to a habit of dependence on the part ofthe
States, by which their efficiency to resist any encroachments of the
general government would be paralized. Without pushing these'
considerations further, I conclude this branch of the subject by re
peating "that, in my opinion, no distribution of the proceeds of the
public lands should be made.
'f The subject of the protective tariff has been so long and ably
discussed, that it would be useless for me to do more than to give
you the result of my views. I think, then, that the revenue of the
government ought to be brought down to the lowest point compat
ible with the performance of its constitutional functions; and that
in the imposition of duties necessary, with the proceeds of the
public lands, to provide this revenue, incidental protection should
be afforded to such branches of American industry as may re
quire it. This appears to me not only constitutional, but called
for by the great interests of the country; and if a protective tariff
upon' this principle were wisely and moderately established, and
then left to its own operation, so that the community could calcu
late upon its reasonable duration, and thus avoid ruinous fluctua
tions, we might look for as general an acquiescence in the arrange
ment as we can ever expect in questions of this complicated kind,
when local feelings have been enlisted, which a prudent legislature
must consult more or less, and endeavor to reconcile.

OF LEWIS CASS. 493

" A proposition to amend the Constitution; of the United States,
is one which I, should always receive with great caution. There
is already in our country too great a disposition to seek, in
changes of the laws and Constitution, remedies for evils to which
all societies are more or less liable, instead of leaving then> to
find their own cure in phe operation of the ordinary causes which
act upon communities. It is often better to suffer a partial in
convenience, than rashly to alter the fundamental principles of a
political system. Stability is better than change, when change is
not decidedly called for. I am not aware that the exercise ofthe
veto power has, for many years, produced any injury to the public
service. On the contrary, I think in those cases where it has been
recently interposed, it has been properly applied, and that its
action has been approved by a great majority of the people. I
see, therefore, no practical evil which demands, in this respept, a
1 change in the Constitution of the United States. Should cases of
that nature occur, it will then be time to seek the proper remedy.
"With great respect, gentlemen, I have the honor tp oe your
obedient servant, " Lewis Cass.
"To Ethan A. Brown, John Law, Nathaniel West, John
" Pettit, Jesse D. Bright, and A. C. Pepper, Esquires."

In the spring of this year, a large political meeting was held in
Cincinnati, at which an address and resolutions were adopted,
expressing great partiality for General Cass for the Presidency.
Mr. Van Buren, Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Buchanan^ Colonel Benton,
and Colonel Richard M. Johnson, were named for the same posi
tion. All of them were fully qualified to administer the govern
ment, and members of the same party. , The meeting alluded to,
in canvassing their respective qualifications, acknowledged their
fitness for the position, but expressed the conviction that there
was a sectionality attached to each of them, with the exception of
the first nanled, which would not fail to have its influence when
they came before the whole people at the polls. As to Mr. Van
Buren, he had once held the post, with high credit to himself and
country, it was true, but he had, as his term approached its close
again been presented to the suffrages of his fellow-citizens and
they, by a paramount majority, had declined to vote for his

494 LIFE AND TIMES
continuance. This fact, it was thought, would weaken him if once
more brought out, and the Presidential canvass again terminatedn
his defeat. To the permanent success of the Democratic party,
this meeting proclaimed that it was necessary to nominate the man
Who " could go before the American people, commanding the most
heartfelt enthusiasm, and combining the most elements of success;
and such a man is Lewis Cass — a man who exemplifies in his own
person and history one of the best traits of our institutions."
Meetings of a similar character, and expressive of the same
sentiments, were held in other parts of the Union. Indeed, in a
few months they became general and enthusiastic. In the mean
time, the object of all these attentions was quietly attending to his
own private affairs at his home in Detroit. He had not seen
General Jackson since his return from France, and thought of
visiting his venerable friend at the Hermitage in Tennessee, when
he received the following letter, full of approval of his course at
the Court of -St. Cloud. "Hermitage, Jnly, 1843.
"Mt Dear Sir: — I have the pleasure to acknowledge your
friendly letter of the 25th of May last. It reached me in due
course of mail,v but such were my debility and afflictions, that I
have been prevented from replying to it until now; and even now
it is With difficulty that I write. In return for your expressions
with regard to myself, I have to remark that I shall ever recollect,
my dear General, with great satisfaction, the relations, both private
and official, which subsisted between us during the greater part
of my administration. Having full confidence in your abilities
and republican principles, I invited you" to my cabinet, and I never
can forget with what discretion and talents you met those great'
and delicate questions which were brought before you whilst you
presided over the Department of War, which entitled you to my
thanks, and will be ever recollected with the most lively feeling of
friendship by me.
" But what has endeared you to every true American, was the
noble stand which you took, as our minister at Paris, against the
quintuple treaty, and which, by your talents, energy, and fearless
responsibility, defeated its ratification by France — a treaty in
tended by Great Britain to change our international laws, make
her mistress of the seas, and destroy the national independence,

OF LEWIS CASS. 495
not only of our own country, but of all Europe, and enable her to
become the tyrant on every ocean. Had Great Britain- obtained
the sanction to this treaty, {with the late disgraceful treaty of
Washington — so disreputable to our national character, and
injurious to our national safety,) then, indeed, we might have hung
np our harps upon the willow, and resigned our national indepen
dence to Great Britain. But, I repeat, to your talents, energy,
and fearless responsibility, we are indebted for the shield thrown
over us from the impending danger which the ratification of the
quintuple treaty by France would have brought upon us. For this
act, the thanks of every true American, and the applause of every
true republican, are yours; and for this noble act I tender you
my thanks.
" Receive assurance pf my friendship and esteem.
"Andrew Jackson."
It would be difficult for one to write, a letter expressing sincerer
or warmer friendship and fesppct. And it was the more gratify
ing to General Cass' feelings, because it so effectually annihilated
1 the impudent rumor set afloat by impudent persons, that he stood
at a low mark with General Jackson, and that the latter had posted
him to France to get rid of him. The truth is — and so it was
known to be by General Jackson's intimate friends in Tennessee
— that General Cass was the adviser, on extraordinary occasions,
all the while he was Secretary of War. But what gave greater
value to this letter, in the estimation of General Cass, at this
particular time, was the unqualified approval it contained of h,is
course towards Britain's claim to the right of search, and of its
unqualified disapproval of the disgraceful treaty of Washington.
It was on this subject that General Cass felt the greatest interest
then, and in relation to which, he had the greatest desire to hear
from valued friends. General Jackson, in, the quiet groves of .the
Hermitage, had watched the progress of British diplomacy, and
duly estimated the herculean difficulties with which our minister
had been environed. And as a friend both to him and his country,'
tbe venerable patriot felt that, if his government would not stand
by him, the people would do so, and for one, he did, with all his
heart.

496 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER XXXI.
General Cass delivers an Oration at Fort Wayne — The Celebration — Preparations for the Presidential
Election — The Candidates — The Texas Question — General Cass' views — The National Democratic
Convention of 1844 — Letter of General Oass to the Delegates from Michigan— The Whig Convention
— The Democratic Ticket — Support of General Cass— The Result.
On the fourth of July, 1843, General Cass delivered an oration
at Fort Wayne, Indiana, on the occasion of the celebration of the
completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal— the union of the lakes
and of the Mississippi. Thousands of his fellow-citizens, far and
near, came out to see and. hear him. It was a proud day for the
States of Ohio and Indiana — the two sister and contiguous States
that projected and completed the great communication — and it
was a proud day for him. Onward, he told them, was the mighty
word of our age and country. He-entertained his vast audience
with sublime thoughts and words of eloquence. He told them
what the country they inhabited was, forty years before, and " to
day," said he, " a new work is born ; a work of peace and not of
war. We are celebrating the triumph of art, and not of arms.
Centuries hence, we may hope that the river you have made
will still flow both east and west, bearing upon its bosom the
riches of a prosperous people, and that our descendants will come
to keep the day which we have come to mark. Associations are
powerful in the older regions of the Eastern continent. They,
however, belong to the past. Here they are fresh and vigorous,
and belong to the future. There, hope is extinct, and history has
closed its record. Here we have no past. All has been done
within the memory of man. Our province of action is the pres
ent, of contemplation, the future. No man can stand upon the
scene of one of those occurrences which has produced a decisive
effect upon the fate of nations, and which history has rendered
familiar to us from youth, without being withdrawn from the
influence of the»-present, and carried back to the period of conflict,
of doubt, and of success, which attended some mighty struggle.
All this is the triumph of mind, the exertion of intellect, which

OF LEWIS CASS. ' i
elevates us in the scale of being, and furnishes us with another
and pure source of enjoyment. Even recent events, round which
time has not gathered its shadows, sanctify the places of their
.origin. What American can survey the field of battle at Bunker
Hill, or at New Orleans, without recalling the deeds which will-
render these names imperishable? Who can pass the islands of
Lake Erie, without thinking upon those who sleep in the waters
below, and upon the victory which broke the power of the enemy,
and led to the security of an extensive frontier? There, no mon
ument can be erected, for the waves roll, and will roll, over, them.
I have stood upon the plain of Marathon, the battle-field of liberty.
It, is silent and desolate. Neither Greek , nor Persian is there to
give life and animation to the scene. It is bounded by sterile
hills on one side, and lashed by the eternal waves of the JEgean
sea on the other. But Greek and Persian were once there; and
that dreary spot was alive with hostile armies who fought the great
fight which rescued Greece from the yoke of Persia. And I have
stood also upon the hill of Sion, the city of Jerusalem, the scene of
our Redeemer's sufferings,1 and crucifixion, and ascension. But th e
scepter has departed from Judah, and its glory from the capital
of Solomon. ,The Assyrian, the Egyptian, the Greek, the Roman,
the Arab, the Turk, and the crusader, have passed over this chief
place of Israel, and have reft it of its power and beauty., But
here we are in the freshness of youth, and can' look forward, with
rational confidence, to ages of progress in all that gives power and
pride to man, and dignity to human nature. No deeds of glory
hallow this region; but nature has been bountiful to it in its gifts,
and art and industry are at work to improve and expend them.
You can not pierce the barrier which shuts in the past and sepa
rates you from by-gone ages : but you have done better than
that, you have pierced the*barriers which isolated you and sepa
rated you from the great highway of nations. You have opened
a vista to the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. From this
elevated point, two seas are before us, which your energy and
perseverance have brought within reach. It is better to look
forward to prosperity than back to glory. To the mental eye, no
prospect can be more magnificent! than here meets the vision. I
need not stop to describe it. It is before us, in the long regions
of fertile land which stretch off to the east and west, to the south
and north; in all the advantages which Providence has liberally
32

498 LIFE AND TIMES
bestowed Upon them, and in the changes and improvements which
man is making. The forest is fading and falling, and towns and
villages are rising and flourishing; and, better still, a moral, intel
ligent, and industrious people are spreading themselves over
' the whole face of the country, and making it their own and their
home. "And what changes and chances await us? Shall we go on,
increasing, and improving, and united? or shall we add another
to the list of the republics which have preceded us, and which
have fallen the victims of their own follies and dissensions? My
faith in the stability of our institutions is enduring, my hope is
strong: for they rest upon public virtue and intelligence. There
is no portion of our country more interested in their preservation
than this, and no one more able and willing to maintain them.
We may here claim to occupy the citadel of freedom. No foreign
foe can approacb us. And while the West is true to itself and
its country, its example will exert a powerful influence upon the
whole confederation; and its strength, if need be, will defend it.'!j
Throughout the year 1843, the public mind became absorbed in
tbe Presidential election, and the politicians of both the Whig and
Democratic parties were active in preparing for the nominating
conventions. The Whigs werp, to a great extent, disappointed
with the national administration. They had achieved success in
1840, but Harrison's death disconcerted all their plans^ and it was
a barren victory. Mr. Tyler vetoed the bill for the re-charter of
the United States bank, despite the protest of Mr. Clay and other
eminent statesmen of the Whig school. This act of Mr. Tyler's
produced an immediate collision, and resulted in an abandonment
of the administration by the Whigs, in most of their strongholds
throughout the Union. To sustain himself, Mr. Tyler removed
many of the supporters of Harrison from office, and substituted
Democrats in their stead. This course of policy brought down
upon him the opprobrium of the Whig press : but as the Democrats
approved of the veto, this, with the bestowal of the patronage;
awakened much sympathy. But the political policy df the Pre
sident diverted many Whigs from their accustomed allegiance,.
and encouraged the Democrats to look forward to the election
of 1844 with more sanguine expectation of success. This, as
an inevitable consequence, caused greater emulation among the
Democratic aspirants for official station, and thus, as the time

OF LEWIS CASS. i99
approached for the primary assemblages, unprecedented activity
prevailed; especially so in the northern States, where the caucus
dictates what shall be done, and from whose decree, by common
consent, thefe was no appeal, so far as the internal arrangements
of the party were concerned.
The Presidency was the theme of political conversation in every
locality. It was soon well settled that Mr. Clay would be the
nominee of the Whigs, and all that remained for a formal presen
tation of his name to the people was the holding of a national con
vention. The partizans of the President were known as the Tyl/e'r
party, acting under a distinct organization, leaving the Whigs
proper a unit in their action and councils. The condition of the
Democratic party was different. Many Were partial to Mr. Van
Buren. They regarded his defeat in 1840 as more truly ascrib-
able to 'corruption and deception, than want of confidence in him
personally, or opposition to the measures of his administration ;
and they believed that the people, -in their "sober second thought,"
would reverse the decision, if an opportunity was afforded in 1844;
Besides, they felt that it would be a just rebuke to fraud and
incompetency; and that no more unwelPome punishment could be
inflipted upon the Whig party, than to elect the man whom they
had beaten 60 badly in the previous campaign. His warmer
adherents declared that the nomination of Mr. Van Buren would
produce in the Democratic ranks " ardor and enthusiasm," and
that the masses would rally with an alacrity and enthusiasm that
would be resistless. x Among bis friends were many -able states
men and adroit political taPtioians : men of experience in man
agement and thoroughly conversant with all the facilities for
manufacturing public opinion. Conventions, in many States,
were held early, and the delegates to the National Democratic
convention appointed in the regular way. Resolutions were
passed indioating a preference for Mr. Van Buren, and it was
ascertained, in the winter of 1844, some three months prior to the
time designated for the holding of the convention, that a majority
of the delegation was favorable to Mr. Van Buren.
When the canvass for the nomination had reached this point,
the people began to pause, and reflect upon the chances of success.
It was apparent that the heart of the masses did not respond to
the preference which had thus been given in the conventions ;
and far-seeing politicians began to doubt the propriety of the

500 LIFE AND TIMES
nomination of Mr. Van Buren when the national convention should
assemble. They feared defeat ; it stared them in the face ; and
more or less murmurings were heard. The people began to get
together and give utterance to this feeling of distrust. Meetings
of towns and counties were held in various sections of the country,
in effect nullifying the action of their delegates in convention, and
declaring their choice to lie in some other direction.
In the meantime, the President had opened a negotiation with
the authorities of Texas, with reference to the admission of that
country into the Union as a sovereign State. Public opinion was
divided upon the question of annexation. Statesmen and poli
ticians differed. Some were in favor of admission if slavery was
abolished in the territory; qthers, not at present, but by and by;
whilst a third class pronounced for immediate annexation, taking
the country and its institutions as they were. The first class of
objectors belonged to the Whig and Abolition parties ; the other
two to the Democratic. Hence, the latter party was inharmonious
upon an important measure — upon a question of principle. Large
and enthusiastic meetings were held in many places, and the ques
tion, who, of the men named for the Presidency were in favor of
the immediate annexation of Texas, assumed shape, and letters of
inquiry, and the answers thereto, were published to the world.
A majority declared for immediate annexation. Mr. Van Buren
was opp'osed to it. The Sage of the Hermitage, though not a can
didate for office, came forth from his retirement, and energetically
advocated the measure.
General Cass was among the number interrogated, and, in a
responsive letter to, Mr. Hannegan, then in Congress, he declared
bis opinion in the following unequivocal language :
" Detroit, May 10th, 1844.
" Dear Sir : — In answer to your inquiry whether I am favorable
to the immediate annexation of Texas to the United States, I reply
that I am. As you demand my opinion only of this measure, and
briefly, the reasons which influence me, I shall confine myself to
these points. -
" I shall not dwell upon the policy of uniting coterminous coun
tries situated like ours and Texas, with no marked geographical
features to divide them, and with navigable streams penetrating
the limits of both ; nor upon the common origin of the people who

i i

OF LEWIS CASS. 501
inhabit them ; upon the common manners, language, religion,
institutions, and, in fact, their identity as a branch of the human
family. Nor shall I urge tbe material interests involved in the
measure, by the free intercourse it would , establish between the
various sections of a vast country mutually dependent upon and
supplying one another. These considerations are so obvious that
they need no elucidation from me.
" But, in a military point of view, annexation strikes me as still
more important, and my mind has been the more forcibly im
pressed, with this idea from reading the able letter of General
Jackson upon this subject, which has just come under my obser
vation. With the intuition which makes part of the character of
that great man and pure patriot, he has foreseen the use which a
European enemy might make of Texas in the event of a war with
the United States. A lodgment in that country would lay open
the whole south-western border to bi,s depredations. We could
establish no fortress nor occupy any favorable position to check
him, for the immense frontier may, in a vast many places, be
crossed as readily as a man passes from one part of his farm to
another. The advantages an active enemy would enjoy, under
such circumstances, it requires no sagacity to foretell.
, "These considerations recall to my memory an article which
made its appearance just before I left Europe, in a leading tory
periodical in England, which is understood to speak the senti
ments of a powerful party. This is Frazer's Magazine, and a more
nefarious article never issued from a profligate press.. It ought
to ,be stereotyped, and circulated from one end of our country to
the other, to show the designs which are in agitation against us,
and to teach, us that our safety, in that mighty contest which is
coming upon us, is in a knowledge of our danger, and'in a deter
mination, by union and by a wise forecast, to meet it and defeat
it. The spirit of this article is sufficiently indicated by its title,
which is 'A War with the United States a Blessing to Mankind.'
I can not refer to it at this moment, but must speak of it from
recollection. I have often been surprised it has not attracted more
attention in our country. Its object was to excite a war with the
United States, and to lay down the plan ¦ of a campaign which
would soonest bring it to a fortunate conclusion for England. The
basis of this plan was the organization of a necessary black force
in the West India islands, and its debarkation upon our southern

502 LIFE AND TIMES
coast. The consequences which our enemies fondly hoped for in
such a case, but with an entire ignorance of the true state of the
country, were foretold with a rare union of philanthropy and
hatred. I wish I had the number at hand, to cull some choice
passages for your reflection. The result was to be the destruction
of the Southern States, the ruin or depression of others, and the
dissolution of this great and glorious confederacy, on which the
last hopes of freedom through the world now rest.
" What more favorable position eould be taken for the occupa
tion of English black troops, and for letting them loose upon the ,
Southern States, than is afforded by Texas ? Incapable of resist
ing, in an event of a war' between us and England, she would be
taken possession of by the latter under one or an@tb.er of those
pretenses every page of her history furnishes, and the Territory
would become the depot whence she, would carry on her operar
tions against us, and attempt to add a servile war _to the other.
calamities which hostilities bring with .them. He who doubts
whether this would be done, has yet to learn another trait in the
annals of national antipathy. It would be done, and would be.;
ealled philanthropy.
"Eypry day'satisfies me more and more that a majority of. the
American people are in favor of annexation. Were they not, the,
measure ought not to be effected. But as they are^ the sooner it
is effected the better. , I do not touch the details of the negotiation*
That- must be left tp the responsibilities of the government, as also
must the bearing of the question upon its reception by other coun
tries. Those are points I do not here enter into.
" I am, dear Sir, respectfully,
, " Your obedient servant, " Lewis Cass. , ,
" Hon. Edward Hannagan."
The Democratic national convention convened at Baltimore,
in May, 1844. The ballotings disclosed the fact that Messrs. Van
Buren, Cass, Richard M. Johnson, Buchanan, Woodbury, Caj^i
houn, and Stewart, severally had supporters in the conventipn.
The fir«t two, respectively, received the most votes. The conven
tion adopted the rule of the conventions of 1832 and 1835,
requiring the nominee to be. chosen by two-thirds of the members
voting. There were two hundred and fifty delegates, and, tho

OF LEWIS CASS. 503
requisite two-third number was one hundred and seventy-six. On
the first ballot, Mr. Van Buren had mueh the largest vote, but not
within twenty of the required number. As the .balloting pro
ceeded;, General Cass gained strength, and on the seventh ballot,"
received .twenty-four votes more than Mr. Van Buren, On the
eighth ballot, Massachusetts east five, Pennsylvania two, Maryland
one, Alabama5 nine, Louisiana six, and Tennessee thirteen votes
for James "K. Polk of Tennessee. The announcement of the result
of this ballot created a sensation. The name of Mr. Pblk had not
before been mentioned .'publicly for the Presidency, and bringing
it -forward at this juncture, presented an opportunity to the sup
porters of Messrs. Cass and Van Buren, of uniting upon a candi
date that wowra *be acceptable, under the circumstances, to the
friends of those gentlemen throughout the country. The conven-i
tion proceeded to the ninth ballot, during which the New York
and Virginia delegations withdrew for consultation. New York
had uniformly and unanimously supported Mr. Van Buren, and
Virginia had steadily cast her vote for General .Cass : upon their
return into the convention, both States east their vote for Mr.
Polk.. That there might be no obstacle in the way of an unanimous
choice of a candidate by the convention, General Cass had author
ized his name to be withdrawn ; and at this stage ofthe proceed
ings, Edward Bradley, a delegate from Michigan, produced the
following letter, which was read to the convention and received
with applause. "Detroit, May 19th, 1844.'
"Gentlemen: — It is possible that my name, among others^m^
come before the convention which is about to meet; at Baltimore.
I am at a distance, and can do nothing to meet the contingencies
which may arise during its discussion. You will all do me the
justice, I am sure, to say that I have taken; as little part in passing
events as it was possible for any man in my position to take. I
have sat still, quietly awaiting the result, and determiaed to be
satisfied with it, whatever it might be.
" Though your first choice for President has been* directed to
the eminent statesman who has already so ably administered the
government, still it is possible that circumstances affecting neither
his services nor his merits may induce you to seek some other

504 LIFE AND TIMES
candidate, and in that event, if State pride should not supply my
other deficiencies and lead your attention to nie,it may yet create
some interest in my position, and a desire that I should dishonor
neither myself, our party, nor the State. I have thought, there
fore, I might so far calculate upon your indulgence, as to briefly
lay before you my sentiments under existing circumstances; and
to ask your aid in carrying my intentions into effect.
" I never sought the Presidency of the United States. When
in France, I declined being a candidate, in answer to an applica
tion made to me by a respectable committee of citizens of Phila
delphia. When I returned, I- found my name was before the
country, and the matter seemed to have passed beyond my con
trol. I often regretted this, and frequently vaclllafed respecting
the course I ought to adopt, till time and events took from me the
power of decision. I mention these impressions to show you that
in reaching the conclusion at which I have now arrived, and
am about to announce to you, I have made no sacrifice of feeling,
and shall experience no regret.
" We can not shut our eyes to the fact that dissensions exist in
the ranks of our party, which threaten its defeat. Without form
ing any opinion respecting their origin and progress, their exist
ence is enough to excite the solicitude of all who believe that the
prosperity of the country is closely connected with the success of
the Democratic party.
" I hope and trust that a wise spirit of conciliation will animate
the Baltimore convention, and that its decision will restore to us
harmony and confidence. But I have determined not to be in the
,way of this desirable result. And it is the purpose of this letter
lo announce to you this resolution. Should it be thought by the
convention, with reasonable unanimity, that the party had better
present my name to the country, I shall submit, and prepare my
self for the contest. But if there is such a division of opinion on
the subject as to show that a hearty and united exertion would
not be made in my favor, I beg you to withdraw my name without
hesitation. We shall need all our force in the coming struggle.
If that is exerted, we shall succeed ; if not, we shall fail. I will
neither put to hazard the Democratic party, nor have any agency
in bringing the election into the House of Representatives, — one
of the trials to be most deprecated under our Constitution.

OF LEWIS^ASS. 505
" These, gentlemen, are my views, and, if necessary, I beg you
to announce them, and to declare me not a- candidate, in case there
is not reasonable hope that the party will unite in my favor. I
do not doubt that in such an event my friends will abandon all
personal predilection, and prove their devotion to principles, by
a zealous support of the nominee of the convention.
" With great regard
" I am, gentlemen, " Your obedient servant,
. " Lewis Cass.
" To the Delegates from the State pf

u

igan, to the Baltimore Convention."

i
In compliance with the request contained in this letter, the
delegates from Michigan withdrew the name of General Cass from
the list of candidates, and the delegates from New York withdrew
the name of Mr.. Van Buren. Mr. Polk was then unanimously
nominated for Presidpnt. 'This was followed by the nomination
of Silas Wright for Vice President ; but this gentleman, who was
in Washington, peremptorily declined, and George M. Dallasj of
Pennsylvania, was nominated in his stead.
The Whig convention nominated Mr. Clay for President, and
Theodore Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, for Vice President.
The Presidental canvass was now fairly opened. It was Polk —
surnamed Young Hickory — and Dallas, on the one side; and Clay
and Frelinghuysen on the other. The Contest,, from tbe start, was
animated all over the Union. Annexation of Texas and the tariff
were the two leading issues. The Whigs evaded the bank
question, and the Democrats, considering that subject defunct,
did not press it, although it was often referred to in their speeches
and resolutions. >
The friends of Mr. Van Buren — especially his confidential
friends — were disappointed at the result of the convention, and
chagrined. They knew that a majority of the delegates were
instructed, impliedly or expressly, to cast their votes for him, and
they had anticipated a different result. But, after reflection upon
the cause of this discomfiture, it was evident that the Texas
question had intervened, and to this alone was to be ascribed the
preference of the convention.

506 LIFE AND TIMES
As soon as the announcement of the ticket reached the people
at home, they rallied to its support with. enthusiasm. Ratification
meetings were held in all the large cities and towns, and arrange^
ments immediately made to perfect a thorough organization.
When the news reached Detroit, the democracy of that city, over
looking their own disappointment in not having their distinguished
and favorite candidate presented to the electors of the country,
rallied en masse to respond to the nomination. General Cass came
forward from his retirement, and addressed his fellow Democrats,
and asked for fhe ticket an energetic and hearty support. •" He
had come there," he said, " to take part in the proceedings, to
express his hearty concurrence in the nominations made by the
Baltimore Democratic convention, and to announcUhe determina
tion faithfully to support them. The Democratic party had just
passed through a crisis which served, to prove the integrity of its
principle, and the internal strength of its cause. After many
differences of opinion, differences, however, about men, and not
measures, the convention had chosen a man whose private char
acter was irreproachable, and who, in various public stations, had
given proof of his ability,: and firmness, and devotion to those
principles which the Democratic party deemed essential to the
prosperity of our own country and the perpetuation of her free
institutions. Nothing now is wanting to ensure success, but united
exertion, and that we must and will have. Let us put behind us
the divisions and preferences of the past, and join in one common
effort to promote the triumph of our cause. Victory is in our
power, and let us attain it. Let every one feel and fulfill his
duty." General Cass did not confine his efforts in support of the nomi
nation to, his own home. He took the stump, and traversed
Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, urging the people, with argument
and eloquence, to cast their votes for Polk and Dallas. The cam
paign is noted for the very large gatherings of the people to hear
.what was to be said on both sides ; and as the day of election
approached, the two political parties vied with each other to get
up the largest. In August an immense concourse of the friends of
the Democratic ticket assembled at Nashville, and many of the
most distinguished advocates of this ticket came there from the
different sections of the Union. Among them was General Casa:
and he availed himself of this opportunity to visit his respected

OF LEWIS CASS. 507
friend at the Hermitage., General Jackson was right, glad to see,
him, and he had a delightful visit.
In his journey to and from Nashville, General Cass met with
many of his old comrades in the wars. And numerous are the
interesting anecdotes related. The following we re-produce, as
evincive of character.
When at Norwalk, Ohio, while a number of revolutionary
soldiers were, being introduced to the General, one asked if he
remembered him. Upon receiving a reply in the negative, the
old soldier gave the following account of their first meeting: " In
the spring of 1813, Fort Meigs was besieged by the British and
Indians, and the Ohio militia were called put to march to the relief
of the fort. General Cass was appointed to the command. The
marshes and woods were filled with water, making the roads al
most impassable. The commanding general bad not yet arrived,
but was daily expected. On the second day of the march, a young
soldier, from exposure to the weather, was taken sick. Unable to
march in the ranks, he followed along in the rear. When at a
distance behind, attempting, with difficulty, to keep pace with his
comradps, two officers rode along, one a stranger, and the other
the colonel of the regiment. On passing him, the colonel re
marked : ' General, that poor fellow there is sick ; he is a good
fellow- though, for he refuses to go back ; but I fear tbat the Indians
will scalp him, or the crows pick him, before, we get to Fort MPigs.'
The officer halted,4 and dismounted from his 'horse. When the
young soldier came up, he addressed him : ' My brave boy, you
are sick and tired ; I am well and strong ; mount my horse and
ride.? The soldier hesitated. ' Do not wait,' said the officer, and
lifting him on his horse, with directions to ride at night to the
General's tent, he proceeded to join the army. At night, the young
soldier rode to the tent, where he was met by the General with a
cheerful welcome, which he repaid with tears of gratitude. That
officer was General Cass, and the young soldier is the person now
addressing you. My name is John Laylin." The General, re
membering the circumstance, immediately recognized him. Mr.
Laylin added : " General, that deed was not done for the world to
look upon ; it was done in the woods; with but three to witness it." '-•¦
Another. The carriage containing General Cass was one day
stopped by a man who said, " General, I can 't let you pass without
speaking to you. You don't know me?" General Cass replied

508 LIFE AND TIMES >
that he did not. "Well, sir," said the man, "I was the first man
in your regiment to jump out of the boat on the Canadian shore."
" No, you were not," said the General, " I was the first man myself
on shore." " True," said the other, " I jumped out first into the
river, to get ahead of you, but you held me back, and got ahead
of me."
On his way back to Detroit, he daily harangued the people
that assembled in crowds to see him, to stand fast to their political
integrity, and give the' nominees of the Democratic convention a
cordial and effective support. He called upon them to discard all
jealousy — to sever themselves from all disaffection — and, in solid
column, move forward to victory. Suph an exhibition of disin
terestedness influenced many a wavering Democrat to pursue
firmly the line of duty, and sacrifice his personal inclinations
upon thp altar of principle. It was said that these personal efforts
of General Cass determined the electoral vote of Indiana. It was
cast for Polk and Dallas, as well as the vote of Michigan. Mr.
Polk, in many localities, was comparatively unknown among the
masses of -the people.
These efforts, as well as the cheerful acquiescence and approval
expressed by the other gentlemen whose names had been- presented
to the Democratic convention, beypnd question contributed pow
erfully to the success which followed, in the elevation of James K
Polk to the Chief Magistracy, by an expressive majority over the
popular and eloquent Whig leader, Henry Clay.

OF LEWIS CASS. 509

CHAPTER XXXII.
General Cass elected Senator — President Polk— His Message— The. Monroe Doctrine — general Cass'
Views^-His Speech to the Senate.
The official term of Augustus S. Porter, as a senator of the .
United States from the State of Michigan, was to expire on the
third of March, 1845. As soon as it was known that Mr. Polk
was elected, a canvass commenced, and speculation Was rife with
rumors in relation to his cabinet. It was well understood that
none of the then heads of Departments at Washington would be
invited to remain. An entire change would take place. The
names of many eminent men were suggested. Public expecta
tion pointed to General Cass as the premier. But the people of '
Michigan desired to have the! benefit of his services in the Senate,
and were desirous that the Legislature should elect him as the
successor of Mr. Porter. There was no occasion for any anxiety
on this point, for long before the day for the Legislature to act,
it was perfectly apparent what that action would be. Indeed,
there was but one sentiment on the subject ;¦ and in due course
of time, tbe Legislature, in compliance with public opinion,
elected General Cass to serve as a senator of the United States
from Michigan, for six years' from the fourth of March, 1845.
Every Democratic member of the Legislature, save two in the
Senate, voted for him, and his election was regarded as unanimous.
He proceeded to Washington, ahd took his seat in the Senate
of the United States at the executive session called upon the
inauguration of Mr. Polk. •
The first session of the 29th Congress commenced on the first
Monday of December, 1845, and this was the first regular meeting
of Congress under the new administration. General Cass Was in
attendance at the commencement of the session. He entered upon
a new field of official labor. His experience as a legislative
debater was limited, for it was comprised in the single term he

510 LIFE AND TIMES
served as a member of Assembly in the Ohio Legislature in
1806-7. He was now associated with the ablest men of the land.
The brightest intellects of the country were there — minds long ac
customed to parliamentary tactics, and of commanding influence.
He appreciated his position and its embarrassments. He was
fully aware, also, that nothing he might say or do in that body
would escape the attention of his fellow-citizens. He was, there-
forp, to act carefully, and at the same time be up to his duty, with
firmness and intelligence.
The President, in his annual message, informed Congress that
it was his determination^ in regard to the interference of foreign
, powers in American affairs, to adhere to the Monroe doctrine.
He reminded the two Houses that neither the people of the United
States, nor their government, could- view with indifference the
attempt of any European power to interfere with the independent
action. of the nations on this continent. The subject was recom
mended to the attention of congress, and senator Allen, Of Ohio,
a member of the Committee ony Foreign Affairs, asked leave
to- introduce into the' Senate a joint resolution declaratory of the
' principles by which the government of the United States would
be guided in, respect to the interposition of the powers of Europe
in the political affairs of America on this continent. The question
upon granting leave, came up for discussion on January 26tb,
1846, It. produced a debate which extended through many days.
The leading members took part in the debate. Genera^ CasB
advocated the motion. Messrs. Webster, Calhoun, Berrien,' Cor-
win, and Crittenden, opposed it. General Cass supported the
proposition upon the ground that it Was the correct course to
pursue in reference to tbe relations of the United- States with
England — that this country "could lose nothing at home or
abroad by establishing and maintaining an American policy — a
policy decisive in its spirit, moderate in its tone, and just in its
objects — proclaimed and supported firmly, but temperately."
Tbe object of the recommendation in the President's message, '
and of this resolution, was to stay the consummation of the de
signs of the British government on the western continent. That
government was at the bottom of all movements the tendency of
which was the transfer of balance of power to monarchy, and
especially to itself, on this side of the Atlantic. The treaty of
Washington had encouraged this aspiration. Island after island,

OF LEWIS CASS. 511
country after country, were falling before the ambition of Eng
land. She was planting her standard wherever there was a people
to be subdued or the fruits of industry to be secured. With pro
fessions of philanthropy, she was untiringly pursuing the designs
of an infinite ambition, and no statesman could shut his eyes to
the fact, that she was encircling the globe with her stations, where-
ever she could best accomplish her schemes of aggrandizement.
No nation, since the fall of the Roman power, had displayed
greater disregard for the rights of others, or more boldly aimed
at universal domination. Many of the public men of the United
States, and among the number was General Cass, were of the
opinion that, in dealing with her, it was far better to resist aggres
sion, whether of territory, of impressment,, or of search, when first
attempted, than to yield, in the hope that forbearance would be
met in a just spirit, and lead to an amicable compromise. And
they were right. A system of concession would have been, of all
delusions, the most fatal, and we should have awoke from it a
dishonored if not a ruined pebple.
In his remarks upon this resolution, General Cass most truly
stated :
"But what is proposed -by this resolution. It proposes, Mr,
President, to repel a principle which two Of the greatest powers
ofthe earth are now carrying into practice upon this continent, so
far as we can discover any principle involved in tbe war which
the French and British are now waging against Buenos Ayres ;
and a%rinciple solemnly announced by the French prime minis
ter in the Chamber of Deputies, clearly in doctrine, but cautiously
in the remedy. I need not advert to the declaration made upon
that occasion by M. Guizot — a declaration equally extraordinary
and memorable. An honorable member of this body has' the
debate in full ; and I trust that, in the further discussion which
this subject must undergo, and will undergo, ,in this body in one
form or another, be will read the remarks of the French premier,
and give us the able views I know he entertains of them. I will
only add, that these remarks are eminently characteristic of a
peculiar class of statesmen, who are always seeking some new and
brilliant thought — something with which to dazzle the world, as
much as it dazzles themselves— some paradox or other as a shroud
wherewith to wrap their dying frame. Plain, common sense, and

512 LIFE AND TIMES
the true condition of men and communities, are lost in diplomatic
subtleties. i
" But what is this balance of power which is to cross the Atlan
tic and take up its abode in this new world ? It is the assumption
of a power which has deluged Europe in blood, and which has
attempted to stifle the first germs of freedom in every land where
they have started up ; which has blotted Poland from the map of
nations; which has given a moiety of Saxony, in spite of the
prayers of the people, to Prussia; which has extinguished Venice
and Genoa ; which added Belgium to Holland, notwithstanding
the repugnance of its inhabitants, who eventually rose in their
revolutionary might, and asserted and achieved their own inde
pendence ; which transferred Norway from, Denmark, to which it
was attached by Old ties and by a mild government, to Sweden,
who had to send, an army and to call upon the navy of England
to aid her to take possession of this gift of the holy alliance ;
which keeps Switzerland in an eternal turmoil, and which sent a
French army into Spain to put down the spirit of liberty, and an
Austrian army to Italy for the same purpose ; and which watches
and wards off the very first instincts of human nature to meliorate
its social and political condition.
" It is the assumption ofa power which enables five great nations
of Europe — they are quintuple at present — to govern just as much
of the world as will not or can not resist their cupidity and ambi
tion, and to introduce new principles, at their pleasure and to
their profit, into the code of nations ; to proclaim that thelslave
trade is piracy by virtue of their proclamation, and that their
cruisers may sweep the ocean, seizing vessels, and crews, and
cargoes, and committing them' to that great vortex which has
swallowed up such a vast amount of our property and issued, so
many decrees against our rights — a court of admiralty; and, by-
and-bye, will pnable them to proclaim, if not resisted, that the
cotton trade shall be piracy, or ^;hat the tobacco trade shall he
piracy, or that anything else shall be piracy which ministers to
our power and, interest and does not minister to theirs.
" The honorable senators on the other side, who took partem the
discussion respecting the national defenses, I believe, without ex
ception, expressed their satisfaction at the President's message.
And yet no man can doubt that, if the measures suggested by him
are carried into effect, and if England does not recede greatly from

OF LEWIS CASS., 513
all her former positions, war must come. Still we are called paniP-
makers and seekers of war. As the thermometer of the stock ex
change rises and falls, a representative of the people is wise or
rash in the measures he proposes, or honest or dishonest in the
motives that actuate him. It is> not my habit to cast reflections
upon any class of employment, but, without violating this rule, I
may express the gratification that there are higher interests than
those of stock-jobbing, in this country, and a mighty mass who
control its destinies, and who know nothing of the operations of
a Wall street financier.
" Look at the state of things in Brazil ! The treaty between
that country and. England, on the subject of the right of search,
has expired. But has the right expired also ? It has, but not the
practice. England yet stops, with the . strong hand, Brazilian
ships wlierever 6he finds them in tropical latitudes, and seizes and
fends them to her own courts of admiralty for condemnation ;
and this in utter contempt of all the laws regulating the rights of
independent nations.
" I allude to all these facts, sir, because thpy ought to warn us
of our duty. I allude to them in despite of the charge which has
been and will again' be made out; of the Senate, not in it,, of a
desire to excite undue prejudice against England. I have no such
desire ; but I have a desire that my own country should be aware
of her true position, and should be prepared to meet her respon
sibility, whatever difficulties may beset her path — prepared, sir,
in hjtld, in hand,, and in heart. Yes, sir, notwithstanding the
severe commentaries which a casual expression of the honorable
senator from Ohio has encountered from a portion of the public
press, I will repeat the expressionr^— prepared in the heart ; for, if
war should come, which' may Providence avertj I trust the hearts
of our countrymen will be prepared for the struggle it will bring.
There is no better preparation, nor any surer cause or augury of
success." In alluding to the debate on the President's message, he added :
" I expressed my approbation of the President's message ; but,
on the subject of the state of the country, I did not say one word
more than I intended and intend now. I am no lover of war. I
am no seeker of it ; but I have to learn that it is hastened by
adequate preparation. I have passed through one war, and hope
never to see another. Still, I shall never cry peace ! peace ! unless
33

514 LIFE AND TIMES
I believe there is truly peace. The honorable senator from Ken
tucky, whom I first met, many years ago, marching to the battle
field, and who will always be found on the side of his' country,
supposed, when the question of the national defense was under
discussion, I had said war was inevitable. He misunderstood me.
I considered the danger of war imminent, not inevitable. Had I
thought it inevitable, I should not have submitted propositions, for
inquiry, but decisive measures for adoption., I hold on firmly, sir,
to every word I said before, neither softening nor explaining, but
denying, because I apprehended we might have war, therefore I
desired it. And I still consider danger imminent — not dimin
ished, so far as I know, by the recent arrival. The subject' in
controversy remains precisely as it was. The question was, and
is, whether we shall surrender to the British demands, or whether
the British government shall surrender to ours."
The motion was adopted, and leave granted to the senator from,
Ohio to introduce the proposed resolution. The resolution, in
substance, provided that Congress, concurring with the Presi
dent, and sensible that a time had arrived when the government
of the United States could no longer remain silent without being
ready to submit to, and even to invite, the enforcement of the
dangerous European doctrine of the " balance of power," solemnly
declare to the civilized world the unalterable resolution of the
United States to adhere to and enforce the principle, that any
effort of the powers of Europe to intermeddle in the social organi
zation or political arrangements of the independent natilfos of
America, or further to extend the European system of government
upon this continent by the establishment of new colonies, would
be incompatible with the independent existence of the nations^
and dangerous to the liberties of the people of America, and,
therefore, would incur, as by the right of self-preservation it
would justify, the prompt resistance of the United States.

OF LEWIS CASS. 515

CHAPTER XXXIII.
The Oregon Question — General Cass addresses the Senate — His Opinions — Extracts from his Speech—
ms reply to Colonel Benton — The Treaty of Oregon — The Senate in Executive Session.
At this session of the 29th Congress, the Oregon question came
up for discussion, and attracted much attention. The governments
ofthe United States and Great Britain, in the year 1818, under
date of the twentieth of October in that year, entered into a con
vention for the period of ten years — and subsequently, by an ad
ditional convention, under date of the sixth of August, 1827, this
period of time was indefinitely extended. By the terms thereof, it
was agreed that any country which was claimed" by either party,
upon the north-west coast of America, west of the Stony or Rocky
Mountains, commonly called the Oregon Territory, should,' to
gether with its harbors, bays, and creeks, and the navigation of all
rivers within the same, be " free and open" to the vessels, citizens,
and subjects of the two powers, but without prejudice to any
claim, which either of the parties might have to any part of said
counfry; and with this further provision in the third article ofthe
said convention of the sixth of August, that either party might
abrogate and annul the said convention, on giving notice of
twelve months to the other contracting party.
This agreement was entered into, for the reason that the gov
ernments of the two countries were unsuccessful in then settling
definitely their respective claims to the disputed territory. Seve
ral attempts had been made, from time to time, to agree upon a
boundary line and adjust the controversy, but without avail. The
United States had offered the parallel of the forty-ninth degree of
north latitude, coupled with the concession of the free navigation
of the Columbia river, south of that degree, > Great Brifain, on
her part, had offered the same parallel of latitude from the Rocky
Mountains to its intersection with the north-easternmost branch
of the Columbia river, and thence down that river to the Pacific

516 LIFE AND TIMES
ocean, together with a small detached territory north, of the Co
lumbia. 'Both parties rejected the propositions thus made.
In 1843 the United States Minister in London was authorized
to renew the offer previously made to Great Britain, but, while the
subject was under consideration there, the negotiation was trans
ferred to Washington. The British Minister, in August, 1844,
opened the negotiation at Washington by a renewal of the pre
vious offer made to the United States, with the addition of free
ports south of forty-nine degrees. This proposition, if accepted,
would have given Great Britain two-thirds of the entire territory
known as Oregon, including the free navigation of the Columbia,
and the harbors on the Pacific ocean, and was rejected as boldly
as it was made. This offer and refusal terminated that negotia
tion, and no farther attempt at adjustment was made until 1845,
when President Polk made an effort to settle the controversy
amicably, and, if possible, satisfactorily. The British Minister
rejected the overtures of President Polk ; and a6 that functionary
pffered no counter, proposition, the President withdrew the friendly
offer he had, made, and asserted the right of the United States to
the whole of Oregon. As this, proceeding closed the door to all
further negotiation, the- President recommended and urged upon
Congress the necessity of terminating, by giving the proper notice,
the agreement made in 1818, in regard to joint occupation.
Early in the session— on the eighteenth of December — Senator
Allen, of Ohio, offered a joint resolution in the Senate, for the
purpose of carrying into effect the views ofthe President. It was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, of which that
senator was chairman, and was reported back to the Senate in the
following form.
Resolved by the Senate, &c. : — That in virtue of the second
article ofthe convention of the sixth of August, 1827, between the
United States of America and Great Britain, relative to the coun
try westward of the Stony or Rocky Mountains, the United States
of America do now think fit to annul and abrogate that convenr
tion, and the said convention is hereby accordingly annulled and
abrogated ; provided that this resolution shall take effect after the
expiration of the term of twelve months from the day on which
due notice shall have been given to Great Britain of the passage
of this resolution. And the President of the United States is
hereby authorized and required to. give such notice; and also at

OF LEWIS CASS.

517

the expiration of said convention, to issue his proclamation setting
Forth that fact.
A number of amendments were proposed to this resolution, and
the consideration of the subject wag fixed for the tenth of Febru
ary. Mr. Allen opened the debate, which continued for .two
months. Most of the members of the Senate participated in the
debate; and the discussion, at times, provoked much passion and
even anger. The vital point was whether our government should
insist on the parallel of fifty-four degrees and forty minutes, or
recede to that of forty-nine. The principal opposition to the pas
sage of the resolution came from the Whig side bf the chamber.
It was regarded as an administration measure. The entire sub
ject was examined. The title of the two governments was elabo
rately and learnedly discussed. The library of Congress and the
archives of the .government were ransacked for precedent and
authority. The emotions of senators reached the people, and
furnished the chief staple of conversation all over this widely
extended Union. Many believed that if the resolution passed both
Houses of Congress, war was inevitable. General Cass remained
a quiet but not an indifferent spectator of the debate. The public
mind finally was on tip-toe to know what he bad to 'say on this
grave subject.
On the thirtieth of March he addressed the Senate in favor of
the resolution. He did not enter into a' formal discussion of the
title of the United- States to the whole of Oregon. He confined
himself principally to the necessity and policy of the course sug
gested by the President. It was a masterly effort, and was read
with eagerness by those who had an opportunity to do so. It
exerted an immense influence in giving a proper direction to the
public mind. This can be said without the' appearance of dispar
agement to others. He had the subject by heart, and had .riven it
long and serious reflection. Whoever desires to be informed, at
this day, of the length and breadth of this formidable controversy,
will be able to gratify himself by perusing the speech which he
made on the occasion alluded to, and from which we make ex
tracts sufficient to show his views. The Senate chamber was
thronged with spectators; and among them were members of the
cabinet, members of the House of Representatives, and foreign
Ministers. The British Minister, to catch every word the senator
littered, took a seat near his desk, and listened throughout with

518 LIFE AND TIMES
fixed attention. As he calmly proceeded from point to point, he
commanded the attention of the entire Senate, He spoke not
for display,* nor for personal applause, but for his country and the
maintenance of its honor and glory. He said :
'* I do not rise, at this late period, to enter into any formal con
sideration of the principal topic involved in the proposition now
pending before the Senate. I can not flatter myself that any such
effort of mine would be successful, or would deserve to be so. I have
listened attpntively to the progress of this discussion, and, while
I acknowledge my gratification at much I have heard, still, senti
ments have been advanced, and views presented, in which I do
not concur, and from which, even at the hazard of trespassing upon
the indulgence of the Senate, I must express my dissent, and,
briefly, the reasons of it. But, sir, I have not the remotest inten
tion of touching the question of the title of Oregon. The tribute
I bring to that subject is the tribute of conviction, not of discussion ;
a concurrence in the views of others, not the presentation of my
own. The whole matter has been placed, in bold relief before the
country and the world by men far more competent than I am to
do it justice, and justice they have done it. The distinguished
senator from South Carolina, who filled, a short time since, the
office of Secretary of State, has left the impress of his talents and
intelligence upon his correspondence with the British minister,
and he left to an able successor to finish well a task which was
well begun. And, upon this floor, the senator from New York
instructed us, while he gratified us by a masterly vindication of
the American title ; and he was followed by his colleague, and by
the senator from Illinois, and by others, too, who have done honor
to themselves while doing good service to their country.
"Before, however, I proceed further in my remarks, there is one
'subject to which I will make a passing allusion. As to correcting
the misrepresentations of the day, whether these are voluntary or
involuntary, he that seeks to do it only prepares for himself an
abundant harvest of disappointment, and, I may add, of vexation.
I seek no such impracticable object. In times like the present,
when interests are threatened, passions excited, parties animated,
and when momentous questions present themselves for solution,
and the public mind is alive to the slightest sensation, we must
expect that those, upon whose action depends the welfare, if not
the destiny, of the country, will be arraigned, and assailed, and

OF LEWIS CASS.

519

condemned. I presume we are all prepared for this. We have
all lived long enough to know that this is the tax which our posi
tion pays to its elevation. We have frequently been reminded,
during the progress of this debate, of the responsibility which men
of extreme opinions, as some of us have been called, must encoun
ter, and have been summoned to meet it — to meet the consequences
of the measures we invoke.
" During the course of a public life now verging towards forty
years, I have been placed in many a condition of responsibility;
and often, too, where I had few to aid me, and none to consult.
I have found myself able to march up to my duty, and no respon
sibility, in cities or in forests, has been cast upon me which I have
not readily met,
" As it is with me, so it is, I dOubt not, with my political friends
who regard this whole matter as I do, and whd are ready to, follow
it to its final issue, whatever or wherever that may be. I submit
to honorable senators, on the other side of the chamber, whether
these adjurations are in good taste ; whether it is not fair to presume
that we haVe looked around us, examined what, in our judgment,
we ought to do, and then determined to do it, come what may?
This great controversy with England can not be adjusted without
a deep and solemn responsibility being cast upon all of us. ' If
there is a responsibility in going forward, there is a responsibility
in standing still. Peace has its dangers as well as war. They
are not, indeed, of the same kind, but they may be more lasting,
more dishonorable, and more destructive of the best interests of
the country, because destructive of those hopes and sentiments
which elevate the moral above the material world. Let us, then,
leave to each member of this body the course that duty points out
to him, together with the responsibility he must meet, whether
arraigned at the tribunal of his conscience, his constituents, or his
country. " I observe that, as well myself as other senators upon this side
of the Senate, have been accused of dealing in rant and abuse-*
that, I believe, is the term — in the remarks we have submitted,
from time to time, upon the subject, as it came up incidentally or
directly for consideration. This rant and abuse, of course, had
reference to remarks.upon the conduct and pretensions of England.
" I should not have adverted to this topic had it not been that
the honorable senator from North Carolina, [Mr. Haywood,] not

520 LIFE AND TIMES
now in his place, had given color to the charge by the expression
of his ' mortification in being obliged to concede to the debates iii
the British Parliament a decided superiority over ourselves in
their dignity and moderation.'
"He expressed the hope that 'we might get the news by the
next packet of an outrageous debate in the British Parliament ;
at least, sufficient to put them even with us on that score.'
"Now, Mr. President, it is not necessary to wait for the next
packet for specimens of the courtesies of British parliamentary
eloquence, " I hold one in my hands, which has been here some time, and
which, from the circumstances, and from the station of the speaker,
I, at least, may be permitted to refer to when I find myself, among
others, charged with participating in an outrageous debate, and
when patriotism would seem to demand an unbecoming exhibition
in the British Parliament, in order to restore, not our dignity, but
our self-complacency.
" Now, sir, I am a firm believer in the courtesies of life, public
and private, and I desire never to depart from them. In all I have
6aid I have not uttered a word which ought to give offense, even
to political fastidiousness. I have spoken, to be sure, plainly, as
became a man dealing in great truths, involving the character and
interests of his country, but becomingly. I have not, indeed,
called ambition moderation, nor cupidity philanthropy, nor arro
gance humility. Let him do so who believes them sueh. But I
have heard the desire of the West, that the sacred rights of their
country should be enforced and defended, called western avidity,
in the Senate of the United States ! I have not even imitated
Lord John Russell, and talked of blustering. Still less have I
imitated a greater than Lord John Russell in talents, and one
higher in station, though far lower in those qualities that conciliate
respect and esteem, and preserve them.
. " He who seeks to know the appetite of the British public for
abuse, and how greedily it is catered for, has but to consult the
daily columns of the British journals ; but let him who has pur-
suaded himself that all is decorum in the British Parliament, and
that these legislative halls are but bear-gardens compared with it,
turn to the speeches sometimes delivered there. Let him turn to
a speech delivered by the second man in the realm — by tbe late
Lord Chancellor of England — the Thersites indeed of his day aud

OF LEWIS CASS. 521
country, but with high intellectual powers, and a vast stock of
information, and who, no doubt, understands the taste of his coun
trymen, and knows how to gratify it.
" I have no pleasure in these exhibitions, which lessen the dig
nity of human nature, but we must look to the dark as well as to
the bright; side of life, if we desire to bring our opinions to the
standard of experience. In a debate in the British House of
Lords, on the 7th of April, 1843, 1 had the honor to be the subject
of the vituperation of Lord Brougham, and an honor I shall esteem
it, under the circumstances, as long as the honors of this World
have any interest for me. I shall make no other allusion to the
matter but what is necessary to the objeet I have in view — to
exhibit the style of debate there, so much lauded here, and held
up to our countrymen as the beau ideal of all that is courteous
and dignified in political life. ' There was one man,' said the ex-
chancellor, 'who was the very impersonation of mob-hostility to
England. He wished to name him, that the name might be clear
as the guilt was undivided. He meant General Cass, whose
breach of duty to bis own government was so discreditable and
even more flagrant than his breach of duty to humanity as a man,
and as the free descendant of free English parents, and whose
conduct, in all those particulars, it was impossible to pass over or
palliate. This person, who had been sent to maintain peace, and
to reside at Paris for that purpose, after pacific relations had been
established between France and America, did his best to break
it, whether by the circulation of statements upon the question of
international law, of which he had no more conception than ofthe
languages that were spoken in' the moon, [loud laughter,] (this
sarcasm provoked their grave lordships to merriment,) or by any
other arguments of reason, for which he had no more capacity
than he had for understanding legal points and differences. For
that purpose he was not above pandering to the worst mob feeling
ofthe United States — a lawless set of rabble politicians of inferior
caste and station — a groveling, groundVmg set af politicians— a set
of mere rabble, as contradistinguished from persons of property, or
respectability, and of information — groundlings in station,' <&o.
" And I am thus characterized by this modest and moderate
English lord, because I did what little was in my power to defeat
one of the most flagitious attempts of modern times to establish a
dominion over the seas, and which, under the pretext of abolishing

522 LIFE AND TIMES
the slave trade, and, by virtue of a quintuple treaty, would have
placed the flag and ships and seamen of our country at the dis
posal of England.
" Lord Brougham did not always talk thus — not when one of
his friends applied to me in Paris to remove certain unfavorable
impressions made in a high quarter by one of those imprudent
and impulsive remarks which seem to belong to his moral habits.
The effort was successful. And now nay account of good for evil
with Lord Brougham is balanced. •
" It is an irksome task to cull expressions like these and repeat
them here. I hold them up, not as a warning — that is not needed
-r-but to repel the intimation that we ought to study the courte
sies of our position in the British Parliament.
"When I came here, sir, I felt it due to myself to arraign no
one's motives, but to yield the same credit for integrity of action
to others which I claimed for myself. The respect I owed to those
who sent me here, and to those to whom I was sent, equally dic
tated this course. If some of us, as has been intimated, are small
men who have attained high places, if we have no other claim to
this false distinction, I hope we shall, at least, establish that claim
which belongs to decorum of language and conduct, to life and
conversation." General Cass then proceeds to depict the position and duties of
a senator of the United States. He spoke the words of truth 5
and, considering the occasion, it can be said, with equal truth,
that they were well-timed :
" We all occupy positions here high enough, and useful enough,
if usefully filled, to satisfy the measure of any man's ambition.
It ought to be our pride and our effort to identify ourselves with
this representative body of the sovereignties of the States ; with
this great depository of so much of the power of the American
people in the three great departments of their government, exec
utive, legislative, and judicial — to establish an esprit du corps,
which, while it shall leave us free to fulfill our duties, whether to
our country or to our party, shall yet unite us in a determination
to discard everything which can diminish the influence, or lessen
the dignity of the Senate of the United States. While I have the
honor of a seat here, I will do nothing to counteract these views.
I will bandy words of reproach with no one. And the same
measure, of courtesy I am prepared to mete to others, I trust will

OF LEWIS cass: 523
be meted by others to me. At any rate, if they are not, I will
have no contention in this chamber.
"I have regretted many expressions which have been heard
during the progress of this discussion. Faction, demagogues, ultra
patriots, ambitious leaders, inflammatory appeals, invective, little
men .seeking to be great ones, and other terms and epithets not
pleasant to hear, and still less pleasant to repeat. Now, sir,
nothing is easier than a bitter retort ; and he who impugns the
motives Of others, can not complain if he is accused of measuring
them by his own standard, and seeking in his own breast their
rule of action. If one portion of the Senate is accused of being
'Ultra on the side of their country's pretensions, how easy to retort
the charge by accusing the accusers of being ultra on the other ?
But what is gained by this war of words ? Nothing. On the
contrary, we lower our dignity as senators, and our characters as
men. For myself, I repudiate it all. I will have no part nor lot
in it. I question the motives of no honorable senator. I believe
we have all one common object — the honor and interest of our
country. We differ as to the best means of action ; and that
difference is one of the tributes due to human fallibility. But
there is no exclusive patriotism on one side or other of this body,
and I hope there will be no exclusive claim to it.
"Some days since, in an incidental, discussion which sprung
up, I remarked that I could not perceive why the parallel of 49°
was assumed as the boundary of our claim. Why any man
planted his foot on that suppositious line upon the face of the
globe, and erecting a barrier there, said, all to the north belongs to
England, and all to the south to the United States. My remark
was merely the expression of my views, without touching the
reasons on which they were founded. The honorable senators
from Maine, and Maryland, and Georgia, have since called in
question the accuracy of this opinion, and have entered somewhat
at length into the considerations which prove that line the true line
of demarcation between the two countries. And the senator from
North Carolina [Mr. Haywood] lays much stress upon this matter,
making it in fact the foundation of a large portion of his argu
ment. That parallel is, in his view, the wall of separation between
our questionable and our unquestionable claims. To the south he
would not yield ; to the north he would, though he thinks that
even there our title is the best. There is an erroneous impression

524 LIFE AND TIMES
upon this subject somewhere, either with the ultra, or (if I may
coin a word) the uii-ultra advocates of Oregon; and as this line
seems to be a boundary, beyond which we may look, indeed, and
wish, but must not go, it is worth while to examine summarily
what are its real pretensions to the character thus assumed for it,
of being the line of contact and of separation between two great
nations. " There is no need of discussing the right of civilized nations
to appropriate to themselves countries newly discovered and in
habited by barbarous tribes. The principle and the practice have
been sanctioned by centuries of experience. What constitutes
this right of appropriation, so as to exclude other nations from its
exercise in a given case, is a question which has been differently
settled in different ages of the world. At one time it was the
Pope's bull which conferred the title ; at another it was discovery
only ; then settlement under some circumstances, and under others
discovery ; and ' then settlement apd discovery combined. There
has been neither a uniform rule nor a uniform practice. But
under any circumstance's, it is not easy to see why a certain
parallel of latitude is declared to be the boundary of our claim."
If the valley of a river were assumed, a principle might be also
assumed, which would shut us up in it. This would be a natural
and a tangible boundary. How, indeed, England could look to
her own practice and acquisitions, and say to us, you are stopped
by this hill, or by that valley, or by that river, I know not. Eng
land, whose colonial charters extended from the Atlantic to the
South sea, as the Pacific ocean was then called, and who actually
ejected the French from the country between the mountains and
the Mississippi, where they had first established themselves, upon
the very ground that their own right of discovery, as shown by
these charters, ran indefinitely west; and who now holds the1
continent of Australia — a region larger than Europe — by virtue of
the right of discovery ; or, in other words, because Captain Cook
sailed along a portion of its coast, and occasionally hoisted a pole
or buried a bottle. I am well aware there must be limits to thh
conventional title, by which new countries are claimed ; nor will
it be always easy to assign them in fact, as they can not be assigned
in principle. We claim the Oregon territory. The grounds of
this claim are before the world. The country it covers extends
from California to the Russian possessions, and from the Rocky

OF LEWIS CASS. 525
mountains to the Pacific ocean, — a homogeneous country, un
claimed by England when our title commenced, similar in its
character, its productions, its climate, its interests, and its wants,
in all that constitutes natural identity,, and by these elements of
union calculated forever to be united together, — no more to be
divided by the parallel; of 49° than by the parallel of 43°, nor by
any of the geographical, circles marked upon artificial globes ; no
more to be so divided than any of the possessions of England
scattered over the world. In thus claiming the whole of this un
appropriated country, unappropriated when our title attached to
it, thp valley of the Columbia, the valley of Frazer's river, and* all
the other hills and valleys which diversity its surface, we but fol
low the example set us by the nations of the other hemisphere;
and bold on to tbe possession, of a country which is one, and
ought to be indivisible.
"Itis contended that this parallel of 49° is the northern bound
ary of our just claim,, because for many years it was assumed as
such by our government, and that we are bound; by its early
course in this controversy ; that the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713,
between France and England, provided for the appointment of
commissioners to establish a line of division between their re
spective colonies upon the. continent of North America, and that
this parallel of 499 was thus established. The honorable senator
from Georgia, in his remarks a few days since, if he did not
abandon this pretension, still abandoned all reference to it, in the
support of his position. He contended that the parallel of 49°
was our boundary, but for other reasons. In the view I am now
taking, sir, my principal object, as will be seen, is to show that
we are at full liberty to assert our claim to the country north of
49°, unembarrassed by the early action of our own government,
by showing that the government was led into error respecting its
rights by an historical statement, probably inaccurate in itself,
certainly inaccurate if applied to Oregon, but then supposed to
be true in both respects. Now, what was this error ? It was the
assertion I have just mentioned, that agreeably to the treaty of
Utrecht, the parallel of 49° was established as a boundary, and
having been continued west, had become the northern, limit of
Oregon, at least of our Oregon. Upon this ground, and upon
this ground alone, rested the actions and the pretensions of our
government in this matter- So far, then, as any question of

526 LIFE AND TIMES
national faith or justice is involved in this subject, we must test
the proceedings of the government by its own views, not by other
considerations presented here at this day. The government of
the United States gave to that of Great Britain their claim, and
their reasons for it. That claim first stopped at 49°, while the
treaty of Utrecht was supposed to effect it, as part of Louisiana,
and before we had acquired another title by the acquisition of
Florida. Since then,' it has been ascertained that that treaty
never extended to Oregon ; and we have strengthened and per
fected our claim by another purchase. It is for these reasons that
I confine myself to what has passed between the two governments,
with a view to ascertain our present obligations, and omit the
considerations presented by the honorable senator from Georgia!
I will barely remark, however, that in the far most important fact
to which he refers, as affecting the extent of our claim — to wit:
the latitude of the source of the Columbia river — he is under a
misapprehension. He put it at 49°, but it is far north of that.
It is navigable by canoes to the Three Forks, about the latitude of
52°. How far beyond that is its head spring, I know not.
" Mr. Greenhow, in his Tvork on Oregon — a work marked with
talent, industry, and caution — has explained how this misappre
hension respecting the parallel of 49° originated. He has brought
forward proofs, both positive and negative, to show that no such
line was established by the treaty of Utrecht, nor by commissaries
named to carry its provisions into effect. I shall not go over the
subject, but beg leave to refer the gentlemen who maintain the
contrary opinion, to the investigations they will find in that work.
The assertion, however, has been so peremptorily made, and the
conclusions drawn from it, if true, and if the line extended to
Oregon, would discredit so large a portion of our title to that
country, that I may be pardoned for briefly alluding to one or two
considerations which seem to me to demonstrate the error respect
ing this assumed line of parallel of 49°, at any rate in its extension
to Oregon.
" It will be perceived, sir, that there are two questions involved
in this matter : one a purely historical question, whether commis-
saries'acting under the treaty of Utrecht, established the parallel
of 49° as the boundary between the French and English posses1
sions upon this continent; and the other a practical one, whether
such a line was extended west to the Pacific ocean.

OF LEWIS CASS. 527
, "As to the first, sir, I refer honorable senators to Mr. Green-
how's work, and to the authorities he quotes. I do not presume
to speak authoritatively upon the question, but I do not hesitate
to express my opinion that Mr. Greenhow has made out a strong
case ; and my own impression is, that such a line was not actually
and officially established. Still, sir, I do not say that it is a point
upon which there may not be differences of opinion ; nor that,
however it may be ultimately determined, the solution of the
matter will discredit the judgment of any one. This, however,
has relation to the line terminating with the Hudson Bay possesi
sions ; and, as I have observed, the fact is a mere question of
history, without the least bearing upon our controversy with
England. " I have, however, one preliminary remark to make in this con
nection, and it is this : let him who asserts that our claim west of
the Rocky mountains is bounded by the parallel of 49°, prove it.
The burden is upon him, not upon us. If commissaries under the
treaty of Utrecht established it, produce their award. Proof of
it, if it exists, is to be found in London or Paris. Such an act was
not done without leaving the most authentic evidence behind it.
Produce it. When was the award made ? What were its terms?
What were its circumstances ? Why, a suit between man and
man for an inch of land, would not be decided by such evidence
as this, especially discredited as it is, in any court of the United
States. The party claiming under it would be told, There is better
evidence in your power. Seek it in London or Paris, and bring
forward the certified copy of the proceedings of the commissioners.
This is equally thp dictate of common sense and of common law,
and there is not always the same union between those high tribu
nals, as many know to their cost. Let no man, therefore, assume
this line as a barrier to his country's claim without proving it.
"This is first historically made known in the negotiations be
tween our government and that of England by Mr. Madison, in a
dispatch to Mr. Monroe in 1804. Mr. Madison alludes to an
historical notice he had somewhere found, stating that commis
sioners under the treaty of Utrecht had established the line of
49° as the boundary of the British and French possessions, thus
fixing that parallel as the northern boundary of Louisiana. I
have examined this dispatch, and I find that he speaks doubtfully
respecting the authenticity of this notice ; and desires Mr. Mpnroe,

528 LIFE AND TIMES
before he made it the basis of a proposition, to ascertain if the
facts were truly stated, as the means of doing so were not to be
found in this country. Mr Monroe, however, could have made
no investigation ; or, if he did so, it must have been unsatisfactory,
for he transmits the proposition substantially in the words of the
historian Douglas, from whom, probably, Mr. Madison acquired
this notice, without reference to any authority, either historical or
diplomatic, " I can not find that the British government ever took the
slightest notice of the assertion respecting this incident, growing
out of the treaty of Utrecht, though it has been referred to more
than once by our diplomatic agents, in their communications to
the British authorities since that period.
"Rut in late years it has disappeared from the correspondence,
and neither party has adverted to it, nor relied upon it. It is
strange,, indeed/, .that in this body we should now assume the
existence of a fact like this,. supposed to have a most important
bearing upon the rights of the parties, when the able men to
whose custody the. maintenance of these rights has been recently
committed, have totally abandoned it in their arguments and
illustrations. The assumption was originally an erroneous one—
certainly so, so far as respects Oregon ; but while it was believed to
be true, the consequences were rightfully and honestly carried out
by our governmen't, and the line was claimed as a boundary. But
our government is now better informed, as the British government,
no doubt, always were, and thence their silence upon the subject;
and the titles of both parties are investigated without reference to
this historical error, or to the position in which it temporarily
placed; them.
" The treaty of Utrecht never refers to the parallel of 49°, and
the boundaries it proposed to establish were those between the
French and English, colonies, including the Hudson Bay Company
in Canada^ The charter of the Hudson Bay Company granted to
the proprietors all the ' lands, countries, and territories,' upon the
waters discharging themselves into Hudson's Bay. At the date
of the treaty of Utrecht, which was in 1713, Great Britain claimed
nothing west of those ' lands,, countries, and territories,' and of
course there was nothing to divide between her and France west
of that line.

OF LEWIS CASS. 529
"Again, in 1713, the north-western coast was almost a terra
incognita — a blank upon the map of the world. England then
neither knew a foot of it, nor claimed a foot of it. By adverting
to the letter of Messrs. Gallatin and Rush, communicating an
account of their interview with Messrs- Goulburn and Robinson,
British commissioners, dated October 2.0th, 1818, and to the letter
of Mr. Pakenham to Mr. Calhoun, dated September 12th, 1844,
it will be seen that the commencement of the British, claim is
effectively limited to the discoveries of Captain Cook in 1778.
How, then, could a boundary have been established fifty years
before, in a region where no Englishman had ever penetrated, and
to which England had never asserted a pretension? And yet
the assumption that the parallel of 49° was established by the
treaty of Utrecht, as a line between France and England in those
unknown regions, necessarily involves these inconsistent conclu
sions. But besides, if England, as a party to , the -treaty of
Utrecht, established this line running to the western ocean as the
northern boundary of Louisiana, what possible claim has she now
south of that line? The very fact of her existing pretensions,
however unfounded these may be, shows that she considers herself
no party to such a line of division. It shows, in fact, tbat no line
was run; for if it had been, the evidence. of it would be in the
English archives, and, in truth, would be known to the world
without contradiction. The establishment of boundary between
two great, nations is no 'hidden fact; and we may now safely
assume that the parallel of 49° never divided the Oregon territory,
and establishes no barrier to the rights by which we claim it.
The assertion was originally a mere dictum, now shown ito be
unfounded. , "The senator from. Maine has adverted likewise to the treaty of
1763, as furnishing additional, testimony in favor of this line. Tbat
treaty merely provides that the confines between the British and
French dominions shall be fixed irrevocably by a Time drawn along
the middle of the river Mississippi, from its source, dec. This is
the whole provision that bears upon this subject. I do not stop
to analyze it. That can not be necessary. It is obvious^ that this
arrangement merely established the Mississippi river as a bound
ary between the two countries, leaving their other claims precisely
as they formerly existed. And this, too, was fifteen' years before
the voyage of Captain Cook, the commencement of the- British
34

530 LIFE AND TIMES
title on the north-West coast. Briefly, sir, there are six reasons
which 'prove that this parallel was never established under the
treaty of Utrecht, so far at least as regards Oregon.
" 1. It is not shown that any line was established on the parallel
of 49° to the Pacific ocean.
" If the fact be so, the proper evidence is at Paris or London,
and should be produced.
"2. The country on the north-western coast was then unknown,
and I believe unclaimed ; or, at any rate, no circumstances had
arisen to call in question any claim to it.
" 3. The British negotiators in 1826, and their minister here in
1844, fixed, in effect, upon the voyage of Captain Coook in 1788
as the commencement of the British title in what is now called
Oregon. "4. The treaty of Utrecht provides for the establishment of a
line between the French and English colonies, including the Hud
son's Bay Company, The British held nothing west of that com
pany's possessions, which, bythe charter, includes only the 'lands,
countries, and territories,' on the waters running into Hudson's "
Bay.
^ " 5. If England established the line to the Pacific ocean, she can
have no claim south of it; and. this kind of argumentum ad homi-
nem becomes conclusive. And let me add, tbat I owe this argu
ment to my friend from Missouri, [Mr. Atchison,] to whose
remarks upon Oregon the Senate listened with profit and pleasure
some days since. ...
" 6. How could France and England claim the country to the
Pacific, so as to .divide it between them in 1730, when, as late as
1790, the British government, by the Nootka convention, express
ly recognized the Spanish title to that country, and claimed only
the use of it for its own subjects, in common with those of Spain ?
"I now ask, sir, what right bas any American statesman, or what
right has any British statesman, to contend that our claim, what
ever it may be, is not just as good north of this line as it is south
of it? When this question is answered to my satisfaction, I, for
one, will consent to stop there ; but, until then, I am among
those who mean to march, if we can, to the Russian boundary.
" Now, Mr. President, it is the very ground assumed by the
senator from North Carolina, and by other senators, respecting
this parallel of 49°, together with the course of this discussion,

OF LEWIS CASS.

531

which furnishes me with the most powerful argnnient against the
reference of this controversy to arbitration. /
"I have shown, I trust, that there is no siich/line of demarcation
established under the treaty of Utrecht, extending to the Oregon
territory, and the misapprehension wh'enee'the opinion arose.
"While such a conviction prevailed, it was fairly and properly
assumed by the government as the northern boundary ofthe Ore
gon claim before the Florida treaty. .Since that treaty I consider
the offers on our part as offers oi* compromise, not recognitions of
a line; from thejesumption of negotiations by Mr. Rush, who
carried our title to 51°, to their abandonment in 1827 by Mr
Gallatin, who, finding a satisfactory adjustment impossible, with
drew the pending offer, and. asserted that his government ' would
consider itself at liberty to cOntend for the full extent of the claims
of the United States.' And for their full extent we do claim.
And I take the opportunity to tender my small tribute of appro
bation to the general conduct of these negotiations by the Ameri
can goveramem and their- commissioners, and especially to Mr.
Rush, a citizen as well known for his private worth as for his high
talents and great public services, and who seems to have been the
first, as Mr/Greenhow remarks, ' to inquire carefully into the facts
of the case?
" And/t is not one of the least curious phases of this controversy,
that down to this very day the pretensions of England are either
wholly contradictory, or are shrouded in apparently studied ob
scurity. She asserts no exclusive claim anywhere, but an equal
claim everywhere.
• 'A right of joint occupancy in the Oregon territory,' says the
ritish minister in his letter to Mr. Calhoun, of September 12th,
t844, ' of which right she can be divested with respect to any part
of that territory, only, by an equal partition; of the whole between.
the parties.'
" And yet, notwithstanding he refers to the whole territory, still
in the protocol ofthe conference at Washington, dated September
24th, 1844, he refused to enter into' any discussion respecting the
country north of 49°, because it was understood by the- British
government to form the basis of negotiation on the part of the
United States. Thus, on the 12th of September, recognizing our
right to an equal, undivided moiety of Oregon, and two weeks
after coolly claiming the northern half of it as a fact not even to

532 LIFE AND TIMES
be called into question, and then offering to discuss with us the
mutual claims of the two countries to the southern half!
, " Well, sir, influenced* by the motives I have stated, and by a
desire to terminate this tedious controversy, this parallel of 49°^
sometimes with, and sometimes without an accessory, has been
four times offered by us to the British government, and four times
rejected, and once indignantly so; and three times withdrawn.
Twice withdrawn in the very terms — once by Mr. Gallatin, No
vember 15th, 11526, who withdrew^ proposition made by Mr. Rush,
and once during the present admiivistration; and once withdrawn
in effect, though without the use of that word, by Mr. Gallatin, in
1827, who announced to the British negotiators ' that his govern
ment did not hold itself bound hereafter, in consequence of any
proposal which it had made for a- line of separation between the
territories ofthe two nations beyond the Rocky mountains, but
would consider itself at liberty to contend for the full extent of the
claims of the United States.' <
"The senator from Louisiana will perceive that he was in error
yesterday when he said that no offer of a compromise had ever
been withdrawn till the withdrawal made by the present admin
istration, unless such offer had been announced as an ultimatum.
But without recurring to any authority upon this subject, it is
evident that if a nation is forever bound by an offer of compro
mise, no prudent nation would ever make such an offer. There
would be no reciprocity in such a condition of things. In contro
versies respecting territory, each party would hold on to its
extreme limit ; for if it made an offer less than that, it would
abandon, in fact, so much of its own pretensions, leaving those of
its opponent in their full integrity.
" Such, sir, is the state of our controversy with England, and
yet honorable senators on this floor, able lawyers and jurists also,
maintain that this line, thus offered and refused, and withdrawn,
is now in effect the limit of our claim, and that we are bound hon
orably and morally, and they say, at the risk of the censure of the
world, to receive it as our boundary whenever England chooses so
to accept it. This is all very strange, and would seem to me so
untenable as not to be worthy of examination, if it were not
urged by such high authorities. Let us look at it.
" The honorable Senator from Maryland has entered more fully

OF LEWIS CASS. 633
into this branch of the subject than any other member of this body,
and I shall therefore confine my inquiries to his remarks.
'* There are two propositions connected with this matter, which
it is proper to consider separately. The first is, the obligation
upon the President, agreeably to his own views, to accept this re
jected offer if it comes back to him ; and the other is, the obligation
upon tbe country, and upon this body, as one of its depositories
of the treaty-making power, to confirm the act of the President,
should it come here for confirmation. What, sir, is a compromise?
It is an offer made by one party to the other to take less than bis
whole claim, with a view to an amicable adjustment of the contro
versy, whatever this may be. The doctrine of compromises is
founded upon universal reason ; and its obligations, I believe, are
everywhere the same, whether in the codes of municipal or gene
ral law. An offer made in this spirit never furnishes the slightest
presumption against tbe claim of the party making it, and for
the best of reasons; not only that this amicable process of Settle
ment may be encouraged and extended, but because it will often
happen that both individuals and nations may be willing to
Sacrifice a portion of what they consider' their just rights, rather
than encounter the certain expense and trouble, and the uncertain
issue of litigation, whether that litigation be in a court of justice,
or upon a battle-field. Such is the general principle ; and the
practical operation of any other would hold one of the parties for
ever bound, and leave the other forever free. One makes his offer
and must adhere to it, while the other declines it or refuses it, and
still may hold on to it indefinitely.
" Surely it" can not be necessary to pursue this illustration far
ther. Such a construction as this, which plays fast and loose at
the same time, carries with it its own refutation, however respect
able the authority which attempts to support it. But, reverting
to the obligations of the President, what says the honorable sena
tor from Maryland ? He says that the President — not James K.
Polk, but tbe Chief Magistrate of the nation — having felt an im
plied obligation to renew the offer of 49°, is now bound in all time
to accept it, and, I suppose, patiently to wait for it till the demand
comes. I must say, tbat in this brief abstract of the President's
views, the1 senator has hardly done justice to him. I do not
stand here to Say what the President will do, should Great Brit
ain propose to accept the parallel of 49° as the boundary between

534 LIFE AND TIMES
the two countries. In the first place, it would be to argue upon
a gratuitous assumption. I have not the slightest reason to be
lieve that the British government have given any intimation that
it will ever come back to that line. But, in the second place, if it
should, what then? The incipient step is for the President to
take ; and I should leave the matter here, without remark, had not
the senator from Maryland, and the senator from North Car
olina, and other senators, labored to impress the conviction, that
the President ought, and must, and would, close with the British
proposition to accept the parallel of 49°, should it be made. I
shall not analyze the words of tbe President's message, but con
tent myself with a general allusion to it. Truth is seldom pro
moted by picking out particular phrases, and placing them in
juxtaposition. The President says — and it is evident the whole
message was carefully prepared^that though he entertained the
settled conviction, tbat the British title to any portion of Oregon
could not be maintained, yet, in deference to the action of his pre
decessors, and to what had been done, and in consideration that
the pending negotiations had been commenced on the basis of
compromise, he determined, in a spirit of compromise, to offer a
part of what had been offered beforP — the parallel of 49°, without
the navigation of the Columbia river. He says this proposition
was rejected, and in what terms we all know, and -that he imme
diately withdrew it, and then asserted our title to the whole of
Oregon, and maintained it by irrefragable arguments. Now, sir,
I am not going to argue with any man who seeks to deduce from
this language a conviction in the mind of the President, that he
considers himself under the slightest obligation to England to ac
cept the parallel of 49°, should she desire it as a boundary. In
this account of his proceedings, he is explaining to his country
men the operations of his own mind, the reasons which induced
him to - make this offer, made, as he says, ' in deference alone to
what had been done by my predecessors, and the implied obliga*
tions their acts seemed to impose.' What obligations ? None to
England, for none had been created ; but the obligations imposed
upon a prudent statesman to look at the actions and views of his
predecessors, and not to depart from them without good reasons.
The obvious meaning is this : I found the negotiations pending;
after an interval of almost twenty years, they had been renewed;
they began on the basis of compromise, and though three times a

OF LEWIS CASS.

535

compromise had been offered to England and rejected, and though
she had not the slightest right to claim, or even to 'expect it would
be offered to her again, and though I determined, that the same
proposition should not be offered to her, still, as a proof of the
moderation of the United States, I deemed it expedient to make
her another offer, less than the preceding one, which a quarter of
a century before she had rejected. A curious obligation this, if it
has reference to the rights of England, and a curious mode of ful
filling it! If he (the President) were under any obligations to
her, the obligation was complete to make the offer as it had been
made before. And she has the same right to claim the naviga
tion of the Columbia river that she has to claim the parallel of
49° as a boundary ; and tbe honorable senator from Louisiana
has placed the matter upon this very ground."
- Several senators on the Democratic side of the chamber changed
their position as the debate progressed. At the commencement
of the session, they were counted, at least, as standing on the par
allel of 54° 40', but, ere the day when the veteran statesman of
Michigan spoke so ably to them, they had sought, or were seeking,
the parallel of 49°. Upon the minds of those who had taken cour
age to advocate the latter parallel, General Cass did not expect
to make an impression. Of this class were Mr. Haywood, of
North Carolina, and Mr. Dix, of New York. But he did venture
to hope that his argument might move the minds of others.
With the view of making this change of position as agreeable
as was convenient, hints were first thrown out, and in the l sequel
it was roundly asserted, that the executive had receded. For the
thousandth time, the gilded pill was prescribed — oh this occa
sion, its coat was the official patronage at the other end of Penn
sylvania Avenue. This allurement dazzled in the pathway of
those who would face all Europe in arms, before they would vol
untarily yield an inch of American soil to the unjust pretensions
of England. General Cass, with others, contemned the idea even,
as incompatible with integrity. He went farther. He defended
the President from these aspersions. He stripped the pill of its
fascinating exterior, and exposed its rottenness ; and rotten it was,
to the core.
" Mr. President," continued General Cass, " the honorable sen
ator from North Carolina, not now in his seat, called those who
believe our title to 54° 40' to be clear, the ultra friends of the

536 LIFE AND TIMES i
President, and, I understood him, he claimed to be his truefriend,
saving him from those imprudent ones. As I find myself in this
category, I am obnoxious to the charge, and with the natural
instinct of self-defense, I desire to repel it. We are ultra friends,
because we do not stop at 49°. I have already shown, that there
is no stopping place on that parallel — no true rest for an Ameri
can foot. The senator himself considers our title to that line clear
and indisputable, and I understood him that he would maintain
it, come what might. Well, if it is found that the treaty of
Utrecht no more extended to Oregon than to the moon, whatever
other boundary may be sought or found, it can not be that purely
gratuitous boundary — the parallel of 49°. And as the senator
from North Carolina must leave it, where will he find a better
barrier than the Russian possessions ? But he says, also, that
- though our title to the country north of 49° is not indisputable,
still it is better than any other title. Now, I will appeal to the
senator's charity — no, not to his charity, that is not necessary—
but I will appeal to his sense of justice, to say whether such a
difference of opinion as exists between himself and me on this sub
ject can justly be characterized as ultraism on my part. Our
title, he says, is the best— not indisputable; but still the best.
The same evidence which produced this conviction in bis mind,
produces a stronger one in mine ; and this is the tribute which
every day's experience pays to human fallibility. We are differ*
ently constituted, and differently affected by the same facts and
arguments. While the honorable senator stands upon the parallel
of 49°, as the precise line where our questionable and unques
tionable titles meet, there are many, and I am among the number,
who carry our unquestionable title to the Russian boundary in
one direction, and some, perhaps, though I have not found one,
who carry it in another direction to the Columbia river. It seems
to me in bad taste, to say the least of it, for. any member to
assume his own views as infallible, and to say to all the world,
who differ from him, whether on tbe right hand or on the left, My
opinion is the true standard of orthodoxy, and every one who
departs from it is a heretic and an ultra. Thus to stigmatize a
large portion of the Senate, is not, I am sure, the intention of the
senator ; but such is, in fact and effect, the direct tendency of his
remarks. We are ultra, because, to use a somewhat quaint but a
forcible apothegm, we will not measure our com by his bushel.

OF LEWIS CASS.

537

Why, sir, we have each a bushel of our own,, given us by tbe
Creator, and till the senator's is sealed and- certified by a higher
authority, we beg leave to keep our own, and to measure our
duties by it.
"I did not understand the precise object of some of the remarks
of the senator from North Carolina, though I bad less difficulty
respecting the remarks themselves. He told us the President
nowhere claimed 54° 40' ; and I presume he thus contended in
order to show that the President might consistently accept any
boundary south of that parallel. I again disclaim all interference
with the President in the execution of his duties. I do not think,
that what, he will do in a gratuitous case, should furnish the sub
ject of speculation upon this floor. I know what I will do, and
that is enough for me ; and as I took the opportunity, three years
ago, in a public and printed address, at Fort Wayne, to define
my position in this matter, before I became a member of this
body, my allusion to it. here can not be deemed the premature
expression of my opinion. I then said :
" ' Our claim to the country west of the Rocky Mountains is as
undeniable as our right to Bunker Hill and New Orleans ; and
who will call in question our title to these blood-stained fields ?
And I trust it will be maintained with a vigor and promptitude
equal to its justice. War is a great evil, but not so great as
national dishonor. Little is gained by yielding to insolent and
unjust pretensions. It is better to defend tbe first inch of territory
than the last. Far better, in dealing with England, to resist
aggression', whether of impressment, of search, or of territory,
when first attempted, than to yield, in the hope that forbearance
Will be met in a just spirit, and will lead to an amicable compro
mise. Let us have no red lines upon the map of Oregon. Let us
hold on tothe integrity of our just claim. And if war come, be
it so ; I do not believe it will be long avoided, unless prevented
by intestine difficulties in the British Empire. And wo be to us,
if we flatter ourselves it can be arrested by any system of con
cession. Of all delusions, this would be tbe most fatal, and we
should awake from it a dishonored, if not a ruined people.'
" Now, the Oregon, I claim, is all Oregon, and no vote of mine
in this Senate will surrender one inch of it to England. But the
senator from North Carolina says, that the Oregon the President
claims is an Oregon of his own, and not the country which now

538 LIFE AND TIMES
excites the anxious solicitude of the American people. And if it
were so, is it the duty of a friend, I may almost say claiming to
be an exclusive one, to hold up to his countrymen the word of
promise of their Chief Magistrate, thus kept to the ear, but not to
the hope? But it is not so. The honorable senator has been
led into an error — a palpable error. The President says, the Brit
ish- pretensions could not be maintained to any portion of ihe
Oregon territory. He says, also, that our title to the whole of the
Oregon territory is maintained by irrefragable facts and argu
ments. He says, British laws have been extended througbout the
whole of Oregon. Now, sir, has any man a right to say, that the
President falters in his purpose, by talking of the whole of a
country, when he does not mean the whole of it ? No, sir ; the
idea never occurred to him, never crossed his mind. When he
said Oregon, he meant so ; and I have no more doubt, than I
have of my existence, that he believes as firmly in the American!
title to it, as he believes he is now the -Chief Magistrate of the
United States.
"The senator from North Carolina has presented to us some
peculiar views of the President's position and duties, and has de
duced his future course, not from his message, but from extrinsic
circumstances, acts of omission and of commission, as be calls
them, by which the language of the President is to be controlled,'
and his further course-, in this controversy, regulated. I doubt the
propriety, as well as the wisdom of all this, either as regards the
President, the Senate, or the country. If successful in his decla
rations or expositions,' whichever they may be, I do not see what
practical advantage tiie senator expected to gain. The President
would still have to perform his own duties, and we to perform ours,
without reference to the embarrassments created by this novel
mode of reading the past views and future course of the chief
magistrate. In the meantime, what better plan could be devised
to excite the public mind, and to rouse suspicions, which would
fly upon the wings of the wind to the farthest verge ofthe country?
No such intention ever entered the mind of the honorable senator ;
but I submit to him, if, in its very nature, this process is not cal
culated to produce such a result, and whether, in fact, it has not
produced it. And yet, it seems to me, that the reasons in support
of it are utterly insufficient to justify the conclusions.

OF LEWIS CASS.' 539
"What are these reasons? I will just' touch some of them,
having no time to pursue the subject.
"There were two acts pf Commission: one was the offer before
made of the parallel of 49° as a compromise ; and the other was
the expression of Mr. Buchanan, in his last letter to the British
minister, dated August 30th, 1845, that the President hoped the
controversy would be terminated without a collision..
"And what are the acts of omission? One is the neglect to
recommend defensive measures ; and the other is a want of confi
dence in the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations.
"And now for the first. I presume, ere this, the honorable
senator is aware that he has entirely misunderstood the views of
tbe -President upon this subject. In bis message, at the com
mencement of the session, the President recommended that a force
of mounted riflemen should be raised, and, also, an augmentation -
of the naval means of the country. But, later in the session, in
conformity with resolutions which originated here, recommenda
tions and estimates, seen and approved by the President, and his,
in fact, agreeably to the constitution of our executive department,
were sent, by the Secretaries of War and of the Navy, to the
proper committees of the Senate. A bill Was reported, by the
naval committee, for an additional steam force, and was ably and
vigorously advocated by the honorable chairman of that commit
tee. But it was put to sleep, partly, if not principally,! believe,
upon thp ground that, if you can not immediately equip a navy;
therefore you must not build a ship ; and if you do not require an
army, therefore you must not raise a regiment. And the result
may well have been taken as an indication, both by the naval and
military committees, that the Senate did not deem an augmenta
tion of the defensive means of the country necessary under the
circumstances, and, therefore, prevented all further action on their
part as useless ; for I consider the proposition of the naval com
mittee, thus put to sleep, one of the least objectionable of all the
measures submitted to us under the sanction of the President. I
have looked over these estimates, sir, both from the War and Navy
Departments, and I consider them proper and judicious, in the
existing state of our relations with England ; and, I will add, the
heads of both of those Departments discharged their responsible
duties — for their duties were responsible — in a satisfactory manner.

540 LIFE AND TIMES "*
"As to the mode of receiving this information, it has been
sanctioned by the practice of the government for years. Congress
and its committees have been in the daily habit of calling upon ¦
the heads of the departments for the necessary facts and views, in
the discharge of their legislative duties; and, in all cases like the
present, the reports are submitted to the President before being
sent here, and thus receive his sanction, and they are often changed
by his directions. This is well known to all who are acquainted
with the routine of our executive department.
"To return now, sir, to this act of omission — this neglect to
recommend proper measures of defense — by which the President's
views are to be interpreted, as I understand, in this manner. The
President recommends no measures of defense. Therefore he
considers the country in no danger. Therefore he intends to yield
to the parallel of 49°, which the British '¦ government intends to
demand ; and thus there will be no war. Now, sir, more than two
months before this position was taken by the honorable senator,
the President had recommended, by his Secretaries, an addition
to the army of almost 8,000 men, the organization of 50,000 vol
unteers, the removal of the limitations respecting naval establish*
ments, that he might be able to direct such an augmentation of the
seamen of the navy as circumstances might require, and appro
priations for military purposes to the amount of $9,679,680 ; and
for naval purposes to the amount of $6,515,000 — making in the
whole $16,195,680, in addition to the recommendations in his
message at the commencement of the session, and to the ordinary
estimates of the department.
" It is unnecessary to pursue this topic. Whatever may be the
just construction of the President's meaning, which to me is ex
ceedingly clear, it is now obvious that this act of omission be
comes an act of commission, and proves that the President is by
no means tranquil respecting the condition of the country.
"As to the alledged want of executive confidence in the chair
man on the Committee of Foreign Relations, I hardly know how
to speak of it becomingly, when urged in this connection. Were
tbe fact so, it would seem very strange to me, and I should think
the President very badly advised, to withhold a proper confidence
from one of his truest and most efficient friends upon this floor,
and one, too, who, from his position at the head of a most
important committpe, was officially entitled to it.

*- OF LEWIS CASS. 541
;"No one who had , witnessed the energy, the talent, and the
promptitude of the honorable chairman, can doubt the service he
bas rendered this administration, nor the confidence he deserves
— a confidence, indeed, demanded more for the sake of the public
interest than for his own sake.
"But, sir, I have reason to know that the senator from North
Carolina is in error in all this ; that this, deduction from extrinsic
circumstances is but another proof that truth is not always attained
when sought by indirect and remote facts. I have reason to know
that the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations com
municates freely with the President, and enjoys his confidence.
"And what proof of estrangement between these high function
aries is furnished by the honorable senator from North Carolina ?
Why, thus stands the case : The honorable chairman stated that
the opinions of the President had undergone no change; but
being interrogated upon the subject, he answered that the records,
and the records alone, were the sources of his information.
"It seems to me it would better become our position if we all
Bought the views of the President, so far as we ought to seek them,
in -the same authentic documents. It would save a world of un
profitable conjecture. Now, sir, what does all this amount to?
Why, to this :\the President told the senator from Ohio no more,
as to his future course, than he told the country and Congress in
his i message. It would be strange if he had. The avowal of a
line of policy, when the proper circumstances are before him, is
the duty of a sound and practical statesman. But I should much
doubt the wisdofp. of the Chief Magistrate of a great country,
who should sit down to speculate upon future and remote con
tingencies affecting the public welfare, with- a view even to the
decision upon his own course, and- still less with a view to its
annunciation to the world.
"Let me, then, ask the senator if he thinks it is the duty ofthe
chairman ofthe Committee on Foreign Relations to put gratuitous
questions to the President, in order tbat he may be able to come
here and declare what the executive will do in 6uch and such a
contingency, which may never happen ; or which, if* it do happen,
may bring with it circumstances that may change the whole aspect
of the question ? But I forbear, sir. I consider it unnecessary to
pursue this question further.

542 LIFE AND TIMES
"A considerable portion of the argument of the senator from
North Carolina was devoted to prove that the message of the
President did not justify these anticipations of war, which it
appears to myself and 'to other senators to do. Not tbat he called
in question the natural tendency of the measures recommended
by the President, nor the fair construction of ,liis language ; but
he controlled these by the extrinsic facts to which I have adverted.
I shall say nothing more upon this subject, but I shall fortify my
own opinion by the views of other members of this body, who
are entitled to more weight than I am. ,
"The honorable senator from South Carolina said 'that the
recommendation in the message is founded upon the conviction
that there is no hope of compromise of the difficulties growing
out of the President's message, is too clear to admit of any doubt.'
"After some further remarks, showing the opinions entertained
of the dangers of war, he adds : 'Entertaining these opinions, we
were compelled to oppose notice, because it was necessary to pre*
vent an appeal to arms, and insure the peaceful settlement of the
question.' "And the senator from Maryland said : ' We have all felt, Mr.
President, that at one time at least — I trust that time is past — the
nation was in imminent danger. From the moment that the
President of the United States deemed it right and becoming, in
the very outset, of his official career, to announce to the world that
the title to the north-west territory was clear and indisputable,
. down to his message in December last, I could not see how war
was to be averted.'
"And the honorable senator from Louisiana, in bis speech
yesterday, advanced the same opinion upon this subject. ¦ ;
"And the senator from Georgia also expressed the conviction
that ' this resolution, based as it is on the President's message,;ds
a distinct intimation to Great Britain that this matter must be
settled, and in a manner acceptable to us, or that at the expiration
of that time we will-take forcible possession pf the whole country,'
which of course means war.
"And he adds that ' the senator from North Carolina tells us,
that the President is waiting at the open door of his cabinet,
ready to adjust this controversy, and to preserve the peace of the
country.' ' Sir,' he adds, ' even with the aid of the senator's optics,
I can not see him there.' And he adds also, if these firings were

OF LEWIS CASS. 543
so, referring to the views, of the senator from North Carolina
respecting the President's message, 'I should be sorry to do so.'
And I fully concur with him in the sentiment*
" Now, sir, I shall not thrust myself into this dispute —
"Non nostrum inter nos tantas componere lites."
" During the progress of this discussion, the blessings of peace
and the horrors of war have been frequently presented to us with
the force of truth, and, sometimes, witb the fervency of an excited
imagination. I have listened attentively to all this, though much
of it I remember to. have heard thirty-five years ago. But I beg
honorable senators to recollect that, upon this side of the chamber,
we have interests, and families, and homes, and a country, as well
as they have ;< and that we are as little disposed to bring war upon
our native land unnecessarily as they can be. Tbat some of us
know by experience, all of us by reading and reflection, the calam
ities, moral and physical, that war brings in its train. And we
appreciate the blessings of peace with a conviction as deep and
as steadfast ; and no one desires its continuance more earnestly
than I do. But all this leaves untouched the only real subject of
inquiry. That is not whether peace is a blessing and war a curse,
but whether peace can be preserved and war avoided, consistently
with the honor and interest of tbe country. That question may
come up for solution ; and, if it does, it must be met by each one
of us, with a full sense of its abiding importance, and of his own
responsibility. I suppose there is not a gentleman in this body
who will not say that cases may occur, even in this stage of the
worldj which may drive this country to the extreme remedy of war,
rather than she should submit to arrogant and unreasonable de
mands, or to direct attacks upon our rights and independence-
like impressment, or the search of our ships, or various other acts,
by which power is procured and maintained over the timid and
the weak. The true practical question for a nation is not the cost
bf war, whether measured by -dollars, or by dangers, or by disas
ters, but whether war can be honorably avoided ; and that question
each person having tbe power of determination must determine
for himself, when the case is presented. Good men may indulge
in day-dreams upon the subject, but he who looks upon the world
as it has been, as it is, and as it is likely to be, must see that the
moral constitution of man has undergone little change, and that

544 LIFE AND TIMES
interests and passions operate not less upon communities than
.they, did when the law of public might was the law of public right,
more openly avowed than now. Certainly a healthful public
opinion exert^ a stronger influence over the world than at any
former period of its history. Governments are more or less re
strained by it, and all feel the effects of it. Mistresses, and favor
ites, and minions no longer drive nations to war ; nor are mere
questions of etiquette among the avowed causes of hostilities. It
is not probable that a people will ever be again overcome because
a statesman may consult his vanity rather than his taste in the
choice of his pictures, nor that the state of Europe will be changed
because a. lady's silk gown be spoiled by a cup of tea. Humanity
has gained something ; let us hope it will gain more. Questionj
of war are passing from cabinets to the people. If they are dis
cussed in secret, they are also discussed before the world, for there
is. not a government in Christendom which would dare to rush
into a war unless that measure were sanctioned by the state of
public feeling. Still, let us not deceive ourselves. Let us not yet
convert our swords into ploughshares, nor our spears into pruning
hooks, nor neglect the maritime and military defenses of the coun
try,, lulled by the syren song of peace! peace! when there may be
no peace. I am afraid we have not grown so much wiser and
better than our fathers, as many good people suppose. I do not
discern upon the horizon of the future the first dawn of the mil
lennium. The eagle and the lion will not always lie down in peace
together. Nations are yet subject to human passions, and are top
often their victims. The government which should say, I will not
defend myself by force, would soon have nothing to defend. An
honorable' senator quoted a remark I made some time since — I
will not say with a sneer, but with an appearance of disapproba
tion — that it was better to defend tbe first inch of national territory
than the last. Does the honorable senator believe in the converse
of this proposition? — tbat it is better to defend the last' inch of
territory than the first? If he does, I sincerely trust," as well for
his own sake as for the sake of his country, that he may never be
driven to correct his error in the school of experience. What,
however, the senator from New Jersey, did not do, the senator
from North Carolina has done. He sneers at territorial as well
as patriotic inches ; he means a ' line in substance, not every inch.'
' I do not measure my own or other people's patriotism by the

OF LEWIS CASS. 545
mcli.' ' How one's American blood boils at the thought of ceding
inches! ' He does not tell us by what standard he would measure
the soil of the Republic, or the patriotism of her people. It is
evident that he does not believe that wise old saying, ' give a man
an inch and he will take an ell.' Give a nation a small strip and
it will demand 'a larger one. To attempt to purchase safety by
concession is to build a bridge of gold, not for a retreating,- buf for
an advancing enemy. Nations are like the daughters of the horse
leech ; they cry, ' give ! give!' It is idle, sir, to array ourselves
against the powerful instincts of human nature; and he who is
dead to their influence will find as little sympathy in this age of
the world as he would have found had , he lived in the ages that
are passed. If we suffer ourselves to be trodden upon, to be de
graded, to be despoiled of our gOod name and of our rights, under
the pretext that war is unworthy of us or our time, we shall find
ourselves in the decrepitude of age before we have passed the
period of manhood.
"A great deal has been said in England, and not a little in the
United States, respecting our grasping propensity,' in demanding
the whole of Oregon ; and we have been solemnly admonished
of the awfiil responsibility of involving two great nations in war.
The subject in dispute is said not to be worth the perils a conflict
would bring with it ; and the honorable senator from Maine has
exhibited to ue, as in ai balance, the disasters of war, and the value
ofthe matter in controversy, and has made our territorial claims
to kick the beam. Permit me to turn to the Other side of this
picture. I acknowledge tbe moral obligation of governments to
avoid war, where higher obligations do not drive them to it. I
will not call England the Pharisee of nations, but I will say that
she does not hide the light of her own good deeds under a bushel.
The ocean scarcely beats upon a shore within sight of which her
flag is not seen, and within sound of which her drum is not heard.
And yet her moderation is proclaimed, and often with the sound
of her cannon, from one end of the civilized world to the other.
She is not like other nations, and, least of all, like thai great grasp-
mg mobocracy of ihe West. ' I thank God,' said the Pharisee of
old, 'that I am not as other men are.' Now, the chapter of
accidents has turned up favorably for England, if she will accept
the opportunity afforded her. No man in this country wants war
•^ultraists no more than compromislsts, if I may use terms
35

546 LIFE AND TIMES
justified by the occasion. The extreme partisan of decisive
measures asks nothing but the whole of Oregon, Give him that,
and he will become as ineek as the latest professor of humility,
who writes homilies upon national moderation for the London
Times. Now, sir, let England abandon her pretensions, and all
these disasters, the consequences of war, which are foretold— and
I do not doubt many of them justly foretold — will give way, and
exist only in the memory of this debate. There is no condition
of things, foreseen by any man, public or private, in this country,
which can give to England a better line than 49°. The country
north of that line is, therefore, all she could gain by a contest,
which is to involve the fearful consequences predicted to both
countries ; which, during its progress, it is said, will bring nation
after nation within fhe sphere of its operation, and which is finally
to commit to the decision of the sword the great question of free
government through the world, by placing in its path the antago
nistic principle, that the many should be governed bythe few.
What, then, would England surrender to preserve the peace of
the world, and thus give the first practical proof of moderation to
be found in the long annals of her history ? I agree fully -with
the honorable senator from Missouri, [Mr. Atchison,]; that if Eng
land would acknowledge our rights, and withdraw her opposition
to them, and should then ask a better- access to the ocean for her
interior territories, I would grant it without hesitation, as a favor,
upon the most reasonable consideration. If this should be done,
She would have left about three hundred miles of coast to fight
for ; and I will return the question of the gentleman from Maine,
and' ask if this strip of land' is worth the price of such a contest?
England is already gorged with possessions, both continental and
insular, overrun, almost overloaded with subjects of all castes,
colors and condition. At this very moment, she is waging.two
wars^of aggrandizement— one for commercial projects upon the
La PlatR. and the other for a new empire upon the Indus, The
latest' M&ming Chronicle I have seen, one of last month — and
that paper is\the Whig organ of England — says, and the proposi
tion is enunciated with characteristic coolness, and with as" much
apparent candor\s if it were extracted from the latest treatise
upon public morals. ' we can never govern India so well as we
might, until, we posses\the whole of it' A' congenial; sentiment, is
quite as much at home in every English breast, that America

OF- LEWIS' CASS; 547
would be much better governed than it is, if England possessed the
whole of it. .
" Let the British government now say, two wars at the same
time are enough for the purposes of aggrandizement. We will not
encounter a third — we will give up this doubtful; and disputed
claim, and hold on in America to what we have got — we will do
go much for peace. Let her do this, and I, for one, will say, well
done. You begin to practice, though upon a small scale, as you
preach. And why not do so ? This territory is separated by an
ocean and a continent from England. She can not long hold it, if
she should gain it. I mean long, compared with the life of
nations ; whereas it joins us, intervenes between us and our com
munication with the Pacific, will form an integral — I do not
doubt a perpetual — portion of our confederacy, will be, in time, a
necessary outlet for our population, and presents all those ele
ments of contiguity and of position which indicate and invite
political unions.
" But it has been said and re-said, in tbe Senate and out of it,
that two great nations can not go to war. And why can not two
great nations go to war against one another, as well as two great
nations combined against a small one ? So far as honor contemns
a disparity of force, the former would be much more honorable
than the latter.
tf What is going on in the La Plata, where France and England
have sent their united fleets and armies against the Argentine
republic, and where the echoes of their cannon are ascending the
Parana and its vast tributaries, till they are lost in the gorges of
the Andes ?
"There can be no war in, this enlightened age of the world?
What, then, is passing in Africa, where one hundred thousand
Christian bayonets have driven the Arab from his home, and are
pursuing him into tbe desert, tbe refuge of the turban since the
days of the patriarchs ?
'" What is passing upon the shores of the Euxine, where the Cos
sack has left his native plains, and, at tbe call of Russia, is ascend
ing the ridges of Caucasus to subdue its indigenous races, and to
substitute the mild rule of the Muscovite for their own patriarchal
form of government — dependence upon the Czar for dependence
upon themselves ?
" And what is passing in the Punjaub, where the last advices left

548 LIFE AND TIMES
two mighty armies almost within sight, of each otber, after hav
ing fought a great battle of Hindoo ambition against English
moderation f
" And how long since an enlightened government, par excellence,
broke the barrier of Chinese power, which has so long insulated a
vast empire, and scattered dismay and death along its coasts,
because its rulers bad interdicted the sale of opium, a drug equally
destructive to the moral faculties and to the physical powers of
man ? The Tartar passed the great wall, and planted his horse
tails upon the towers of Pekin. He then became a Chinese, and
the empire went on as before. But the Englishman, with his
cannon balls and his opium, has introduced an innovation into
the habits and condition of one third part of the human race,
which may fatally affect its future prosperity.
" And how long is it since an English army passed the gates' of
Asia, and, ascending the table-land of that continent, if it had not
been annihilated by a series of disasters, which have few parallels
in modern warfare, might have reversed the march of Alexander,
and reached the Mediterranean by Nineveh, and Babylon, and
Jerusalem ?
" And only five short years have elapsed since Christian cannon
were heard in the mountains of Lebanon, and their bombs ex- ,
ploded among the broken monuments of Sidon.
"In "this brief view and review of pending and recent wars, I
do not advert -to the hostilities going on among some ofthe States
of Spanish origin upon this continent, in Hayti, in Southern Africa,
upon the frontiers of the colony at the Cape of Good Hope, in
Madagascar, and in various islands of the Eastern ocean, because
these are srnall wars, and some of them are waged by civilized
nations against barbarous tribes, and hardly worthy of atten
tion in these days of philanthropy — of that philanthropy which
neglects objects of misery at home, whether in England or Ireland,
the relief of whieh would be silent and unobtrusive, and seeks
thpm everywhere else through the world, that they may be talked
of and exhibited as proofs of benevolence — which, as an eminent
French writer says, overlooks the wants of our neighbor, but goes
to the north pole upon a crusade of charity ! which has an innate
horror at the very idea of black slavery, but looks calmly and
philosophically, and with no bowels of compassion, nor compunc
tions of remorse upon white slavery, and brown slavery, amounting

OF LEWIS CASS. 549
to millions upon millions in Russia, and in tbe English posses-'
sions in India and elsewhere, because, forsooth, this servitude is
not in the United States, and neither cotton nor sugar will be
affected by it.
" These, and the Belgian war, and the Spanish war, and the
Greek war, are events of but yesterday, yet sounding in our ears,:
and dwelling upon our tongues. And I might go on with these
proofs and illustrations of the pugnacious disposition of the world,
till your patience and mine were exhausted.
" Why, sir, if England had a temple of Janus, as Rome had of
old, it would be as seldom shut as was that of her imperial pro
totype. The first fifteen years of this very century were nearly
all passed in the greatest war known perhaps in the annals of
mankind ; and there are senators in this body, and I among th,e
number, who were born at the close of one war with England, and
have lived through another, and who are perhaps destined to wit
ness a third. And yet zealous but ill-judging men would try to
induce us to cast by our armor, and lay open our country, be
cause, forsooth, the age is too enlightened to tolerate war. I am
afraid we are not as good as these peace men,, at all sacrifices,
persuade themselves and attempt to persuade others.
"But, sir, to advert to another topic I perceive- — and I am
happy to find it so — that there h&s been a nearer union of senti
ment on one branch of this subject between the honorable senator
from Maryland and myself than I had suppospd. All I regret is,
that he had not avowed his opinion, earlier, in the session ; for I
should have felt myself greatly encouraged in my course by the
identity of our views respecting the dahger of the country. The
honorable gentleman says : ' We all have felt at one time, at least
—I trust that that time has .passed — the nation was in imminent
danger of war.' ' Front the moment the President of the United
States deemed it right and becoming, in the very outset of his
official career, to announce to the world that the title of the United
States to the northwest territory was clear and indisputable, down
to the period of his message in December, when he reiterated the
assertion, I could not see how it was possible war was, to be
averted.' ' I could not but listen with dismay and alarm at what
fell from the distinguished senator from Michigan at an early
period of this session.',
" Now, sir, I have not the slightest wish to misinterpret the

&50 LIFE AND TIMES
sentiments of the senator from Maryland ; but I frankly confess
I. do not understand how, with the opinion be expresses, that war
was unavoidable, any remarks of mine could have been thus
characterized. I am well aware, indeed, that they came like a
bomb-sheU into a powder magazine. But why, I have yet to
learn. Like the honorable senator from Maryland, the moment I
read the President's message, I saw to my own conviction, at least,
that our relations with England were in a critical situation ; and
that a regard to our duty, as representatives and sentinels of the
people, required us to take measures of precaution, proportioned
to the danger, whatever that might be. The President, with a
due regard to his own responsibility, as well as to the just expec
tations of his countrymen, spread before us, not only his own
views and recommendations, but the whole diplomatic corres
pondence, which had passed between the two governments, on
the subject of Oregon. Well, we all saw there was a dead haltin
the march of the negotiations. The President told us, in effect,
tbey were closed. • I am not, sir, very tenaeious as to the word.
I dp not attach that importance, in ' fact, to the condition itself,
which the senator from North Carolina appears to do. ' I am
willing to call it closed, or terminated, or suspended, or in the
executive phrase, ' dropped.' All I wish to show is, that nothing
was going on. Why the honorable senator from North Carolina
dwelt with such earnestness upon this point, I do not comprehend,
unless, indeed, he supposed, tjhat if the negotiations were closed^
they were closed, forever, beyond the reach of the parties. If
such were his views, I do not partake them. I trust no question
of mere etiquette will keep the parties separated, if other circum
stances should indicate they might be brought together. Such a
course of action, or rather of inaction, would deserve the reproba
tion ofthe whole world. But however this may be, the President
said, that all attempts at compromise had failed. These are his
Words. He invited us to give the notice for the termination, of
the joint occupancy of the country. He said it was all ours, and
that our title to it was maintained by irrefragable facts and argu
ments ; and he said, also, thaf. at the end of the year, the tempo
rary measures, which a regard to treaty stipulations allowed us
only to adopt at this time, must be abandoned, and our jurisdic
tion over the whole country established and maintained. Such
were, in effect, the views submitted to us by the Chief Magistrate

OF LEWIS CABS.

551

of the nation, in the discharge of a solemn duty committed to
him by the Constitution.
"One would think there were elements enbugn of trouble to
engage the attention of the national Legislature, and to command
its immediate action.' If the ship of State were to be steered by
the ehart thus prepared by the pilot, either Great Britain' must
tern from her course, or We must meet her. There was no other
alternative. She must gainsay much she had said. She must
relinquish much she had claimed. She must concede much she
lad denied. She must do what a proud nation does with reluct
ance — retrace her steps in the face ofthe world, and lower herself
in her own estimation. I did not say she would not do all this.
I do not say so now. But looking to her history, to her position,
and to the motives of human condhct — as these operate upon
communities, as well as upon individuals — I had great difficulty
in believing that she would do it, and I said so. And there was
yet another element of uncertainty, combined with all these causes
of embarrassment, and that was the doubt, if she came to the
parallel of 49°, whether she would find our government ready to
come back to the same line. I know nothing ofthe intentions of
either government upon that-subject. I can not speak authorita
tively, and therefore I do not, undertake to speak at all. I know
as little as any one in this room, be he actor or spectator, in the.
scene thai is passing, whether the offer would be accepted, if
repeated, or whether it would be repeated, if demanded. All I
know is, that as the basis of an amicable adjustment, that time,
which, while it mends some things mars others, is every day
increasing the difficulty of its establishment ; and that, as a means
of terminating this controversy, I believe the question is rapidly
passing from the control of the government to the control of pub
lic opinion.
u Under these circumstances, I introduced resolutions of inquiry
into the necessity of adopting measures for the defence of the
country, and, on the 15th of December, I advocated their adop
tion and explained my views, of which I have now troubled the
Senate with a brief summary, and to which the honorable senator
says he listened with ' dismay and alarm.' ' Dismay and alarm'
at propositions for defense, when the gentleman himself says that
' the nation was in imminent danger ' ! when ' he could not see
how it was possible war was to be avoided'! For it will be

552 LIFE AND TIMES
observed, there were subsequent circumstances, subsequent by
6ome weeks, which removed this impression of the danger of war
made by the President's inaugural address, and by his message
at the. commencement of the session. They were the speeches of
the senators from Missouri and New York, and especially the
speech recently delivered by the senator from North Carolina.
For myself, I did not hear one word fall from the senators from
Missouri and New York, so far as I recollect, in which I did not
fully concur. The former, besides the authority which long ex
perience, high talents, and great services to his country and his
party, give to all he says, here and elsewhere, understands this,
whole subject better than any man in the nation. And we all have
borne our tribute of gratification to the able and statesmanlike ex
position of the matter given by the senator from New York. I did
not understand either of these senators, as alluding to the ulterior
course of the President, or seeking to express any opinion respect
ing the result of this controversy. And I will ask the senator from
Maryland whether, upon a grave question like this, it is not safer
and wiser to deduce the views of the President from two public
and solemn documents, spreading before bis country his opinions
and foreshadowing his course, rather than from the construction
given them by others, and resting upon what is called acts of
omission and of commission.
" It is not a little curious, but it is nevertheless true, tbat dur
ing the discussions brought out by my resolutions, gentlemen on
the other side of the Senate took the opportunity of expressing
their entire concurrence in the views and course of the President,
and avowed their gratification at the executive statements and
recommendations, though a condensed narrative of the. negotia
tions accompanied the message and formed the groundwork of
the suggestions submitted to us, and though the correspondence
was spread out in full before us. What is now thought upon this
subject on the other side of the chamber, it needs not that I should
tell. The views there expressed are as unequivocal as they are
condemnatory. ' We all have felt,' says the senator from Mary
land 'that war was imminent,' and, still more emphatically, 'I
could not see how it was possible war was to be averted.'
" But I may be permitted to ask the honorable senator, if war,
in his opinion, was thus imminent, and not to be averted, how
happened it that my remarks ' filled him with alarm and dismay I '

OF LEWIS CASS. 553
i I thought there was danger of war, and so it appears did he.
And his estimate of the danger was higher than mine; for I
thought that among other means of avoiding it, instant and ade
quate preparations might exhibit such powers of offense and
defense, and such a spirit in the country, that England might
pause before she would drive us to the last alternative of injured
nations. And therefore was I so anxious for an immediate and
decisive -manifestation upon this subject. But we have all suffered
these resolutions to sleep, as I remarked the other day, if not the
sleep of death, a slumber almost as quiet ; and though they were
a little startled by the President's message, still, before their full
resuscitation into life, it may be necessary that that same solemn
warning should penetrate these marble halls, which has said to
other improvident nations, awake! the enemy is upon you. If,
then, both the senator and myself were apprehensive of war, and
he thought it could not be averted, the ' dismay and alarm' which
my remarks occasioned, did not result from any difference of
views upon that subject. And,, as these remarks had but two
objects — one to show the danger^we were in, and the other to
guard against it— it would seem to be the latter at which the
honorable senator took exception ; and it is certainly a cause of
mortification, that I managed , my subject so awkwardly as to
convert my propositions for defense into a matter for ' alarm and

" Since then, however, sir, another note of warning bas reached
us from the eastern hemisphere, and we not only know that Eng
land is arming, but the sovereign herself has announced the fact
in, the most imposing manner, and has called upon Parliament to
extend these armaments still further. And we now exhibit to the
world the extraordinary spePtacle of a, nation in a state of perfect
tranquillity — I might rather say of apathy, almost — without an
army, without a militia — for our militia is- unfortunately nearly
disorganized— with unfinished and unfurnished defenses, with an
inadequate supply of the materiel of war, with a navy calculated
onlyfor a state of peace, with three thousand six hundred miles
of sea-coast on the Atlantic, and one thousand three hundred
miles on the Pacific, and four thousand one hundred miles Of inte
rior frontier from Eastport to the line where 54° 40' strikes the
ocean, and two thousand four hundred miles of interior frontier
from the south-western corner of Oregon to the Rio del Norte —

554 LIFE AND TIMES
making a boundary of eleven thousand four hundred miles, agree
ably to the calculation I have procured from the librarian, and
penetrable in all directions, while, at the same time, we are
involved in a great controversy with the .most formidable nation-
formidable in the means of injuring us — upon the face of the
globe, which is buckling on its armor, and telling the world,
through its sovereign, that it will maintain its interests and its
honor — which, being translated into plain American, means that
it will bold on to its claims."
As an ultimate reason, the defenders of the 49th parallel pre
sented, in hideous colors, the aspect of war, with a lengthy
catalogue of calamities. They seemed to appreciate patriotism
at a price. They appeared to guage national honor as a common
dity — to ascend or descend on the barometer of traffic, as the
caprice of the commercial dealer might dictate. The mail bags
Were filled, to overflowing, with their speeches, and disseminated
profusely all over the Union." Already had they taken an appeal
to the sovereigns of the land, with the expectation of forestalling
public opinion. As they would have it understood, this strip
of land — 6° 40' — was an insignificant item in the national
account book, when contrasted with the enormous expenditure of
treasure that might be occasioned, if the pretensions ofthe United-
States thereto were insisted upon. Not content with this view. Of
the subject, they would occasionally exchange the desk of tbe
commercial accountant for the easel of the artist, and paint in the
glowing colors of the most vivid imaginings, the hardships of the
camp, and the horrors of the battle-field.
General Cass appreciated, most sensibly, the attitude of: his
government at this interesting crisis of its history. Yet he saw
no reason for dismay. If the American title reached to the upper
parallel of latitude — as he verily believed it did — he would
le&ve the consequences of insisting upon our clearly established
rights, (whatever they might be,) to that Almighty arm which had
hitherto supported the standard of the republic in every peril.
If there was but one lone inhabitant upon the disputed territory,
he would mantle him with the stars and stripes, at whatever cost
and hazard.
But, whether this controversy with Great Britain terminated in
war or no, he was in favor of being prepared for this last extremity

OF LEWIS CASS. 555*,
with the nations of tbe world — single-banded or combined.
MilUons for defense — not one cent for tribute*
It was these considerations wbich induced him to engage, still
f^ifther, the attention of the Senate.
* "Mr. President, a great deal has been said, both here and else
where, respecting the probability of war— whether it will result
from the present condition of the two nations. Some gentlemen
think this is a legitimate subject of inquiry, arising out of th,e
principal question — that of tbe notice — direetly before us';
white others think we should decide the question on its own merits,
leaving out of view the consequences to which it may'leadi
(krtainly, a qftestion of territorial right should be judged and
determined nakedly, and unembarrassed by other considerations;
We owe that' to our own honor. Still, it becomes prudent men,
especially prudent statesmen, when taking an important step, to
look to its results. Neither national nor individual acts are insu
lated— one measure leads to another. It seems to me it is not
only our right, but our duty, as the representatives of tbe States,
to inquire where this measure will conduct us. If to a > stable
|ieaefe, so much the better. , If to war, let us contemplate its pros1-
pifts' and its dangers, and let us prepare for its consequences'.
Bat, at any rate, let us commune together, and not blindly rush
iMsO the future, rather driven by our instincts, than guided by Our
reason. K Our first objectis to preserve our rights ; our next to' do that
peacefully. While we all hope that war will be averted, that hope
will never be strengthened by underrating tile capacity of either
nation to defend itself, or to injure its opponent. For my own
part, I See no want of patriotism in stating plainly and frankly
Are means of annoyance that England possesses ; and I think the
course of my honorable friend from Delaware upon that subject
was equally patriotic and judicious. There is said to be a bird in
the'desert, which hides its head in the sand, and -then thinks it is
Bafe from danger, because it can not see it. Let us not imitate this
folly. Let us look directly at what we must encounter, if we are
forced to war, and then let us behave like reasonable men, and
make reasonable preparation to meet it.
"I see it said in a late London Herald, that we can not carry on
War, because we can not procure tbe means to meet the necessary
expenditures. Tbe same assertion has been made in some of our

556 LIFE AND TIMES
own journals, and even by higher authority. The senator from
South Carolina has referred in this connexion to a venerable man,
for Whom, and for whose patriotic services, I have great and sin
cere respect, who has awakened from a political slumber of almost
a quarter of a century, and presents himself to his countrymen
with elaborate statistical tables, showing the pecuniary cost of
war, and the burdens it brings with it. All this is unnecessary.
It is taught in the very born-book of national expenditures. Ours
is not a question of the cost of war, but of its necessity. That
same eminent map, the survivor of the cabinets of Mr. Jefferson
and of Mr. Madison, was understood, in 1812, to entertain a similar
repugnance against committing the destinies of his countiy to
war, which he now exhibits, and to foreshadow similar difficulties.
I do not know if the fact be so. I can repeat only the rumors of
that day. It was then asserted and believed, that some report or
document from the Secretary of the Treasury was intended to
dampen the national ardor, by an imposing array of the contribu
tions it would be necessary to levy upon the country, in the event
of war, and thus to prevent its occurrence. But. tbe effort, if
made, was useless then, and it will be useless now. The war went
on, because it could not be avoided without a sacrifice of the
national rights and honor, and it came to a glorious conclusion.
It pushed us forward in all the elements of advancement. And
as We did thPn so shall we do now. If a war is forced upon us,
we shall meet it with its dangers and its responsibilities. No
array of figures will stop the people in their patriotic course.
You might as well attempt to stop the surges of the ocean beating
upon the sea-coast by marks in the sand, which the first wave
sweeps away, and then passes on.
" As to this notion, that a war can not be maintained without
cash enough in tbe possession of the government to carry it on,
or the means of procuring it at any time by loans, the two suc
cessful experiments we have made have demonstrated its fallacy.
I do not stOp to point out the peculiarities in our condition which
prevent our national exertions from being paralyzed by deficient
resources. They are to be found in tbe spirit and patriotism of
our people ; in the common interest they feel in a government,
established by them, and responsible to them ; in the system of
private credit, which almost makes part of our institutions, and
which' often separates by wide intervals the purchase and the

OF LEWIS CASS. 557
payment ; in the abundance and cheapness of the necessaries of
life, and in the military ardor which stimulates our young men
and sends them to the standard of their country. No modern
Croesus, be he a king of financiers, or a financier of kings, holds
in his hands the action of this government But even in Europe,
a decisive experiment has shown that the exertions of a nation
are not to he crippled by a crippled treasury. One of the great
errors of Mr. Pitt arose from his belief, that as the Frencn resources
and credit were deranged and almost destroyed, therefore France
was incapable of the necessary efforts to defend herself against
the formidable coalition, at the head of which England placed
herself, and to maintain which she poured out her blood as freely
as her treasure. But the result proved the folly and the fallacy of
all this, notwithstanding the depreciation of the Fronch paper, and
the difficulties consequent upon it. What was ¦ the progress and
fhe result of this effort to prevent a people from changing and
reorganizing their government, is written upon the pages of a
quarter of a century of war> an(l still more plainly upon the
oppressed taxation of\England, which now weighs upon her present
condition like an incubus, and overshadows her future with dark
clouds of adversity, t
"I now propose to submit some^observations upon the remarks
presented to the Senate a few days since, by tbe distinguished
senator from South Carolina. The originality of his views, and.
the force of the illustrations with which they were supported, give
them great consideration ; and as it seems to me, that in some
important particulars their i tendency is erroneous, I desire to
communicate the impression tjiey made upon me.
" While I shall do this, with the freedom which a sincere search
after truth justifies, I shall(.dolit with the respect that the eminent
services and "high character of tbe senator justify, and that an
uninterrupted friendship of thirty years, which has been to me a
source of greats gratification, naturally inspires.
w The senator states, that when this proposition for notice to
terminate the joint occupancy of Oregon was first submitted .for
'consideration, be was opposed to it: but that now he is in favor
of it in some modified form ; the form, I believe, it assumes in the
resolution of the senator from Georgia. ,
"That bis motives of action were tbe same in both cases — a
desire ;to preserve the peace of the two countries; tbat in the

558 LIFE AND TIMES
former part of the session, he thought the notice would lead to
war, and therefore he opposed it ; that he thinks now it would
lead to peace,, and therefore he favors it.
" Certainly, Mr. President, this is consistent ground for any man
to occupy. A change of action on questions of expediency, where
circumstances have changed, is a dictate of true wisdom. He
who boasts he has never changed, boasts,, in fact, that the lessons
of experience have been lost upon him ; and that he grows older
without growing wiser. But before a change takes place in our
approbation or condemnation of a great question of national policy,
the reasons which dictate it should be carefully considered, and
clearly established.
" Has this been done by the senator from South Carolina ? I
think not. He assumes the very fact upon, which his whole argw-
ment rests. He assumes that a great change has taken place, both
in this country and in England, in public opinion upon this subject,
wbich will necessarily lead to a compromise, and thus to an
amicable adjustment of this serious and long-pending controversy.
"Mr. President, I can not partake this confidence. -The signs of
the times aretanything but auspicious to me. It will be perceived,
that the annunciation thus certainly made of the peaceful termi
nation of this matter, rests upon the change in public opinion and
upon the conviction that both governments are ready to compro
mise, and both prepared to come to the same line ; so much so,
indeed, that the senator adds, 'he trusts that in concluding it
there will be no unnecessary delay.'
" In all this, sir, I am under the impression there is a great
misapprehension. As. to the universality of the proposition that
all are agreed as to this change, I know there is an error. For
myself, my conviction is as strong as human conviction, can be,
not only that the change thus indicated has not taken place, but
that a great change has been going on in a contrary direction. I
believe that the opposition to a compromise upon the parallel, of
49° has increased, is increasing, and will go on to increase ; and
that both here and in England, public opinion is less and less
confident in an amicable settlement of this dispute. I shall not
pursue this matter into its details. I will merely remark, that the
evidences of public opinion Which reach us, whether borne here
by letters, by newspapers, by the declarations of conventions, or
bythe resolutions of legislative bodies, is decisive and indisputable.

* OF LEWIS CASS. 559
And^ in proof of this, look at tbe passage, of the resolutions in
the House of Representatives by a majority almost unknown. in
a free country upon a great question like this, and involving such
momentous consequences; and this, too, when the senator Says,
he' thought their passage would lead to war. Andwhat say the
advices from England ? They speak a language as positive as it
is minatory. What says the Standard, of March 3d, the great
Tory organ ? I will tell you : ' But will the American Congress
confirm the insolent and unwarrantable -tone adopted by this
braggadocio f &c. And the person thus denominated by these
models of all that is decorous, so often rePommended to us for our
study, is the President of this great Republic. ' And dreadful as
is the alternative, it will ' be with the utmost difficulty that any
British minister can escape from it with honor.' The last London
Times thatT have seen says : ' The joint navigation of the-Golum-
bia, the right of harbors on the sea-coast, and the right of traffic
for the Hudson Bay Company on one bank of the river, are, we
fhink, demands neither unjust nor extravagant.' The London
Q-Mette, oi March 3d, says : ' The news from the United States
justifies the fears we have repeatedly expressed of the determined
Spirit of hostility which pervades a powerful party in the WAited
States' The London Sun, a neutral paper, says : 'The news from
this country has produced a strong feeling of indignation among
our commercial circles ; and those who have all along opposed the
expediency of war, on account of mercantile connexions, now
openly claim a vindication of the honor of the country at tbe
hands of the executive.' ' The feeling everywhere is, that Eng
land, having shown as much, forbparance as is compatible with
her station in the scale of nations, is now called upon to treat the
» proceedings of the American legislators with the contempt they
deserve.' The Liverpool Courier, oi March 4th, say's : ' The conse
quences to which it may lead (the refusal to arbitrate) maybe
most calamitous. But the Americans will only have themselves
'. to blame if war ensues ; for England has done all in her power to
bring matters to a satisfactory and peaceful issue.' Such are the
evidences of public opinion in England, which the last packet
brought us ; and of the favorable change there, which renders a
compromise certain, and a question only of time.
"The honorable senator bas referred, in this connexion, to the
declaration of Sir Robert Peel, made sometime since in the

560 LIFE AND TIMES ^
British House of Commons, that he regretted their minister had
not transmitted to his government the proposition of a compromise
upon the parallel of 49°; that if not satisfactory, it might have
been made the basis of a modified offer. I am not inclined to
draw as favorable a.conclusion, however, as the honorable senator,
from this incidental remark, made, not to us, but in the course of
a parliamentary discussion. In fact, it is so cautiously expressed,
as to lead to no useful deduction respecting his real views. It is
a mere barren remark. Had the premier intended it should pro
duce any practical consequences, he would have communicated to
our government the views of the British cabinet, and would have
accepted the offer, or returned it with the proposed modification.
But we hear nothing of this disapprobation — no, not disapproba
tion, but of soft regret at the hasty decision of the British minister
here — till six months after if took place, and then we learn it in
the public debates, and that is the last of it. It is to me a curious
chapter in the history of British diplomacy, tbat a minister would
venture to take the grave responsibility of rejecting such a prop6-
sition, without referring it to- his government, and he is not even
censured for it. If he had been recalled, or a successor sent out, .
with instructions to accept the propositions made by our govern
ment for a compromise, we should then have had a proof of
sincerity better than a barren declaration, and which might have
led to a better state of feeling.
" The senator from South Carolina has entered at some length
into a defense of his views respecting the acquisition of Oregon,
by what is called the process of masterly inactivity. And if he
has not made converts to his opinion, he has gained many admirers
of his talents by his masterly vindication of it.
" Certainly, sir, it is often the part of true wisdom in this world
to stand still — to wait for time and circumstances. There is a
great deal of wisdom in old proverbs, and one of them says,
'¦Let well enough alone.' Time has wrought many wonders for our
country, and is destined to work many more. The practical diffi-'^
culty is, to determine when inaction should cease and action
commence, and bow the operations of time can be best aided by
enterprise and industry. The honorable senator says, that cir
cumstances have got ahead of his system, and that he adverts to
the subject, not to apply it, but to defend it. It'seems to me, sir,
it never could have produced the results the senator anticipated,
and produced them peacefully.

OF LEWIS CASS. 561
" Here was an open question, which, for almost forty years, had
occupied the attention of the two countries, which had been kept
at arm's length by an improvident arrangement, instead of being
grappled with and' adjusted, as it could have been, and should
have been, long ago, and which had at length increased to a fearful
magnitude; and, what is still more, had begun to enlist passions,
and feelings, and interests, that threatened to take the controversy
from the pen, and to commit it to the sword. The claims of two
great countries to a distant territory were unsettled, and in a con
dition unprecedented in the history of national intercourse — each
with a right to occupy the whole of the territory, but each liable
to have this right defeated' by the previous action of the other
party — each holding a remote possession, beginning to fill up by
emigration with their respective citizens and subjects, hardy,
enterprising, and somewhat pugnacious, intermingled upon the
same soil; seizing it as they could, and holding it as they might,
Without any of those improvements Which require for their crea
tion and support the joint and legal action of a community, and
wholly irresponsible for their acts towards one another, except
through the medium of tribunals belonging to the party claiming
allegiance over the aggressor, and possessing no sympathy with
the complainant. The end of all this may be foreseen without
the gift of second sight. Collisions must be inevitable. Tbe only
wonder is, they have not already occurred. And the first gun
that is fired upon the Columbia will send its echoes to the Potomac
and the Thames. And think you that the matter will be coolly
examined, dispassionately discussed, and amicably arranged ? No,
sir; each nation will believe its own story, and both will be ready
,jto arm, and assert its honor and defend its citizens. All history
is full of these incidents; and the peace of two great nations is
now held by the slightest tenure, dependent upon passions and
interests to be called into fierce action upon the shores that look
out upon China and Japan. We are told that Time is the great
physician, who might have cured this disordered state of our
political affairs. I am a firm believer in the silent and ceaseless
operations of that mighty agent. But this case was beyond its
power. If, indeed, Time would stands till for'one of the parties,
and move only for the other — stand still for England, and move
on for us — our state of progress would soon pour through the
passes of the Rocky Mountains a host of emigrants who would
36

562 LIFE AND TIMES
spread over all the hills and valleys from the summit of tbat great
barrier to that other barrier, tbe ocean itself, wbich says tq; the
advancing settlements, Come no farther: But neither Time nor
England would stand still. Her government is sagacious, alive,
to her interests, and ready to maintain them. She knows the
value of the country as well as we do, and appreciates it perhaps
higher. No one can read the speeches in the House of Commons'
on the 4th of April last, without being sensible tbat the subject, in
all its extent, has occupied the attention of the British government,
and that the country itself will occupy its fostering care. Think
you that that government would have continued to see band after
band of our citizens leaving our frontier settlements, lost to human
observation almost, for months, while passing through the desert
with its toils, its privations, and its dangers, and finally emerging
into the land of promise, to seize it, and to hold it, and would
have looked calmly on, receding as we advanced, retreating to the
hill as we descended into the valley, and finally yielding us quiet
possession of this long-disputed territory? He who does not'
believe all this, must believe that Time would not have peacefully
adjusted this controversy for us. But, beside, this process of
adjustment does not assume tbat our right to exclude the British
frpm the country will be increased by settlement It may add
strength to our power, but none to our title. It does not presup
pose that war is to be averted, but only postponed. The rights of
England, at the end of any given period, will be precisely what
they now are ; and, unless she should voluntarily relinquish them,
a conflict would be inevitable. It seems to me very clear, that if
she would ever be disposed to abandon the country, she would do
it now, when the disparity of forpe there is not such as to cast the
reproach of timidity upon ber counsels, and when the number of
ber subjects is not such as to render difficult a satisfactory
arrangement for them.
" Mr. President, the senator from South Carolina has held up
to our view a somber picture of the calamities wbich a war with
England would bring upon the United States — too somber, sir, if
I am hot utterly ignorant of the history and condition of my
country, and of the energy and spirit of my countrymen. I shall
not examine it feature by feature ; but there are certain portions
I desire to present to the Senate.

OF LEWIS CASS. 563
'* What probable circumstances could require this country to
keep up a military and naval force of two hundred thousand men
fpr ten years — the land portion of it divided into seven great
armies — I confess my utter "inability to conjecture. Why the^
'honorable senator fixes upon that period for the duration of the
war I know not. It is so wholly conjectural as to elude the appli
cation of any principle to it. Long before its expiration, if we are
not utterly unworthy of our name and our birthright, we should
sweep the British power from the continent of North America,
and the remainder of the time must be occupied by predatory in
cursions upon the coast and by hostilities upon the ocean. The
dangers or disasters which this state of things brings with it,
would requirp but a small portion of the force considered neces
sary by the senator. As to Mexico, I trust we shall bear much
from her. We owe that to our own strength and to her weakness;
to our own position, not less than to the situation of her govern-
,ment, and to the quasi civil war which seems to be the- curse of
her condition. But should wp be driven to put forth our strength,
.peace would ensue, and speedily; but it would be a peace dictated
inker capital, and placing her political destiny at our disposition.
,; "And besides, during the progress of such a war to which the
fhonorable gentleman alludes, who can tell the sphere of its oper
ations, and what nations would become parties to^it? How soon
would the great maritime questions. of our day present themselves
for solution ? How long would it be before England would revive
and enforce those belligerent pretpnsipns which drove us to war
when we were neutral, and which: would drive other nations to
war occupying the same position? How long before the violation
of her flag would arouse the public feeling of France,- and compel
her government to vindicate its honor ? And who can tell what
war of principles and opinions would come to add its excitement
and passions to the usual struggles of contending nations? The
d world is, indeed, in comparative repose; but there are causes in
operation which, if /quickened into action by peculiar circum-
i'ftances, might shake the institutions of Europe to their very
foundations. I consider a war between. England and the United
States for ten years, or for half of that time, utterly impossible,
without bringing into collision the great questions of our day—
the right to govern and tbe duty to submitr— and into fierce action

564 LIFE AND TIMES
the interests and passions which such a struggle would excite— a
struggle that must come, but which such a war would accelerate.
" But permit me to ask the senator from South Carolina, if all
this were so, if his anticipations were certain, instead of being
purely gratuitous, ought tbe assurance of such events to come fk>m
him, from such a high authority, in so high a place?- in the Senate
of the United States, and from one who has filled some of the most
important positions in our government ? whose services and talents
and character gave him great consideration with his countrymen;
who possesses a European fame; and whose opinions are quoted
at this moment in London and Paris as indications ofour policy,
and of the final result of this controversy? Is it well thus to an-
nounce to the world our incapacity to defend ourselves ? For that ¦
is in fact the result. A government dissolved, or rather changed
to a despotism, a country ruined, and eventually its fragments a
prey to ambitious generals, as the empire of Alexander was par
titioned among his lieutenants ! War, then, becomes not a meas
ure of safety, but a signal of destruction to the American people !
We are powerless to defend ourselves ! If we are struck upon one
cheek, We must- turn the other; not in a spirit of Christian charity,
but ih the despair of helplessness ! We are bound together by a
fair-weather government, incapable of riding out the Btorms of
foreign aggression. Submission must be our refuge, for beyond
submission is destruction. We shall exhibit tbe extraordinary
spectacle ofa great people, great in, all the elements of power and
prosperity, saying to the world, in effect, we can not contend with
England. We are at her mercy, for even success would ruin us.
" Now, sir, this is not so. There is not one man within the
sound of my voice whose heart does not tell him, such has notbeen
your past — such will not be your future. The honorable senator;
in looking at the real calamities of war, which I seek neither t©
conceal nor to deny, has suffered himself to overrate them. They
have struck him more forcibly than they, should do. The experi
ment of two wars with England into which we entered, and from
which we issued gloriously, puts the stamp of error upon these
sad forebodings. How tbey pushed us forward in character and
position among the nations of the earth, I need not tell ; nor need
I say that the march of this country in all that constitutes the
power and happiness of a people, is a practical proof that those

OF LEWIS CASS.
conflicts left no wounds upon our institutions, and but temporary
checks upon our prosperity.
" The honorable senator has appealed to his past history in proof
that in presenting these views he acted in no unmanly fear for
himself, and that if War comes he would be among the last to
flinch. No, Mr. President, no one in this nation doubts that his
course would be firm and patriotic should war be forced upon us.
"But he will permit me also to appeal ; to appeal from the sen
ator of 1846 to the representative of 1812. He is the uMmus
Mommwrum — the last of the Romans : the sole survivor among
us iof a generation of statesmen Who have passed from the legisla
tive service of their country. The last of the actors, not of the
signers, who gave to the world our second Declaration of Indepen
dence, Scarcely inferior in its causes and consequences to the first-
He came here young, unknown to his country. He left these halls
with a maturity of fame which rarely falls to the lot of any states
man, I was then upon the frontier, and well do I remember with
what straining eyes and beating hearts we turned towards the
capitol, to know if the honor and interests of our country would be
asserted and .maintained. There were then two men' here upon
whom, more than upon any otbers, perhaps more than upon all
others, devolved the task of advocating the war, and of carrying
through the measures of the administration. And nobly did they
perform their duty. They were the honorable senator from South
Carolina, and a retired statesman, Mr. Clay, from whom, though
it has been my fortune to differ in the party contests that divide
us, yet it has always been my pride to do justice to his eminent
qualities and to his high services to his country, and especially to
his services during our last contest with England. They were the
leaders of that great legislative war, who, like the Homeric heroes.
threw themselves, into the middle of the fight, and fought the bat
tles of their party and of their country with .equal talents, firmness
and success.
" As, to the evils of war, he of lis is blind to all historical expe
rience who does not see them, and unfaithful to his position who
does not acknowledge them. There is no such representative of
the^States here. We all acknowledge the evils of war, both moral
and material. We differ as to their degree, and as to the power of
this country to endure and to inflict them. While the condition
of England presents great means of annoyance, it presents also

566 LIFE AND TIMES
palpable elements of weakness. I am not her panegyrist. I shall
never be accused of that. But if I see the defects of her national
character, I can see also her redeeming virtues. I am sensibly
alive to the acts of injustice she bas done us. The feeling is de
posited at my heart's core. But I Ao not shut my eyes, either to
her power or to the virtues she actually possesses. I need not tell
what she has done to attract the admiration of the world ; for her
deeds of war and peace are written upon many a bright page of
human story. She has reached a commanding eminence among
the powers of the earth — a giddy eminence ; and I believe she
will find it an unstable one. I do not, however, estimate her pres
ent position as high as many do, and I consider it as unsafe as
almost any one can. The elements of her weakness lie upon the
very surface of her affairs, open to the most careless observer.
But she has great military and naval establishments, and she is
augmenting and extending them. I am not going to spread before
the Senate the statistics of her powers of annoyance and defense.
This has been sufficiently done already. But I will express my
decided conviction that .these tabular statements give an exagge
rated picture of her condition. Old vessels, old guns, mere hulks,
invalids, tbe relics of half a century of war, are arranged in formi
dable lists of figures, and go to swell the general aggregate.
" Besides, she has peculiar drawbacks to the exertion of her
power. The seeds of danger are sown in ihe most important pro
vince of her home empire, and may at any time start up into
an abundant harvest of ruin and disaster. The dragon's teeth
may become armed men.
" She has possessions round the world to retain, and in many
of them a discontented population to restrain. Her commerce,
the very foundation of her prosperity and greatness, is scattered
over all the bays, and inlets, and gulfs, and seas of the world ; and
he who knows the daring character and enterprise of our people,
knows that our public and private armed vessels would almost
sweep it from existence. But I Bhall not pursue this investigation
further. While I believe she will go to war with us, if 6he can
hot escape from it without wholly sacrificing her own honor, as she
views the question, I recollect she has done so twice before, with
no credit to herself, but with imperishable glory for us.
"A few words as to the condition of her finances and her means
of carrying on a war. It is said to be the last feather that breaks

OF LEWIS CASS. 567
the camel's back, That the time will come when the artificial and
oppressive fiscal system of England must break down, and, like the*
strong man of Israel, involve her existing institutions in the fall,
is as certain as any future political event can be. But that time
has not yet come, and he must be a bolder or a wiser man than I
am, to predict when it will come." She has the same means now
to meet her war expenditures which she has long had. The power
of drawing upon the future for the exigencies ofthe present, leav
ing the generations to come to pay the debt, or to cast it off like
a burden too heavy to be borne. At this very moment she is
making an experiment which will be almost a revolution,— a wise
experiment, as I believe, but still a fearful one 'for an old society
whose habits are fixed, and which accommodates itself with diffi
culty even to gradual changes.
" As to the points of contrast between our condition and that of
England, they are before the world; and for the purposes of peace
or war we need not fear the m'ost searching examination.
" Happen what may, we can neither be overrun nor conquered.
England might as well attempt to blowup Gibraltar with a squib,
as to attempt to subdue us. I suppose an Englishman never even
thinks of that, and I do not know that I can exhibit in stronger
terms its impossibility.
' ,"T might easily spread before the Senate our capacity to anhoy
a maritime adversary, and to sweep the British flag from this part
of the continent ; but I forbear. What we have twice dbne in the
days of our comparative weakness, we can repeat and far exceed
in these days of our strength. ' While, therefore, I do not conceal
from myself that a war with England would temporarily check
our progress and lead many evils in its train, still I have no fear
of the issue, and have an abiding confidence that we shall come
out of it, not indeed unharmed, but with all the elements of our
prosperity safe, and with many a glorious achievement written on
the pages of our history.
" It pains me, sir, to hear allusions to the destruction of this
government, and to the dissolution of this confederacy. It pains
me, not because th'ey inspire me with any fear, but because we
ought to have one unpronounceable word, as the Jews had of old,
and that word is dissolution. We should reject the feeling from
our hearts and its name from our tongues. This cry of ' wo! wo!
to Jerusalem,' grates harshly upon my ears. Our Jerusalem is

568 LIFE AND TIMES
neither beleaguered nor in danger. It is yet the city upon a hill,
glorious in what it is, still more glorious, by the blessing of God,
in what' it is to be — a landmark inviting the nations of the world
(Struggling upon the stormy ocean of political oppression, to follow
us to a haven of safety and of rational liberty. No English Titus
will enter our temple of freedom through a breach in the battle
ments, to bear thence tbe ark of our constitution and the book of
our law, to take tbeir stations in a triumphal procession in the
streets of a modern Rome, as trophies of conquest and proofs of
submission. " Many a raven has croaked in my day, but the augury has
failed and the Republic has marched onward. Many a crisis has
presented itself to the imagination of our political Cassandras, but
we have still increased in political prosperity as we have increased
in years, and that, too, with an laccelerated progress unknown to
the history of the world. We have a class of men whose eyes are
always upon the future, overlooking the blessings around us, -and
forever apprehensive of some great political evil which is to arrest
our course somewhere or other on this side of the millennium. To
them we are the image of gold, and silver, and brass, and clay,
contrariety in unity, which the first rude bloW of misfortune is to
strike from its pedestal.
" For my own part, I consider this the strongest government on
the face of tbe earth for good, and the weakest for evil. Strong,
because supported by the public opinion of a people inferior to
none ofthe communities of the earth in all that constitutes moral
worth and useful knowledge, and who have breathed into their
political system the breath Of life; and who would destroy it, as
they created it, if it were unworthy of them or failed to fulfill their
just expectations.
" And weak for evil from this very consideration, which would
make its follies and its faults the signal of its overthrow. It is the
only government in existence which no revolution Gan subvert.
It may be changed, but it provides for its own change when the
public will requires. Plots and insurrections, and the various
struggles by which an oppressed population manifests its suffer
ings and seeks the recovery of its rights, have no place here. We
have nothing to fear but ourselves."
Mr. Benton, of Missouri, followed General Cass, and took issue
with him upon his geographical statements, and qupstioned some

OF LEWIS CASS. 569
of the authorities cited by bim. These remarks of Mr. Benton
compelled General Cass on the second of April again to address
the Senate. He had undermined - the position of the senator
from North Carolina, and the senator from Missouri came to the
rescue. " Mr. President, I have come here this morning to set myself
free. Twice in my life I have been captured by enemies — once
4%hting against British pretensions in war, and again fighting
against British pretensions in peace. My country redeemed me
in the former case— I come to redeem myself in the latter. I say
enemies, but I trust the term is only metaphorically applicable.
^There is nothing in the former relations between the honorable
senator from Missouri and myself, nothing in our present position
Which should make us enemies. On the contrary, a long personal
friendship has existed between us, which I did not suppose was
sundpred. If, however, it is otherwise, I must bear it as I may.
I have borne greater calamities than even the hostility of the
konorable gentleman from Missouri.
"I came here, sir, as I said before, to redeem myself; and I
mean to do it : to do it by correcting a misapprehension, — by
Speaking the truth.
'"He is the freeman, -whom the truth maizes free :
All else are slaves beside.'
"I will not speak in the triumphant tone which pervades the
speech of the honorable senator from Missouri. It is not my
habit. ' Let not him that girdeth on his harness, boast himself, as
she that putteth it off.' Let no man boast till the victory is won ;
and especially, let him not boast while his adversary is absent.
What the senator said presents subjects enough for animadversion,
but the manner in which he said it was still more unacceptable.
J am ignorant of any circumstances, in our relative/ situations,
jwhich could justify it ; still, I repeat that I mean to vindicate
jnyself, and that, too, to tbe entire satisfaction of every man within
the sound of my voice.
" Mr. Hannegan. — Every impartial man.
>'"Mr. Cass. — No, Mr. President; I willnOt accept the qualifi
cation suggested by my friend from Indiana. If my vindication
is not satisfactory to every man, partial or impartial, I will agree
to be tied to the chariot wheels of the honorable senator from

570 LIFE AND TIMES
Missouri, and to fight the battles of 49 ; and I hardly know two
more severe punishments that could be inflicted upon me.
" The honorable senator says that I came here the, other day to
make a studied speech on the subject of Oregon. I did so, sir ;
aiid he overrates his own powers, and underrates the mental
qualities of the members of this body, who comes here to give his
opinions upon a grea,t national subject without due preparation.
I .shall' not commit that folly; and I have too much regard for the
intelligence and experience of the honorable senator, to believe
that he would. I presume that his thoughts are fully prepared
upon every grave topic on which he presents his views to this
body. But, however it may have been before, I have not had
much time for preparation now, fori was not in my seat yesterday
when the honorable senator made his attack ; and, of course, I
could not know, except from rumor, what he said till this morning.
"Now, sir, what is the subject in controversy between the hon
orable senator and myself? He says that I am committed, by my
own declaration, to go for 49, if it is shown that commissioners
were appointed under the treaty of Utrecht to establish that par
allel as a boundary. This assertion is the whole foundation of bis
argument, upon which the whole superstructure rests. If the one
falls, the other falls with it. Now, sir, I not only never said so,
but the idea never occurred to me ; I never thought of it. And
the honorable gentleman has wholly misunderstood me, either'
througb my fault or his own.
" He has erected a fortification for .me, and battered it down
with his own cannon. I choose to be shut up in my own defensive
works on]y ; if these are carried by siege or by storm, then I will
surrender ; but let me be my own engineer.
" My position was this, sir. Many of the members upon this
floor contend that the parallel of 49° is the northern boundary of
our claim in Oregon, — some directly so ; and others, because it
was assumed to be such by our government in tbe early period of
our controversy on this subject with England. To us, therefore,
who believe that our claim in Oregon goes to 54° 40', it was
essential to show there was an error on this subject ; that the treaty
of Utrecht never extended to the country west of the Rocky
Mountains. " Mr. Greenhow, in his work on Oregon, had examined this
question, and had endeavored to show that no commissioners,

OF LEWIS CASS. 571
under the treaty of Utrecht, had ever established any boundary
between the French and English possessions on this continent.
So far as respects the general proposition, it is a mere question of
historical authenticity, not having the slightest practical bearing
upon Our title to Oregon. Because, before our title to Oregon
could be affected, it must be shown that that line, if established
at all, must extend west of the Rocky Mountains.
" Mr. Greenhow, in his work, enters into the question, and I
referred to his book as one entitled to talent, industry, and caution ;
and I requested gentlemen who had doubts on this subject to turn
to that work, and I thought they would satisfy themselves that no
such line had been established. I did net vouch for the facts or
conclusions. I never examined the general subject in its extent.
I stated, however, that the result of his discussion upon my mind
was, that such a line had not been run. I am still under that im
pression, sir, and nothing that was said yesterday bas shaken its
strength. Still, I do not hold myself at all responsible for Mr.
Greenhow's accuracy. I should investigate the subject with far
more care than I have done, if I were to be held responsible for
deductions resting upon any other man's assertions.
" The senator from Missouri says, be comes here not to settle a
point which can at all influence the action of this body, or have'
the slightest effect upon the termination of our controversy with
England. He says he ' makes no application of this fact,' referring
to his proof that the parallel of 49° was established somewhere by
the treaty of Utrecht. He says : ' I draw no argument from it.
I do not apply it to the question of title. I am not arguing title, and
will not do it; but I am vindicating history, assailed in a vital point
by the book which has been quoted and endorsed. I am vindicating
the intelligence of the American Senate, exposed to contempt in
the eyes of Europe, by a supposed ignorance of a treaty which is
one of the great political landmarks in Europe and America;' &c.
"The senator will pardon me for saying that this seems to me
very much of a tempest in a teapot. What does he profess to
vindicate before the Senate of the United States? Not the rights
of the country, but the alleged truth of an historical fact, mis
represented by Mr. Greenhow, and vouched for, as the senator
thinks, by me. Now, sir, it seems to me, that this solemn trial,
before such a court as this, is hardly justified by the nature of
the accusation. Here is an historical error. Be it so. Nobody

572 ' LIFE AND TIMES
contends that it affects our interests or our honor in the remotest
degree ; no more so than the parentage of Romulus and Remus.
This is not a lecture room. We are neither professors nor students,
assembled here to discuss the truth or falsehood of historical
statements which have no relation to our duties. And it seems to
me, also, that Europe will know little, and care less, respecting
this grave controversy, now sub Judice before this high tribunal.
I doubt if its fame reaches there. I rather imagine that, in that
quarter of the globe, there are other, if not graver, subjects to
engage the attention of both governments and people, than
historic doubts involving Mr. Greenhow's accuracy and my
credulity. " Still, sir, as this question is thus brought before us, I shall
proceed to give a brief synopsis of it, and leave honorable senators
to judge for themselves. The senator from Missouri has brought
forward three principal facts, to prove that the parallel of 49° was
established by commissioners under the treaty of Utrecht. The
first is a despatch from Mr. Madison to Mr. Monroe ; the second,
a statement submitted 'by Mr. Monroe to Lord Harrowby; the
third — I put them together, for the honorable gentleman has joined
them — Postlethwayt's Dictionary and D'Anville's maps.
" Before proceeding further, sir, I beg to remark that the hon
orable senator,' in quite a taunting tone, contrasts my investigation
of this matter with his own. He goes to the fountain-head, the
authentic documents, and there finds the truth ; while I go to the
turbid stream, and am thence ' led astray,' and thus have wan
dered into the enemy's camp, and have become a prisoner. And
what are those authentic documents wbich the honorable senator
has sought and found, and pored over with the midnight lamp, to
educe the truth?. Why, Postlethwayt's Commercial Dictionary,
containing a map ! This is all, literally all ! — a work long since
referred to by Mr. Greenhow in his' book, and examined by him.
"Now, sir, tbe first reflection which strikes a man, is this, that
if this line werp thus established, the proof of it might have been
got forty years ago from the archives of Paris or London, That
would be positive and undeniable evidence, and all short of it is
inconclusive, and such as no tribunal of justice would receive
as final.
'_' Bpfore any man assumes the existence of Buch a line as a
barrier to his country's claims, he ought to prove it, not by loose

OF LEWIS CASS. 573
deductions from loose historical notices, but by an authentic copy
of the act of tbe commissioners.
" But what says Mr. Madison ? The honorable senator from
Missouri says, ' the fact of commissaries having acted was as
sumed for certain.'' The language of Mr. Madison reads far other
wise to me. As I stated the other day, be speaks doubtfully upon
the subject ; and I repeat the assertion, notwithstanding the con
trary averment of thp senator from Missouri. '-There is. reason to
believe' said Mr. Madison to Monroe, ' that the boundary between
Louisiana and the British Territories north, of it was actually fixed
by commissaries appointed under the treaty of Utrecht.'-
" He then adds, that he sends a paper containing the authority
respecting this alledged decision; but he adds cautiously: ' But
you will perceive the necessity of recurring to the proceedings of the
commissaries- as the source of authentic information. These are
not within our reach -here, and it must be left to your own re
searches and judgment to determine the proper use to be made of
them.' If this is certainty, I should like to know what uncertainty
is. , The honorable senator regrets that I had not looked into the
original documents, instead of depending ofi Greenhow, and thus
becoming ' his dupe and his victim ' — not very courteous words,
these, by-the-by — and that, if I had done so, I would not have said
that Mr. Monroe had not added anything to Mr. Madison's state
ment, and bad left the question as doubtful as he had found it.
'In point of fact,' says the senator, 'Mr. Monroe added the par
ticulars, of which Mr. Madison declared his ignorance ; added thp
beginning, the courses, and the ending of the line, and stated the
whole with the precision of a man who had taken his information
from the proceedings of the commissioners.'
'* This is to me a strange view of the matter, sir; I can not find
that Mr. Madison refers to any particulars. He, certainly, does
not use the word. It is the authenticity of the notice enclosed by
him which he desires Mr. Monroe to ascertain. What the partic
ulars were, contained in the notice, we do not know, as the paper
itself can > not be found* That notice, as I shall show, or rather
Greenhow has shown, there is every reason to believe was an
extract from Douglas' History of Ameriqa.
"Before I proceed to examine these particulars, I may be
allowed to remark that Mr. Madison doubted, with precisely the
same facts which we have before us, the map and book referred

574 LIFE AND TIMES
to by tbe honorable gentleman ; and, to this day, not one single
circumstance has been added which could remove those doubts.
Where, then, that illustrious man felt uncertainty, I may be per
mitted to feel a greater degree of it, in consequence of the direct
and circumstantial evidence since discovered, leading to the pre
sumption that no such line was established. But I repeat, sir,
that, in this investigation, I do not profess to come to any absolute
conclusion. It is a subject on which men may differ. The result
of my examination impresses me with the conviction that no such
line was established. Mr. Monroe presented a memoir to Lord
Harrowby, the Secretary of State, and I will now quote from the
gentleman's speech tbat part of it upon which he dwells, as show
ing ' the beginning, courses, and end of the line, &c, with the
precision of a man who had taken his information from the pro
ceedings of the commissaries.' I will quote, also, the statement
of Douglas, the historian of North America ; and no doubt can
exist on the mind of any man tbat Mr. Monroe resorted to that
authority for his statement, and not to tbe original archives :

« 't

' Commissaries were accordingly %p- " Douglas says, page 'I: ' By the treaty,
pointed by each power who executed the however, the Canada or French line, with
stipulations of the treaty in establishing the Hudson Bay Company of Great Brit-
the boundaries proposed by it.' 'They ain, was ascertained from a certain prom?
fixed the northern boundary of Canada ontory upon the Atlantic ocean, in 58° 30'.
and Louisiana by a line beginning in the of north latitude, to run southwest to Lake
Atlantic, at a cape or promontory in 58° Mistissin; to be continued still southwest to
30' north latitude; {hence southwestwardly the 49th degree, and from thence due west
to the Lake Mistissin; thence,further south- indefinitely.' "
west, to the latitude of 49° north from the
equator, and along that line indefinitely.' "
"Now, sir, the honorable senator from Missouri says that Mr.
Monroe must have taken his information from the proceedings of
the commissaries. No man can doubt but that Mr. Monroe quoted
from Douglas' book. Tbe language is so nearly identical as to
render such a coincidence impossible, if it were accidental.
" The suggestion that Mr. Monroe went to the archives to pro
cure the particulars, of which ' Mr. Madison had declared his
ignorance,' but of wbich declaration I can not find a trace, seems
to me very extraordinary, when we advert to Mr. Monroe's report.
The proceedings in such a case as this, establishing a boundary
between two great nations, extending over so large a portion of
the surface of the globe, were never recorded in the language of
Mr. Monroe. Who were the commissioners? Where did they sit?

OF LEWIS CASS. 575
What was the date of their action? Where was the confirmation
of their award by their governments? What,. in fact, were the
points indicated? ' Beginning in the Atlantic, at a cape or prom
ontory in 58° 30' north latitude!' A cape or promontory not
named, but to be ascertained by its latitude ! And if the latitude
Were not correctly stated, what then? Suppose where that paral
lel struck the Atlantic there was no cape or promontory? And
Would any commissioners assume such an absolute knowledge of
the topography ofa remote and barren coast as to make that fact
the basis of their whole action ? Yalid, if it were so ; invalid, if
it were not.
"But this1 loose language is not confined to the place of com
mencement. After leaving this 'cape or promontory,' — this terra
incognita — tbe line is tp run southwestwardly to Lake Mistissin,
an indefinite course, as will be seen, and not rendered definite by
indicating what part ofthe lake it was to strike.
"No reasonable doubt can exist but that, as Mr. Monroe em
ployed the language of Douglas, he took the statement from that
historian. "Mr. Monroe, however, presente*& the fact to Lord Harrowby,
and it was not contradicted by him, so far as we know.
"From this negative circumstance the gentleman from Missouri
draws the important conclusion,' that the fact must have been so.
I shall not enter into this matter,, as it is not at all important. ,
" Mr. Monroe stated a fact that bad occurred, if it occurred
at all, a century before. It had in reality little, if any, bearing
upon the subject he was urging, which was the right of theUnited
States to 'possess the territory lying between the lakes and the
Mississippi, south of the parallel of the 49th degree of latitude.'
"It was -to the treaty of 1783 that he was referring,' and to
Mitchell's map, by which it was formed. He adverts to the treaty
of, Utrecht by saying that, ' by. running due west from the north
western point of the Lake of the Woods to the Mississippi, accord
ing to the treaty of 178% it must have been intended, according
to the lights before them, to take the parallel' of the 49th degree
of'latitude, as established under the treaty of Utrecht.'
" Now, sir^ it might well be that Lord Harrowby never consid
ered it necessary to look into this alledged fact, as it had no real
bearing on the subject, being alluded to merely as giving reasons

576 LIFE AND TIMES
which may have influenced the commissioners in fixing the boun
daries of 1783.
" Most certainly his silence, under such circumstances, furnishes
no solid proof — scarcely, I may say, a light presumption — in favor
of this parallel of 49°:
" The next proof of the establishment of tins line, given by tiie
senator^ was Postlethwayt's Commercial Dictionary, with D'An-
ville's map. There is no quotation from the dictionary, and tiie
matter, therefore, rests on the map alone.
"The senator then pointed out the line established under the
treaty of Utrecht, and read the account of it as given in a note on
the upper left-hand corner of the map. The description was in
these words :
" ' The line that parts French Canada from British Canada
was settled by commissaries after the peace of Utrecht, making a
course from Da/vis' Inlet, on the Atlantic sea, down to the i9th.
degree, through the Lake Abitibis, to the Northwest ocean; there
fore Mr. D'AnvUMs dotted line east of James' Bay is false.'
" The senator then states that this map was ' made by D' Anville;
the great French geographer of bis age, and dedicated to the Duke
of Orleans,' &c, &c; and he adds, it is the ' authentic French testi
mony in favor of the line of Utrecht.'
" Now, sir, it is not a, littlP curious that this map, thus author*-'
itatively pronounced to be authentic, is, upon the very face of it,
stated to be false in one important particular. What, then, be
comes ofthe correctness ofthe assertion ofthe honorable senator^
and of the certainty of this testimony ?
"If wrong in one respect, it may be so in others, and, at any
rate, our faith in its pretensions is entirely shaken. But I do not
understand by whom this note was written : evidently not by
D'Anville, for it impugns Mb own work. We have not, therefore,
D'Anville's authority for this line^ as being established under the
treaty of Utrecht. ' He marks the line upon his map, but whence"
bis authority for it is left to conjecture.
" One other point, sir. The honorable senator states that, in an
attempted negotiation' with the British government, during Mr.
^Jefferson's administration, two articles were proposed — onefby the
American commissioners, and one by the British — for the'< estab
lishment ofa boundary between our country and Canada, from
the northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods. The articles

OF LEWIS CASS. 577
are substantially the same, but with the difference which an
examination of them will show.
"The American projet provided :
" 'That a line drawn due north or south (as the case may re
quire), from the northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods
until it shall intersect the 49th parallel of north latitude, and,
with the said parallel, shall be tbe southern boundary of his Ma
jesty's territories, and the northern boundary of the said territories
of the United States.'
" The British projet, after providing for the running of a line
north or south, as might be, from the northwestern point of the
Lake of; the Woods to the parallel of 49°, provides that the 'said
parallel shall be the dividing line between his Majesty's territories
and those of the United States to the westward of said lake, as
far as their respective territories extend in that quarter ; and that
the said line shall, to tbat extent,, form the southern boundary of
his Majesty's said territories, and the northern boundary of the
said territories of the United States.-'
" Each of these projets contains the same proviso : ' That noth
ing in the present article shall be construed to extend to the north
west coast of America, or to the territories belonging to, or claimed
by, either party on the continent of America west of the Stony
Mountains.' "The senator exclaims triumphantly, ' Here is concurrence in
the proceedings ofthe commissaries under the treaty o/Utreeht!'
' Here is submission to that treaty on the part of theBritishl ' &c.
"In the first place, sir, allow me to remark,, that this was a mere
projet, and that no treaty was made On the subject till eleven
years afterwards, in 1818. Now, what is meant by ' concurrence,'
here ? If accidental coincidence, the matter is not worthy of fur
ther inquiry. But if, by ' concurrence,' is meant that this line
was actually established by the treaty of Utrecht, and thus bind
ing on the parties, no pther convention was necessary. Both
nations, upon this assump#on, mistook their own rights and their
duties. The boundary had been established a century before, and
'. they were carrying on a useless and barren negotiation, which was
thus blindly and unnecessarily ripened into a treaty in 171 8. But,
sir; the senator proceeds to ask, what Mr. 'Jefferson did with, this
projet, and 'adds that he rejected it. And why, sir ? The letter
V, 37

578 LIFE AND TIMES
from Mr. Madison to Messrs. Monroe and Pinkney, dated ¦ July
30th, 1807, states :
" ' The modification of the fifth article (noted as one which the
British commissioners would have agreed to) may be admitted in
case that proposed by you to them be not attainable. But it is
much to be wished and pressed, though not made an ultimatum,
that the proviso to both should be omitted. This is, in no view
whatever, necessary, and can have little other effect than as an
offensive intimation to. Spain that our claims extend to the Pacific
ocean. However reasonable such claims may be, compared with
those of others, it is impolitic, especially at tbe present moment,
to strengthen Spanish jealousies of the United States, which it is
probably an object with Great Britain to excite by the clause in
question.' " Now, sir, Mr. Jefferson's object was not to offend Spain, and
therefore he rejects a proviso which expressly limits our claim to
the Rocky Mountains, in order not to excite the jealousy of a
most jealous nation, by even the appearance of interfering with
her rights ; and yet the honorable senator supposes that this very
treaty, without the proviso, was to run to the Pacific, claiming for
us arii England the whole country. And which would excite the
j,ealousy\of Spain most — to say, expressly, the American govern
ment wilbmake no arrangement with that of England for pushing
the" American title west of the Rocky Mountains; or, to form a
treaty actually carrying this claim there without regard to Span
ish rights ? It is obvious, to me that Mr. Jefferson did not believe
in the English tifcLo west of the Rocky Mountains as far as the
Pacific; and, theref&re, making a treaty with that power for the
establishment of a boundary between her and the United States
would not justly give oSfense to Spain, as it would not call in
question Spanish rights.
" The honorable gentleman has not said one word of Mr. Jef
ferson, in which I do not heartily concur. . An abler or a purer
statesman is rarely to be found in history. Time, which tries the
fame of all men, and reduces the fame of most men, is rendering
his brighter and brighter; and we have scarcely a name in history
— certainly but one — which is more revered by the American
people, as that of a pure patriot, and a consummate statesman.
The honorable senator will please to recollect that this projet of
Mr. Jefferson, under any circumstances, proves nothing, because:

OF LEWIS CASS. 579
" 1. ¦ It was never carried into- effect ;
" 2. It was before the Florida treaty, by which we acquired the
Spanish title ;
" 3. It was formed under the impression, now shown to be an
erroneous one, that the parallel of 49° had been established, under
the treaty of Utrecht, as the northern boundary of Louisiana,
extending to the Rocky Mountains.
" But, after all, our rights remain as tbey were ; and tbe opinions
of such able and honest men as Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Madison, and
Mr. Monroe, whatever, those opinions may have been, though
entitled to very grave, consideration, still leave the government
perfectly free and unembarrassed by a projet proposed by them,
but finally abandoned. Though, upon the assumption that the
northern boundary of Louisiana was fixed by commissaries under
thenarallel of 49°, I can not understand why the parties negoti
ated at all ; and though I see no evidence that the line proposed
was intended as tbe recognition of an English title west of the
Eocky Mountains, to the exclusion of Spain, but the contrary,
yet I have such an abiding confidence in each of those statesmen,
that I am fully satisfied tbe apparent facts within their reach
justified their course, whatever that was intended to be."
General Cass was represented to hold the opinion that the
American title was clear and indisputable to the upper parallel.
Such, at no stage of the controversy, was his positipn. He insisted
that the British claim was not clearer than the American. He
claimed, that tbe title of the United States to the 49th parallel
was unquestionable, and as good as the British to the residue of
the disputed territory. Mr. Benton assumed as bis premises, that
General Cass was for 54° 40', ov fight, which was true: and then,
without pausing to inquire upon what basis the General placed
the claim, Mr. Benton assumed that the senator from Michigan
had taken upon himself to demonstrate the validity of the Amer
ican title to the whole of the territory. This was a mistaken
assumption by the senator from Missouri. Unwittingly, he had
taken upon himself the affirmative of the issue. It was for him
, to show, not simply that tbe American sovereignty terminated at
the parallel of 49°, but the onus was cast upon himself to show,, in
addition, that the British title was good from 54° 40' to 49.
Great stress was, placed, by the advocates of the British preten
sion, upon the suppositious acts of certain commissaries appointed

580 LIFE AND TIMES
under the treaty of Utrecht to settle the line of separation
between the Hudson Bay territories and the French possessions.
As General Cass occupied the negative of the issue, he could, at
best, but adduce negative evidence to rebut this pretension. Such
evidence he brought forward in abundance. It was the only
evidence of which the case admitted, and was equivalent to a
positive contradiction of the hypothesis that any settlement of
boundaries was made or projected under the treaty of Utrecht.
All tbe works — relating to that period of history at which this
settlement of the northern limit of Louisiana was said to have
been made, and in wbich a record or notice of such an important
transaction, if it had taken place, would be found — were entirely
and, if it had actually occurred, most miraculously silent, with
regard to any decision or act of the commissaries on this point.
Indeed, upon a close analysis of the authorities relied upon to
bolster up this British claim, they were found to be mere state
ments of persons unconnected witKthe transactions of the Utrecht
treaty, and possessing no better means, as far as known, of infor
mation respecting them than other people. All that the most vivid
imagination could claim, or the most liberal charity admit, was,
that some of tbe persons alluded to supposed, when they wrote
their works or made their maps, that tiie parallel of 49° constituted
the northern limit of Louisiana;
General Cass, therefore, very properly, in his reply, proceeded
to say : , •
" Now, sir, I shall pursue this investigation no further. I haVe
already observed tbat whether this line was established or not east
of the Rocky Mountains, is not of the slightest importance. The
position that I occupied in my speech, and that I occupy now, is
this : It is contended in the Senate, and out of it, tbat the parallel
of 49° is our northern boundary in the territory of Oregon, and
that it was assumed as such by our government in the early part
of the. controversy, and so maintained for some years ; and that
we are, therefore, concluded against the assertion of any other
boundary. Now, sir, my object was, to show tbat no such line
was ever established by the treaty of Utrecht in the Oregon
country, and that we were, therefore,,free to urge our pretensions,
without regard to this statement, or to the acts of our government
founded upon an erroneous impression that the line of 49° did
extend to the Pacific ocean. This, is what I undertook to disprove,

OF LEWIS CASS. 581
and nothing but this. And I will now ask the honorable senator
from Missouri, if he believes that the parallel of 49° was ever estab
lished by commissaries under the treaty of Utrecht, as a boundary
west of the Rocky Mountains ? I will wait for the honorable
gentleman's reply."
Here Mr. Cass paused for a short time, but Mr. Benton not
answering, he continued :
" Well, the honorable gentleman does not answer me. If he
believed the line run there, I am sure he would say so ; for, if it
did run there, we are forever foreclosed from any claim under
the Louisiana treaty, and the force of the honorable gentleman's
attack upon me would be greatly strengthened. As he does not
answer, I shall take it for granted that he believes no such line
was ever established there. And if the fact is so, my object is
answered, and we are relieved from the embarrassments arising
out of the repeated assertions that the line of 49° is our northern
boundary in the territory of Oregon.
" This, sir, is my position. How different it is from tbe position
assigned to me by the honorable senator, I need not 6ay. I trust
I have redeemed myself, and that I can again enter into the con
test, a free man, battling for tbe full rights of his country even
to 54° 40'.
" There is one point to which I beg leave to advert. The horir
orable senator has given me a fair hit; and I award bim the credit
due to it. In my remarks the other day, alluding to the effect
that improper persons, 'minions, and favorites, and mistresses,'
had produced upon the destinies of nations by the exercise of an
injurious influence, I adverted to the fact of the offense taken by
Mrs. Masham at having a cup of tea spilt upon her silk gown.
The incident I remembered, and its influence I remembered, but
I thought it had been exerted to produce a war, whereas the hon
orable senator has corrected me, and has shown that it was exerted
to produce peace. It is a long time since I have looked into the
English history : I presume the honorable gentleman from Mis
souri refreshed his recollection last evening.
" Mr. Benton. — I have not looked at it for forty years.
¦ " Mr. Cass. — The honorable gentleman's memory is then better
than mine. I will remark, however, that the incident, even as it
happened, is illustrative of the general position I assumed ; be
cause the favorite of Queen Anne would as soon have brought

582' LIFE AND TIMES
about a war as a peace, had the former, instead of the latter, been
necessary to enable ber to vent her spleen upon the Duchess of
Marlborough. I repeat, the correction was a fair hit, and the
manner entirely unobjectionable. I shall testify my acknowledge
ment by putting the fact right in my printed speech."
In the meantime, the House of Representatives had taken up
this subject, and having passed a resolution of a similar, import,
had sent the same to the Senate for its concurrence. Mr. Allen,
therefore, on the sixteenth of April, moved that the resolution
offered by him under debate, with the amendments, be laid on
the table, with the view of taking up for consideration the resolu
tion of the House of Representatives. The motion was agreed to, i
and the Senate proceeded to consider the House resolution. It
was amended in the Senate, by prefixing to it a preamble, and by
changing it from a peremptory and explicit authority to the Pres
ident to terminate the 'convention, to a discretionary one. The
House of Representatives did not concur in the amendments.
Committees of conference were appointed, but they failed to
effect an agreement.
In the following month of May, the subject of extending tbe
jurisdiction over the territory west ofthe Rocky Mountains, being
under consideration -in tbe Senate, Mr. Benton again opened the
question of the title of the United States to the Oregon territory ;
and in the course of his speech he attempted to controvert the
statements of General Cass, formerly made in regard to the bound
ary line running along the parallel of 54° 40'.
In reply, General Cass addressed the Senate, examining and
discussing the objections raised by his powerful and learned an
tagonist, sustaining, by irrefragable proofs, the correctness of his
own statements, and clearly pointing out the errors of his opponent.
A treaty was made between the two governments, with the view
of closing this controversy about Oregon, and the question of
its ratification came up in the Senate, in secret session, in July,
1846. General Cass was opposed to its ratification without modi
fications. By this treaty, the United States not only receded to
the parallel of 49°, but it granted rights to British subjects 7°
below that, which General Cass deemed incompatible with our
national honor. He therefore opposed the ratification in an able
speech. The Senate, by resolution, removed the veil of secresy,
and hence the propriety of making this statement.

OF LEWIS CASS. 583

CHAPTER XXXIV.
National Fortifications— Unsatisfactory Relations with Great Britain— War with Mexico— The Three
Million- Bill — The Sabbath — General Cass* Views— Wilmot Proviso— President's Recommendation
— General Cass. advocates Appropriations— Extracts from his Speech — For Vigorous Prosecution
of the War.
General Cass, foreseeing the approach of a crisis in the vexed
questions that appeared to him to be culminating between the
United States and Great Britain, and looking forward to the con
tingency of a war between the two countries, in order to be pre
pared for that emergency, introduced, prior to, thp discussion of
the Oregon question, for the consideration of the Senate, resolu
tions instructing the Committee on Military Affairs to inquire into
the condition ofthe national fortifications and of their, armaments,
and whether other defensive works were necessary ; and also into
the condition and quantity of the military supplies ; into the state
of the means possessed by tbe government for the defense of the
country ; and»also instructing the Committee on the Militia to
inquire into the condition of that great arm of the public defense
in case of war ; and tbat they be further instructed to report such
changes in the system then existing, as would give more experi
ence and efficiency to it, and place it in the best condition for
protecting the country should it be exposed to foreign invasion ;
and also that the Committee on Naval Affairs inquire into the con
dition of the navy of the United States — into the quantity and
condition of the naval supplies on hand; and whether an increase
of them was not necessary to the efficient operations of the navy,
and to its preservation and augmentation, and, generally, into
its capacity for defending our coast and our commerce, and for
any service the exigencies of the country might probably require.
He advocated them at length, and showed the necessity pf their
adoption. They were unanimously agreed to.
Before Congress rose, a subject of still more momentous import
ance, as it turned out, was brought before it. And that was war
with Mexico — actual war. After Texas was annexed to the United

584 LIFE AND TIMES
States, a question arose with Mexico respecting the boundary
line. Mr. Polk, with the view of repelling any invasion from that
quarter, in the summer of* 1845 ordered troops toward the Rio
Grande, with General Zachary Taylor, then colonel, in command-
He was ordered there to observe the Mexicans, and defend Amer-'
ican territory. In the spring of 1846, Mexican troops crossed the
river Rio Grande, and a collision took place, and American blood
was shed upon American soil. The President communicated this
intelligence'to Congress, and in May the two Houses passed a reso
lution' declaratory of war then existing between the United States i
and Mexico, and measures were taken to enable the government/
to act as well on the offensive as the defensive. The American!
army crossed the boundary line of the two republics, and carried/
the stars and stripes victoriously into the heart of the Mexican
country. The President did not wish to prolong the war, and as
the Mexican treasury was impoverished, he proposed to Congress
to adopt measures to enable him to bring it to a speedy termina
tion. Among others, he asked that money should be placed at his
disposal. As the boundary line was the chief obstacle to peace,
he thought that an adjustment would require a concession on the
part of Mexico, for which it might become necessary to pay
money, as an equivalent. For the purpose indicated by the Pres1'
ident, a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in
August, 1846, placing at the disposal of the Executive two mil
lions of dollars. During the discussion of this bill — which was
just at the close of the session — Mr. Wilmot, a representative
from Pennsylvania, offered the following as an amendment to
the bill : •
" Provided that, as an express and fundamental condition to
the acquisition of any territory from the Republic of Mexico by
the United States, by virtue of any treaty which may be negotiated
between them, and to the use by the Executive of the moneys
herein appropriated, neither slavery nor involuntary servitude
shall ever exist in any part of said territory, except for crime,
whereof thes party shall be duly convicted."
This is the famous Wilmot Proviso, as it is called. And from
this point of time and place, did it start on its celebrated pilgrim
age through the world. It was first, in fact, introduced by Mr.
Winthrop, a representative from Massachusetts, and applied to

OF LEWIS CASS. 585
the Oregon bill. But then, it fell still-born, and passed out of
notice until again brought forth by Mr. Wilmot.
The bill, to which it was now appended, passed tbe House with
this amendment as a rider, on tbe eighth of August, by a vote of
eighty-seven in the affirmative and fifty-four in the negative. The
bill was then sent to the, Senate, and on Monday, the tenth of
August, was, on motion of Senator Lewis, of Alabama, taken up
for consideration. That senator moved to strike out the amend
ment proviso. This motion brought on a debate. Mr. Davis, a
senator from Massachusetts, spoke against time, the two Houses
having agreed to adjourn at noon of that day, and no opportunity
was afforded to take a vote on this bill before tbe hour of the final
adjournment of Congress arrived. As no vote was taken, it is
not known what it would have been, if time bad been afforded
to have taken it; but in secret session, before the introduction
of the bill in the House, thirty-three senators approved of the
appropriation. ¦
The bill reached the Senate at a late hour in the evening of
Saturday, the eighth of August. There was a disposition mani
fested among the friends of tbe appropriation, to take the vote at
Ihat sitting, even if it was necessary to prolong that day's session
through the ensuing Sunday. General Cass was as ready and
desirous as any one to reach a final vote, but be was unwilling to ,
trespass upon the Sabbath. Educated in the tenets of the Pres
byterian faith, he ever has endeavored to practice them. The
observance of the Sabbath, in bis estimation, is a bright star in
the constellation of their virtues. The blessing of the seventh day,
to keep it holy, he considers a wise, social, as well as a sacred,
institution. What we may do. at any time, we are but too apt to
do at no time. In his view, the stated observance of religious
worship, and the devotion of one day in seven to God's special
service, bring our duties before us at prescribed periods, and make
the time itself a part of the obligation. And the day, thus sanc
tified, is also a day of rest — a day of refuge from the toils, and
troubles, and ceaseless cares of life; spreading its happy influr
ence over the whole social community, it brings rest to the weary,
peace to tbe troubled, quiet to the care-worn ; it shuts oiit earth
and the things of earth, and carries our thoughts far away to
heaven and the things of heaven. Yital religion can not exist
where God's day becomes man's day, desecrated by all the plea-

586 LIFE AND TIMES
sures and business of life. So, when the hand of the Senate clock
proclaimed it was midnight, General Cass, as is his custom on all
similar occasions, retired from the chamber. He will not, in time
of peace, sit in the Senate on the Sabbath, nor in time of war,
unless necessary, nor willingly even then. We repeat, he is a
believer in the divine institution of the Sabbath.
At the subsequent session of Congress, the President renewed
tbe recommendation of his special message of the previous session.
Action thereon was had in Congress, and when the bill making a
special appropriation of three millions to bring the war with:
Mexico to a speedy and honorable conclusion, came up for con
sideration inthe Senate, General Cass supported the appropriation,
and in the course of his speech, on the tenth of February, 1847,
reviewed the relations between the two countries, the peculiar
character of the war, and the propriety of legislating in regard to
it, as recommended by the President.
We make the following extracts :
" In the remarks I propose to submit, Mr. President, I shall
invert the natural order of arrangement. I intend to present my
views of the causes and course of the war thus far, and also the
reasons which will induce me to vote for the appropriation of three
millions of dollars ; to which I shall add my views of the best
mode of proceeding in the prosecution of the war. I shall begin,
however, with the two latter- subjects.
"I do not rise, sir, with the emotions so visibly felt and so
eloquently described by tbe distinguished senator from South
Carolina. I do not consider this country or its institutions in the
slightest danger. Never was it more free, powerful, or prosperous
than at the present moment, when untimely warnings come to
assail us. The public sentinel may sleep upon his watch-towePi
In the distant horizon not a cloud as big as the prophet's hand, is
to be seen, which is to overspread the heavens, and. to burst in
thunder and tempest upon us. We are, indeed, engaged in a for
eign war, which demands the solicitude of every good citizen.
But the scene of its operations is two, thousand miles distant;
and, come the worst that may, we can at any time withdraw into
our own country. Disgraceful, indeed, would be such a move
ment ; but it would be still better than the evils predicted, and
according to the nature of the apprehensions expressed, it would
terminate the danger.

OF LEWIS CASS. 587'
, " Mr. President, it gives me great pain to hear any allusions to
the dissolution of this Confederacy ; and of all the places in this
Eepublic, this high place is the last in which tbey should be ex
pressed. The Constitution is inno danger. It has survived many
a shock, and it will survive many more. There are those now in
the Senate — and I am among them < — who were born before it
came into being.
"We have grown with our growth and strengthened with our
strength, till tbe approach of physical infirmities, the kindly warn
ings of nature, bid us prepare for another and an untried world.
And the Constitution, too, has grown with its growth and strength^
ened with its strength, till from three millions it governs twenty
millions of people, and bas made them the happiest corqpiunity
upon 'the face of the globe. But it is yet fresh in its strength..
No infirmity has come to tell us that its dissolution is near. It is'
no longer an experiment, but experience; no longer a promise^
but performance. It has fulfilled all, and more than all, its most
sanguine advocates dared predict. It is at this moment, stronger
in the affections of the American people than at any other period
of its existence. Like the cliff of eternal granite wbich overlooks
the ocean, and drives back tbe ceaseless waves that assail its base,
so will thisConstitution resist the assaults that may be made upon
it, come how, or when, or whence they may. In the providence
of'God, no such lot as ours was ever conferred upon a' people.
What we have been and are, the past and the present have told,
and are telling us. What we are to be, tbe future will tell to those
who are to come after us, to their joy or sorrow, as we cherish or
reject the blessings we enjoy. If we are not struck with judicial
blindness, as were God's chosen people of old, and punished for
national offenses by national punishments, we shall cling to this
Constitution as the mariner clings to the last plank when night
and the tempest close around him ; and we shall cling to it the
stronger as the danger is greater.
" Mr- President; I shall not touch any of the topics before us,
as a sectional man. I view them and shall present them as an
American citizen, looking to the honor and interests of his coun
try, and of his whole country. In these great questions of national
bearing I acknowledge no geographical claims. What is best for
the United States is best for me, and in that spirit alone shall I
pursue the discussion.

588 LIFE AND' TIMES
" A strong desire pervades this country, that a region extending
west of our present possessions to the Pacific ocean, should be ac
quired and become part of our confederacy. The attempt to pur
chase it was made during the administration of General Jackson,
and the hope of succeeding has never since been wholly aban
doned. I will not detain the Senate by spreading out the resaons
which render such a measure desirable. It would give us a large
territory, a great deal of it calculated for American settlement and
cultivation, and it would connect us with the great western ocean,
giving us a front along its shores in connection with Oregon of,
perhaps, thirteen or fourteen degrees of latitude. It would give
us also the magnificent bay of San Francisco, one of the noblest
anchor|ges in the world, capable of holding all the navies of the
earth ; and from its commanding position controlling, in some
measure, the trade of the northern Pacific. But, sir, besides these
advantages, commercial and geographical, there are important
political considerations which point to extension as one of the
great measures of safety for our institutions.
" In Europe, one of the social evils is concentration. Men are
brought too much and kept too much in contact. There is not
room for expansion. Minds of the highest order are pressed down
by adverse circumstances, without the power of free exertion.
There is no starting point for them. Hence the struggles that
are ever going on in our crowded communities ; and hence the
emeutes which disturb and alarm the governments of the old world,
and which must one day or other shake them to their center.
Questions of existence are involved in them, as well as questions
pf freedom. I trust we are far removed from all this ; but to re
move us further yet, we want almost unlimited power of expan
sion. That is our safety-valve. The mightiest intellects which,
when compressed in thronged cities and hopeless of their future,
are ready to break the barriers around them the moment they en
ter the new world of the west, feel their freedom, and turn their
energies to contend with the works of creation; converting the
woods and the forests into 'towns, and villages, and cultivated
fields, and extending the dominion of civilization and improvement
over the domain of nature. This process has been going on since
the first settlement of our country; and while it continues, what
ever other evils betide' us, we shall be free from the evils ofa dense

OF LEWIS CASS 589
population with scanty means of subsistence, and with ho hope of
advancement. " The senator from South Carolina has presented some views of
our augmenting population as true as they are striking. At the.
comfiieneement of his life and of mine, this country contained
three millions of inhabitants, giving a rate of increase which
Roubles our numbers every twenty-two years. There are those
yet living who will live to see our confederacy numbering a .pop-
^ation equal to the Chinese empire. This stupendous progress
outstrips the- imagination. The mind can not keep up With the
fact; it toils after it m vain. And as we increase in numbers and
extend in space, our power of communication is still more aug
mented: The telegraph has come with its wonderful process to
bind still closer the portions of this empire as these recede from its
capital. It is the most admirable invention of modern days. We
can now answer the sublime interrogatory put to Job: ' Canst
thou send lightnings, tbat they may go, and say unto thee, Here
we are ! ' Yes, the coruscations of heaven man has reduced to
obedience, and they say unto him, Here we are. It is yet in its
infancy, an experiment rather than an arrangement. Who can
tell where future improvements may conduct it, or what sway it
may hereafter exercise over the social and political condition of
\he world ? what people it may bring together and keep toge
ther by the power of instantaneous communication ? or how the
events of distant nations, told almost to the other side of the globe
the very moment of their occurrence, may affect the future destiny
of mankind ? I have been industriously engaged seventeen days
in coming from Detroit to Washington, and the journey between
here and Baltimore once cost me two days. We have now a pro
cess within our reach by which we -can send to' California and
receive answers from there more than twenty times a day. I shall
not pursue these investigations; tbey are sufficiently obvious in
their general bearing, though the practical result of this great
measure is beyond the reach of human vision.
" We are at war with Mexico, brought on by her injustice. Be
fore peace is established we have a right to require a reasonable
indemnity, either pecuniary or territorial, or both, for the injuries
we have sustained. Such a compensation is, just in itself, and in
strict accordance with the usages of nations. One memorable
proof of this has passed in our own times. When the allies

590 LIFE AND TIMES
entered Paris after the overthrow of Napoleon, they compelled ,the
French .government to pay them an indemnity of 1500,000,0^)
francs, equal to $300,000,000. In the condition 'of Mexico there
is no disposition in this country to ask of her an unreasonable.
sacrifice. On the contrary, the .wish is. everywhere prevalent,, and
I am sure the government participate in it, tbat we should demand
less than we are entitled to. No one proposes a rigid standard
by which the indemnity shall be measured. But there are certain
territorial acquisitions which are important to us, and whose- ses
sion can not injure Mexico, as she never can hold them perma
nently. We are willing after settling, the indemnity satisfactorily,
to pay the excess in money. The senator from South Carolina has
stated the proposition very distinctly: ' any excess on our part we
are willing to meet, as we ought, by the necessary payment to
Mexico.' ,
" Information received by the President during the last session
of Congress, induced him to believe that if, an appropriation for
this purpose were made, the difficulties between tbe two countries
might soon be terminated by an amicable arrangement. A pro
position for that purpose was submitted to us in secret session,
debated and approved by this Senate. It was then introduced
into the Legislature with open doors, passed the House of Repre
sentatives, and came to us. Here it was discussed until the stroke
of the clock, when the hand on the dial-plate, pointed to twelve,
struck its funeral knell. In his message at the commencement of
this Congress, the President renewed his suggestion, and the
whole matter is now before us. Such is its history.
" It is now objected to as an immoral proposition, a kind of
bribery, either ofthe government of Mexico or of its commanding
General ; and tbe honorable senator from Maryland, who is not
now in bis seat, said emphatically and solemnly, ' that this project
of terminating the war by dismembering a sister republic, is1 so
revolting to my moral sense of propriety, honor, and justice, that
I should see my arms palsied by my side rather than agree to it.'
The ' dismemberment' of which tbe honorable gentleman speaks
is previously defined by himself. That is the term he gives the
acquisition, but I call it purchase. He says the money will go to
Santa Anna and pay the army, wbich Will thus be secured, and
the poor ' down- trodden' people be transferred to this country ' in

OF LEWIS CASS. 591
spite of themselves,' in consequence of this ' pouring of gifts into
the hands of their tyrants.'
. "Now, sir, there is no such proposition, as I understand it, nor
anything like it. The object of tbe President has been distinctly
stated by himself. It is to have' the money ready, and, if a satis-
: factory treaty is signed and ratified, then to make a payment into
'the treasury of Mexico, which will be disposed of by the govern-
¦ ment of that country agreeably to its own laws. The propositions,
{both at the last session of Congress and at this, were identical.
The difference in the phraseology of the appropriation has been
satisfactorily explained by the chairman of the Committee on
Foreign Relations, and seems to me of very little consequence.
Be that as it may, it is not a subject which can produce of itself
any practical difficulty; for if there is any member of the Senate
who is willing to vote for tbe appropriation in the form in wbich
it was presented last year, and is unwilling to vote for it in this,
the Committee on Foreign Relations will cheerfully assent to the
substitution of tbe latter for the former. ' The principle is wrong,'
says the honorable senator from Maryland ; but, in my view; tbe
principle of this appropriation, and of the otber appropriation, is
precisely the same. And yet the honorable senator from Mary
land voted for the former while he reprobates the present, and a
number of senators, 6n tbe otber side of tbe chamber, voted the
last session in the same manner. If the proposition was bribery
or unprincipled then, it seems to me it must be so now. Expe
diency may change with time, but right and wrong undergo no
change." It is but an act of justice to state tbat the senator from Mary
land referred to was not in bis seat. General C.'s remarks are here
given as they were delivered. The colleague of Mr. Johnson,
however, Mr.Pearce, as soon as General Cass had concluded, stated
that his colleague had been misunderstood, and that the proposed
appropriation of last year, and the appropriation of this year, were
so widely different in their phraseology as to render it perfectly
consistent to vote for the one and to reject the other. General
Cass continued :
" As to tbe idea that such an arrangement is something like
bribery, it seems to me it will not bear the slightest investigation.
A strange kind of bribery this ! The appropriation called for was
preceded by a message from tbe President to the Senate in secret

592 LIFE AND TIMES
session. It was then received in both Houses, and the doors thrpwn
open. It was discussed fully, not to say warmly, and was finally .
lost by the lapse of time. In secret session thirty-three senators
voted for it. It again takes a prominent place in the Presidents
message at the commencement of the present session of Congress.
It has been before us between two and three months, and has been
borne upon the wings of tbe wind to the remotest portions of our
country. It entered Mexico long ago, and has been proclaimed
upon every house-top in town and country. It is known to every
citizen of that republic who knows anything of political affairs,
whether the blood in his veins is Castilian, or Moorish, or Aztec.
It bas passed to Europe, and received the condemnation of many
of its journals. Had it been approved there, I should doubt its
policy or its justice. And, for aught I know, it is traveling along
the' canals of the Celestial Empire. I repeat, a strange kind of
bribery this ! That is an offense which does its work in secret ;
this is a proposition made by one nation to another, in the face
of thp world, It is not to enable Mexico to carry on the war, as
an tionorable senator seems to suppose, for it is not to be paid till
the war is over."
Mr. Mokehead inquired, if the honorable senator considered
the present proposition as confining the President, in the disburse
ment of the money, to the purposes to be specified in the treaty,
as the resolution of the last session did ?
General Cass said that his understanding of the proposition was,
that the money was not to be paid until a treaty was agreed upon.
The payment was not to precede the treaty, but to follow it.
Mr. Webstek, (rising.) — Will the honorable senator allow
me —
Mr. Cass. — I will hear you with pleasure, but I can not
answer any more questions. I have said that no money is to be
paid until a treaty is ratified.
Mr. Webstek. — I was merely going to remark that this is the
very turning point.
Mr. Cass. — I will sit down and hear the honorable senator, but
he must not ask me any questions. If he does, I shall not answer
them till I have concluded my remarks.
Mr; Webster resumed his seat.
General C. continued :
" Tbe whole proposition results from the peculiar condition of

' OF LEWIS CASS. 593
Mexico. Her government is ephemeral. Its members are born
in the morning and die in the evening. Administrations succeed
one another, like tbe scenes of , a theater rather than the events of
life, and still less of events in the life of a nation. The rulers do
not dare to do justice in such a case as this. It .might cost them
their places, to which they hold on as tenaciously as though tbeir
tenure was a secnre one. There is a strong excitement in that
country against us. Nothing shows this more distinctly than the
scene which lately passed there, when 'their President swore that
the nation would never yield one inch of its territory, nor, make
peace with the invader, till his foot was off its soil. A dangerous
resolution to be thus publicly proclaimed, and one more easily
proclaimed than kept ! The sublime and the ridiculous may so
easily touch, that nations should be chary of such exhibitions,
which may belong to tbe domain of the one or of the other, as
subsequent circumstances stamp their character.' Whatever judg
ment, however, history may pronounce^npon this ceremony in
Mexico, it is significant enough of -the' disposition of the people
/towards us. Hence the difficulty ofthe government is increased,
and hence the necessity of tbeir strengthening themselves. Their
revenues are' drying up. Th/sy- are always in debt in all their
departments, civil and military. By a prompt payment into their
treasury upon the ratification of the .treaty, tbe government will
be enabled to satisfy the most pressing demands, and thus to: do
an act of justice at home wbicb will counteract any ill effects of
an act of justice abroad. And this is the very point of the whole
matter. We may thus tempt them to do right, while so many
other strong circumstances tempt them to do wrong. As to the
application of this money after it reaches the treasury of Mexico,
it is no question of ours, any more than was the application of the
consideration money paid to France and Spain for the purchase
of Louisiana and of Florida. We can not follow it, and it must
take its fate with the other resources of the country. It has one
advantage, however, and that is its publicity. Lf the silver and
gold were carried by wagons to the palace of the government, the
transaction could have no more publicity than it has now; and
this throws upon the authorities a much graver responsibility than
do the ordinary payments, and one less likely to be abused. If
all this is bribery, I am fully prepared to take my shaire in the

594 LIFE AND TIMES
guilt of it. If it' is bribery, let the honest governments of Europe
make the most of it.
" As to the comparison, instituted by the honorable senator from
Maryland, between this act and an attempt of the Mexican gov
ernment to bribe General Taylor, it certainly gives me very little
trouble. We have nothing to do with Santa Anna as the general
of an army; we deal with the government of Mexico. The very
authority that makes the treaty is the authority to wbich the pay
ment is to be made. If General Taylor were the American gov
ernment, and bad power to cede away a portion of the American
territory, the analogy would then exist in fact, as it now exists but
in fancy. And this obvious consideration answers all the objec
tions presented by the senator, when he expresses such an appre
hension that the money would slip from our fingers before we
secured a consideration. Not a dollar is to be paid till the treaty
is ratified, and the country thus made ours.
"Passing now, sir, from the consideration of this subject to the
ccoirse before us, I would observe that there are but three plans of
operation by which we can escape from the difficulties of our
.position. "The first is an abandonment ofthe war, and an inglorious return
. to our own country.
'"The second is tbe establishment of a line over such a portion
of the enemy's territory as we think proper, and holding the coun
try on this side of it without any further military operations.
"The third is a vigorous prosecution of the war, agreeably to
the public expectation and tbe experience of the world.
" As to the first, sir, I do not place it in the category of things
possible, but only in tbe category of things proposed ; and I east
it from me with contempt.
"The second, sir, is a very different proposition, supported by
high names, civil and military, and was yesterday presented to
us,, with great power of argument and beauty of illustration, by
the distinguished senator from South Carolina. I shall state, as
succinctly as I can, the reasons which induce me to consider this
as an inexpedient, not to say an impossible, proposition.
" A plan of operations seeking to hold a portion of a country,
properly guarded by fortresses, and furnished with the necessary
lines of communication, and seeking to do this without publicly
announcing the nature of the plan, and the determination to

, OF LEWIS CA'SS. 595
adhere to it, is one thing ; an attempt to occupy another portion of
country, open, unfortified, with no natural boundaries,, and pene
trable in all directions, and publicly proclaiming this system as
an invariable one, not to be departed from, is another, and quite
a different thing. From the Gulf of Mexico, following the boun
daries of the provinces now inour possession, to the Pacific ocean,
is but little short of two thousand miles. Far tbe greater portion
of it is open, and much of it unoccupied. Instead of any lines of
communication, natural or artificial, where ifmust necessarily be
crossed, it may be crossed anywhere. It is a mere paper line — a
descriptive one. For hundreds of miles on each side of a great
part of the line, the country is the same ; roamed over rather than
• possessed by nomadic tribes, and affording subsistence and shelter
to the beasts of the earth. If you assume such a boundary, you
necessarily place yourself upon the defensive. You must establish
troops along it, and these must be scattered, occupying different
positions. Your enemy thus acts in masses, while you act in de-
, , tachments. If be attack you, and succeed, you are destroyed. If
he attack you, and' is discomfited, he falls back behind bis impen
etrable barrier. A snake, clutched by an eagle, is one of the
emblems of tbe armorial bearings of Mexico. If this plan Of
fighting to an air, line is adopted, the proud bird will soon be
powerless, and the reptile will coil itself up to strike at its leisure
and its pleasure. In such a state of offensive-defensive warfare,
the enemy chooses bis time, when you least expect him, or are
least able to resist him. He gains your rear,, and cuts off your
convoys and supplies, and thus reduces you to weakness and dis
tress; or he strikes you in a period of sickness, in a climate to
, which you are unaccustomed, and whose alternations do not affect
him. You can not pursue him into his country, for the moment
you do that you confess the folly of your plan, and abandon it
forever. If you cross your boundary, you must cross it to hold on,
and jhen you have a new boundary, or, in other words, a system
of unlimited operations. If you do not cross to hold on, what
will you do? Your very object in crossing is to chastise the
enemy, and you must pursue him to his fortresses and capture
them, if he has any ; or you must fight him in the open field and
disperse bim. I repeat, if you do* not do this, yOu may as well
stop at your boundary, look civilly at the retiring enemy, take off

596 LIFE AND TIMES
your hats and say, Good-bye, gentlemen, we will wait till you
come back again. The riches of Croesus would melt away before
such a system of fighting-no-fighting ; the laurels of Napoleon
would wither and die ; no exchequer could bear tbe expense; no
public sentiment the dishonor. There is but one such campaign,
sir, recorded in all history, ancient or modern, sacred or profane,
true or fabulous, and that is the campaign of Sisyphus, It was an
eternal one. Sanction the plan proposed, and yours will be eternal,
too. This stone will never be rolled to the top of the mountain.
It would be a never-ending, ever-renewing war. The distinguished
senator from South Carolina thinks that four regiments and three
fortresses along this line, and one regiment and a few small vessels
for California, 'would be ample for its defense.' The line, as
described by himself, is this : ' Beginning at the mouth ofthe Rio
del Norte and continuing up the Paso del Norte, or southern
boundary of New Mexico, which nearly coincide, and then due
west to the Gulf of California, striking it, according to the maps
before us, nearly, at its head.' >¦"
" Here, sir, is a line, across the continent from the Gulf of Mex
ico to the Gulf of California ; and this line is to be so protected
by five regiments, three fortresses and a few small vessels, as to
be impervious to the i;ancheros and other light troops of Mexico
— the best and most indefatigable horsemen, perhaps, in the world.
I have enumerated in these means of defense, a few small vessels,
because they form part of the projet of the honorable senator.
How they are to be employed in defending any part of tbe line, as
I do not understand, I will not attempt to explain. If the soldiers
were stationed equidistant upon this boundary they would proba
bly be a mile apart. It seems to me, sir, — and I say it with all
respect — that we might as well attempt to blockade the coast of
Europe by stationing a ship in the middle of the .Atlantic. As to
the Rio Grande, it is no defensive line at all. Rivers, when best
guarded, are found to afford very insufficient protection. But in
the great country south and west of us, yet in a state of nature, or
slowly emerging from it, streams are entitled to very little consid
eration in defensive operations. Who is there that has passed, his
life in tbe West, and has not crossed them a hundred times by
swimming, in canoes, upon logs, upon rafts, and upon horses ? Is
it to be supposed tbat an active Mexican, accustomed to the woods

. OF LEWIS CASS. 597
from his infancy, would hesitate to dash into a stream and cross it
almost as readily as if it were unbroken ground?
" But long defensive lines, even when skillfully constructed and
carefully guarded, are but feeble barriers against courage and en
terprise. How long did tbe Roman wall keep the North Britons
out of England?' How long did the Grecian wall of the Lower
Empire keep the Turks out of Constantinople, and the horse-tails
of their pashas from the cathedral of Saint Sophia i And the
Chinese wall — an immense labor of man— that, too, opened to the
Tartars, and enabled the chief of roving bands to 'ascend the
oldest throne in the world. The best wall a country can have is
the breasts of its citizens, free, prosperous and united."
General Cass proceeded to say that be did not go for strength
ening the war power because be wished to have men killed or
wounded ; but to enable it to conquer a peace in. the shortest space
of time practicable. This, was tbe publialy-proclaimedi policy of
the administration. It was no secret
The object of the proposed appropriation was to, put peace, if it
"J could be honorably obtained, at the disposal of the President.
The amount of treasure already expended by the United States
reached a large figure. The Mexican government, it was well
known, was impoverished, and its finances at a low ebb. It was
apparent, hence, to the most superficial observer, that if a negotia
tion was at any time opened, its continuance would be unproduc
tive of results unless some inducement, other than a cessation of
hostilities, could be presented to the Mexican authorities. As the
Mexican treasury was notoriously bankrupt, the President and his
confidential advisers — and no occupant of the Executive chair
ever had abler — were well satisfied that territory would constitute
the indemnity, and that , if the bones of ¦ the Mexican troops
bleached upon all the hills and valleys, and every Mexican fortress
was taken, still there would be no formal, authoritative peace, un
less the Mexican coffers were, at least, partially replenished. To
be prepared for such an emergency was the sole object of this
measure. But, if new territory was acquired by treaty in these
southern latitudes, the opposition party in Congress wished to bar
the door, in advance, to the further extension of slavery. That
question, and all other questions emanating from this domestic
institution — is peculiarly dear to the southern members of this

598 LIFE AND TIMES
confederacy of States —the administration and its friends in the two'
Houses of Congress desired, for the present, to ignore. This was
the apple of discord, and pertinaciously thrown into all the de
bates. General Cass deprecated it. He viewed the honor of his
country as paramount. When peace prevailed along the borders
of the Republic, he would meet this question of extension and act
as justice and patriotism might dictate. He did not even stoop to
mention the topic, much less to discuss it, but confined his remarks
to the immediate subject under consideration. We take another
extract :
"So much for the difficulties; now for the results. Let me
remark, in the first instance, sir, that not a movement, as I under
stand, relating to operations on the northeast frontier of Mexico,
has been directed from the seat of government, which has not met
the approbation of the distinguished officer who has connected his
own name with the history of his country by bis victories in the
valley of the Rio Grande. So much is due to himself and the ad
ministration. His own movements be was free to direct and con
trol. Immediately after the declaration of war, he was requested
tO communicate to tbe government his views as to what should be
the future operations on the Rio Grande, and the movement he
proposed, to make before the rainy season.
" General Taylor, in answer, stated very clearly the nature of
the operations which should take place, and the difficulties attend
ing them, resulting principally from deficient means of transpor
tation, and from a want of breadstaffs. Considering the distance
from Camargo to Mexico, and the nature of the country, and its
want of resources, he looked upon that line of operations as an
impracticable one. He was, therefore, of opinion that operations
upon that frontier should be confined to cutting off the northern
provinces, and, in that point of view, he thought the expedition to
Chihuahua of great importance. He says he has abstained from
any reference to movements against Tampico or Yera Cruz, be
cause the yellow fever would not have permitted us to hold either,
and he deemed it best to undertake no movement in that direction,
at that season of the year. He proposed the taking of Tampico
when the season should favor, which would not be until November
or December. So far as I have been permitted to see the corres
pondence, I find nothing which controls the discretion of General

. OF LEWIS CASS. 599
Taylor. Yiews are1 indicated and suggestions made, and very
properly made ; but he is left to act as his own judgment indi
cates, in the operations intrusted to him. And it is but an act ot
justice, sir, to say, that the instructions of the War Department
are prepared with ability and a wise forecast, creditable to the
officer at the bead of it. They -Will bear the test of the severest
scrutiny. ( ,
"Three columns then, sir, moved upon Mexico. One under
General Taylor, invading its north-eastern, frontier ; another un
der General Wool, striking at the provinces higher up the Rio
Grande, and in communication with the preceding column, and
subject to tbe order of General Taylor ; and a third entered New
Mexico and took possession of its capital, Santa Fe. It thence
moved on, through California to the Pacific, where it has no doubt
arrived ere this time, and where it will eventually put itself in
communication with the regiment sent by sea from New York,
when the whole force will unite and occupy tbe commanding
points of the country. Our flag now waves upon the shores of
the Pacific as well as upon those of the Atlantic; and from the
Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of California, a distance, following the
boundary of our possessions, of almost two thousand miles, we
have overrun and occupied tbe enemy's territory. I have caused
an estimate — rather a vague one, indeed — to be made of the
extent of country belonging to Mexico wbich we hold, and I am
informed it exceeds six hundred thousand square miles, while the
portion yet subject to the Mexican government contains but about
four hundred thousand square miles ; and the population of the
region possessed by us amounts to at least one million of inhabi
tants. In tbe mean time, three splendid victories have been
gained, and the Mexican coast blockaded and almost hermetically
sealed ; and we are yet in the ninth month of the war. I shall
not stop, sir, to speak of the results in terms of eulogy. They
need no such tribute from me ; they speak for themselves, and
appeal to the -head and heart of every American, in justification
of the conduct of the government of his country, and the armies
sent out to maintain her honor. Looking at the distance and the
difficulties of the operations, to do this required energy."
General Cass was in favor of a vigorous prosecution of the war.
In his judgment, that was the course to pursue to save the

600 LIFE AND TIMES
shedding of blood and the loss of treasure, and to bring the war to a
speedy and successful result. Subsequent events showed that he
was right. It was known that the administration consulted him,
in advance, relative to the measures to be brought forward, and,
conseqnently his action was at all times regarded with interest.
He was equal to the emergency; and both in the committee rooms
and on the floor of the Senate his suggestions were heeded, and,
in the main, followed by the two Houses.

OF LE^IS CASS. '601

CHAPTER XXXY.
The Prospect of Peace— The Three Million Bill again— Wilmot Proviso again — General Cass on the
Proviso— Peace vrith Mexico— The NicholBon Letter— Its Effect on Public Opinion.
With the success of the war, and as it became more and more
evident that a peace would.be conquered, members of both Houses
of Congress, and of both the Whig and Democratic parties, who
could npt brook the idea of an extension of the area of slave ter
ritory, became more and more importunate to close the door tp,
such extension by legislation. Hence, whenever, thprp, was a war
or peace bill up for consideration, every effort was made to em
barrass action, by urging the adoption of some such principle as
that contained in Mr. Wilmot's proviso. It was evident enough,
that more territory would be obtained upon the conclusion of
peace. The chances that such additional territory would be
adopted to slave labor increased, and finally resolutions were, from
time to time, offered, declaratory of future legislation upon this,
subject. At the thirtieth Congress, in the winter of 1847, in pursuance
of the President's recommendation, a bill was introduced appro
priating three millions of dollars to enable him to enter into
negotiations for the restoration of peace with Mexico. Mr. Webr
ster moved the proviso as ah amendment— rin otbpr Wor4s! ^ such
negotiation resulted in the cession of more territory from Mexico,
it should forever remain free from slavery. The issue presented;
was war or the proviso, or an inglorious peace or the proviso.
It was war or tbe proviso, because southern members would not
vote for the bill with the proviso as a rider to it. It was an, in
glorious peace or the proviso, because northern members would
not vote for the bill without the proviso. Without thp money, it
was apparent the government could not prevail upon Santa Anna
to come to an amicable treaty, for his people would not sustain
him. He would continue tp fight, and bold his ground somewhere
in Mexico. In that event, it would be necessary for the Umted

602 LIFE AND TIMES
States to maintain, at great cost and loss of life from disease and
battle, a large army in that distant country, or, withdrawing the
troops, relinquish everything. By having tbe means at its disposal
to replenish Santa Anna's impoverished treasury, our government
could not only adjust the line of boundary, but be re-imbursed its
war expenditures. The provisoists and tbe anti-provisoists were
willing to vote the money asked1 for ; and probably, it is true to
say, tbat both desired to bring the war to an honorable termina-.
tion. But the question of extending the area of slavery, or con
fining it within its then present limits, was paramount to all other
considerations. General Cass, from his youth up to manhood, and
to the age of three score and "upwards, never had been an admirer
of slavery; yet, he knew too well the rights of those States where
it existed, and the advantages, resulting from the Union, to those.
States where it did not exist, ever to favor any agitation of the
subject in the halls of Congress. It was a subject to be canvassed
by the States themselves, where the institution of slavery existed.
They were the sole judges of what it was their interest to do. Such
was the doctrine of Mr. Jefferson — such was the doctrine of
General Jackson. The federal Union — r it must be preserved,
was the controlling policy of both these distinguished men ; and
having all along subscribed to it, General Cass was content to
continue it.
But now this embarrassing subject assumed a wider scope. The
application of the dominant policy to new territory— acquired by
common effort, common treasure, apd in a contest where the blood
of all sections of the Union had been shed — now was to be met
and disposed of. Abstractedly considered, no northern man
wished to propagate slavery, and General Cass was among the
number. He would vote against its introduction into Michigan,,
if proposed. He would vote against its introduction into any
territory, if an inhabitant of such territory. But he did not feel
himself called upon to vote for otbers upon this subject. ' It was
a State institution. So it had been always treated in tbe United
States ; so he proposed to treat it thereafter. The people, in their
sovereign capacity, who shonld go to the new lands acquired from
Mexico, and inhabit it, — to them he would willingly leave all
legislation upon this vexed subject. These views he had expressed
in August, 1846, to various persons, in his private conversation.
In March, 1847, tbey had undergone no change.

OF LEWIS CASS. 603-
The three million bill was before the Senate, and Mr. Webster's
amendment. From tbe feelings manifested by a large number of
the members of Congress, he believed that the adoption of the
' proviso would be detrimental to the honorable prosecution of the
war : and, it also appeared to him, that the whole question of the
prosecution of the war depended upon the decision in regard to
the proviso. The choice presented was, the proviso or the war. If
the former should be adopted, there would be an inglorious ter
mination of tbe war. The honor of fhe United States was at stake.'
He felt the responsibility of his position. He believed that public
servants would be held to a i strict accountability, Who, at so event
ful a. crisis, should sacrifice that honor for the establishment of a
principle inopportune and inapplicable to tbe important subject
under consideration: He was satisfied, likewise, that public opin
ion indicated a conviction in the minds of the people, that then
was not the time for the agitation of a question involving the con
tingency of a domestic dispute : a question, at any rate, of enough
importance of itself, under any circumstances, to receive the most
mature deliberation of Congress. Six out of eight State Legisla
tures, which had presented their views to Congress on the subject
of the acquisition of Mexican territory, and the extension of
slavery, had refrained from urging upon Congress the adoption
of the. proviso. In a speech of weighty argument, General Cass
laid before the Senate bis views on this question, March 10th,
1847, which he closed with the following declaration of what
would be his action upon it.
" I shall vote against this proviso, because :
" 1. The present is no proper time for the introduction into the
country, and into Congress, of an exciting topic, tending to divide
us, when our united exertions are necessary to prosecute the
existing war.
" 2. It will be quite in season to provide for the government of
territory, not yet acquired from foreign countries,, after we shall
have obtained it.
" tj. The proviso can only apply to British and Mexican terri
tories, as there are no others coterminous to us. Its phraseology
would reach either, though its application is pointed to Mexico.
It seems to me, that to express so much confidence in the success
ful result of this war, as to legislate at this time, if not over this
anticipated acquisition, at least for it, and to lay down a partial

6J04. LIFE AND TIMES
basis for its government, would dp us no good in tbe eyes of the
world, and would irritate, still more, the Mexican people.'
"4. Legislation now would be wholly inoperative, because no
territory, hereafter tp be acquired, can, be governed without an
act of Congress providing for its government. And such an act,
on its passage, would open tbe whole subject, and would leave the
Congress, called upon to pass it, free to exercise its own discretion,
entirely uncontrolled, by any declaration found on the statute
book. "5. There. is. great reason to think that the adoption of this
proviso would, in all probability, bring the war to an untimely
issue, by the effept it would have on future operations.
" 6. Its passage would certainly prevent the acquisition of one
foot of territory ; thus defeating a measure called for by a vast
majority of the American people, and defeating it, too, by the
very actpurporting to establish a partial basis for its government.
"The progress of public opinion upon the question of the
adoption, of this proviso, as the circumstances of the country have
become more and more difficult, seems to me to indicate very
clearly, that since its introduction at the past session of Congress,
the conviction has been gaining ground that the present is no time
for the agitation of this subject; and as the foreign war becomes
more embarrassing, in. a greater degree than many anticipated,
it is best to avoid a domestic dispute, wbich would raise bitter
questions at home, and add confidence to the motives for resis|-
ance abroad. And certainly the fact now ascertained, that the
war would be put to hazard, and the acquisition of territory de
feated, by the adoption of this proviso, renders it impossible' for
me to vote for it, connected, as I deem both of these objects, with
the dearest rights and honor of the country.
" I have examined the resolutions which have been presented to
Congress by the Legislatures of eight of the States upon this sub
ject, and I find that this proviso is a measure perhaps not called
for by any of *them, certainly not by six of them, and that its
simple adoption at this time will leave unattained the perma
nent objects sqnght by all of them. The views expressed are as
follows : v
" By the Legislature of Yermont, against ' the admission into
tbe Federal Union of any new State whose constitution tolerates
slavery,' &c.

OP 'LEWIS CASS. 605
"By the Legislature of New Hampshire, that measures should
be taken for tbe extinction of slavery ' in the District of Colum
bia; for its exclusion from Oregon and other territories, that now,
or at any time hereafter, may belong to the United States.'
" By the Legislature of Rhode Island, ' against the acquisition
pf territory by conquest, or otherwise, beyond the present limits
of the United States, for the purpose of establishing therein
"slaveholding States,' &c.
"By tbe Legislature of New York, 'that if any territory is
hereafter acquired bythe United States, or' annexed thereto, the
act by which such territory is acquired or annexed, whatever such
act may be, should contain an unalterable fundamental article or
provision, whereby slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a
punishment for crime, shall be forever excluded from the territory
acquired or annexed.'
"By the Legislature of New Jersey, 'that the senators, &c, be
requested to use tbeir best efforts to secure as a fundamental pro
vision to, or proviso in, any act of annexation of any territory
hereafter to be acquired by the United States, &c, that slavery
or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, shall
be forever excluded from tbe territory to be annexed.'
" By the Legislature of Pennsylvania, ' against 'any measure
whatever, by Which territory will accrue to tbe Union, unless as a
part of tbe fundamental law, upon which any compact or treaty
for this purpose is based, slavery or involuntary servitude, except
for crime, shall be forever excluded.'
"By tbe Legislature of Ohio, for ' the passage of measures in
that body, (Congress,) providing for tbe exclusion of slavery from
the territory of Oregon, and also from any other territory that
now is, or hereafter may be, annexed to the United States.'
" By tbe Legislature of Michigan, ' that in the acquisition of
, any new territory, 'whether by purchase, conquest, or otherwise,
we deem it the duty of the general government to extend over the
same the ordinance of 1787, with all its rights and privileges,
conditions and immunities.'
"Now, sir, it is obvious that these resolutions, either by their
phraseology or by tbeir object, look to some permanent '¦provision,'
fundamental law,' '¦article,' or '¦condition,' by which Slavery
should be forever excluded from the territory in question. Six of
them very clearly so. Two of them, however — those of New

606 •• LIFE AND TIMES
Hampshire and Ohio — are more general, and this proviso Would
perhaps meet their requisitions. But certain it is, that if adopted
' to-day, it could be repealed to-morrow, and that it is destitute of
any characteristic of permanence. It might leave as little durable
impression upon the statute book as writing upon water, which
disappears the moment it is traced there."
This bold, manly, and patriotic stand taken by General Cass, at
a critical moment in the progress of the Mexican war, and when
he could not have divined what would be the final sentiment
either north or south, east or west, commends itself to the grateful
remembrance of his countrymen. His positions were broad, in
dependent, and unqualified. His country's cause, his nation's
honor, the rights of his fellow-citizens of every condition and
clime, are the principles he asserts, tbe ground be occupied- His
views of government were liberal, progressive, and thoroughly
Democratic. They were in accordance with the political profes
sions of his entire life. The Democratic press approved — Demo
crats in conventions in every quarter of the country approved.
This declaration was the administration platform upon this subject. '
It was tbe talisman that aroused and guided the Democracy of
the Union.
< But the war was finally brought to a close. Peace once more
reigned in the ascendant. An immense region of country was,
sure enough, to be taken from tbe republic of Mexico, and annex
ed to tbe United States. The standard of our country waved in
triumph in the halls of the Monfezumas, and, ere long, was des
tined to cover the coasts of the Pacific, and the mountains and
valleys far back in the interior. The cry of No more slave terri
tory ! noW rung louder than ever. The demands of the north were
renewed, when Congress convened in December, 1847. The
southern blood was, also, up. The leading men of the country
were interrogated, publicly and privately, as to their views and
future action. And all this was proper. It was right that the subject
of tbe extension of slavery should be canvassed, and its disturbing
elements, if possible, settled ; the good of the entire Union re
quired this. Upon what principle the new territory should be
treated; upon what basis its local government should be con
structed ; and bow, and by whom, it should be determined — these
were questions demanding the calmest consideration, - and the
brightest and most patriotic minds, to solve.

OF LEWIS CASS. 607
In some quarters, the principle of tbe Wilmot Proviso was
regarded as dangerous to tbe immediate interests of a portion of
the people of tbe United States, and its proposed application
subversive of their rights as i citizens of tbe confederacy. An ex
pression of opinion from the eminent men of the nation was
solicited. A. O. P, Nicholson— a distinguished, citizen of Tenn
essee — had requested the views of General Cass, in a private letter,
and tbey had, been freely given. Tbey were so clearly expressed,
and so comprehensive — covering the whole subject— tbat, at the
urgent request of a number of leading members of Congress, who
had heard of tbe letter, General Cass consented to its publication.
This letter pf General Cass has been so often referred to, and
commented upon, from tbe day of its publication to tbe present
.time ; it has become celebrated far and wide, both in this country
and Europe ; and it is an important document to all who wish to
understand the views of its distinguished author, as expressed by
himself, on the momentous question wbicb it discusses, it , is
. here transcribed from the original. "Washington, December 24th, 1847.
Acquisition of Mexican Tekkitoky — Indemnity. — " Dear
Sir: — I have received your letter, and shall answer it as frankly
as it is written.
" You ask me whether I am in favor of the acquisition of Mex
ican territory, and what are my sentiments with regard to the
Wilmot Proviso ?
" I have so often and so explicitly stated my views of this first
question, in the Senate, that it seems almost unnecessary to repeat
them here. As you request it, however, I shall briefly give them.
" I think, then, that no peace should be granted to Mexico till
a reasonable indemnity is obtained for the injuries she bas done
¦ us. The territorial extent of this indemnity is, in tbe first instance,
as subject of Executive consideration. There the Constitution
has placed it, and there I am willing to leave it ; not only be
cause I have full confidence in its judicious exercise, but because,
in the ever-varying circumstances of war, it would be indiscreet,
by a public declaration, to commit the country to any line of
indemnity, which might otherwise be enlarged, as the obstinate
injustice of the enemy prolongs the contest,, with its loss of blood
¦ and treasure. ¦ - <

608 > LIFE AND TIMES
"It appears to me, tbat the kind of metaphysical magnanimity
which would reject all indemnity at tbe close of a bloody and
expensive war, brought on by a direct attack upon our troops by
the enemy, and preceded by a succession of unjust acts for a
series of years, is as unworthy of the age in which we live, as it
is revolting to the common sense and practice of mankind. It
would conduce but little to our future security, Or indeed to our
present reputation, to declare that we repudiate all expectation
of compensation from the Mexican government, and are fighting,
not for any practical result, but for some vague, perhaps philan
thropic object, which escapes -my penetration, and must be defined
by those who assume this new principle of national intercom
munication. All wars are to be deprecated, as well by the states
man as by the philanthropist. They are great evils ; but there
are -greater evils than these, and submission to injustice is among
them. The nation which should refuse to defend its rights and
its honor, when assailed, would soon have neither to defend ; and
when- driven to war, it is not by professions of disinterestedness
and declarations of magnanimity that its rational objects can be
obtained, or other nations taught a lesson of forbearance — the
strongest security for permanent peace. We are at war With
Mexico, and its vigorous prosecution is the surest means of its
speedy termination, and ample indemnity the surest guarantee
against the recurrence of such injustice as provoked it.
' The Wilmot Proviso. — [' The Wilmot Proviso has been before
the country some time. It has been repeatedly discussed In
Congress, and by the public press. I am strongly impressed with
the opinion that a great change has been going on in the public
mind upon this subject — in my own as well as others ; and that
doubts are resolving themselves into cohvictions, that the princi
ple it involves should be kept out of the national Legislature, and
left to the people of the confederacy in their respective local
governments.) "The whole subject is a comprehensive one, and fruitful of im
portant consequences. It would be ill-timed to discuss it here. I
shall not assume that responsible task, but shall confine myself to
such general views as are necessary to the fair exhibition of my
opinions. State Powee over Slavery.— J" We may well regret the ex
istence of slavery in the southern States, and wish they had been

OF LEWIS CASS. 609
saved from its introduction. But there it is, and not by the act
of the present generation; and we must deal with it as a, great
practical question, involving the. most momentous consequences.
We haye neither the right nor -the power to touch it where it
[exists ; and if we had both, their exercise, by any means hereto-
;jf$>re suggested, might lead to results whiph no wise man would
willingly .encounter,, and which no :good man could contemplate
wjjihout anxiety-J
"The. theory of our government presupposes that its various
members have reserved tp themselves the regulation of all sub
jects relating to what may be termed thpir internal police. They
are sovereign within their boundaries, except in .those cases Where
!:they have surrendered to the general government a portion of their
flights in order to give effect to the objects of the Union, whether
-.these concern foreign nations or the several States themselves.
.Local institutions, if I may so speak, whether they have reference
to slavery or to any other relations, domestic or public, are left to
-local authority, either original or derivative. Congress has no
right to say that there shall be slavery in New York, or that
, there shall be no slavery in, Georgia; nor is there any human
r power but ..the people of those. States respectively, wbich can
change the,, -relations existing therein ; and they can say, if they
Will, We will have slavery in the former, and we will abolish it
, in the latter.
. Territorial Power. — ^In various respects, the Territories dif
fer from the States. Some of their rights are inphoate, and they do
- Hot .ppssess ; the peculiar attributes of sovereignty. Their relation
to.-ifehe general government is very imperfectly defined by the Con-
.Btitufion, and it will be found upon examination, tbat in that
¦ instrapgi the Only grant pf power concerning them, is conveyed
in the -phis.se, ' Congress shall have the power to dispose of and
¦make all' needful rules and regulations respecting the territory
and othfr- property belonging to the United States.', Certainly
• this phraseology is, very loose, if it were designed to include in
the jfflpnt^e^hole ngKerof legislation over persons as well as
things. The expressfo^pB ' territory and otber property,' fairly
construed, relates to thtTpublic lands, as such, to arsenals, dock-
yards,,<forts, ships, and all the various kinds of property Which the
United, States may and must possess,
'? But surely the simple authority, to dispose of and regulate
39

610 LIFE AND TIMES
these, does not extend to the unlimited power of legislation ; to
the passage of all laws, in the most general acceptation of the
word, which, by tbe by, is carefully excluded from the sentence^
And, indeed, if this were so, it would render unnecessary another
provision of the constitution, which grants to Congress the power
to legislate, with the consent of tbe States, respectively, over all
places purchased for the ' erection of forts, magazines, arsenals,
dock-yards,' &c. These being the ' property ' of the United States,
if the power to make 'needful rules and regulations concerning'
them includes the general power of legislation, then the grant of
authority to regulate ' the territory and other property of the
United States ' is unlimited wherever subjects are found for its
operation, and its exercise needed no auxiliary provision. If, on
the other hand, it does not include such power of legislation over
the ' other property ' of the United States, then it does not include
it over their ' territory '; for the same terms which grant the one,
grant the other. ' Territory ' is here classed with property, and
treated as such ; and the object was evidently to enable the gen
eral government, as a property holder — which, from necessity, it ,
must be — to manage, preserve and ' dispose of such property as
it might possess, and which authority is essential almost to its
being. KBut the lives and persons of our citizens, with tbe vast
variety of objects connected with them, can not be controlled by
an authority which is merely called into existence for the purpose
of making rules and regulations for the disposition and manage
ment of property. \
, Territorial Governments. — " Such, it appears to me, would be
the construction put upon this provision of the Constitution, were
this question now first presented for consideration, and not con
trolled by imperious circumstances. The original ordinance ofthe
Congress of the Confederation passed in 1787, and which was the
only act upon this subject in force at tbe adoption of the Consti
tution, provided a complete frame of government for thb -country
north ofthe Ohio while in a territorial conditioning! for its even
tual admission in separate States intone. Union. And the per
suasion that this ordinance contained^mlin itself all the necessary
means of execution, probably prevented any direct reference to tbe
subject in the Constitution, farther than vesting in Congress the
right to admit the States formed under it into the Union. How
ever, circumstances arose which required legislation, as weU over

OF LEWIS CASS. 611
the territory north of the Ohio as over other territory, both
within and without the original Union ceded to the general gov
ernment ; and at various times a more enlarged power has been
exercised over the territories — meaning thereby the different ter
ritorial governments — than is conveyed by the limited grant
referred to. How far an existing necessity may have operated in
producing this legislation, and thus extending by rather a violent
implication powers not directly given, I know not. But certain1
it is that the principle of interference should not be carried beyond
. the necessary implication which, produces it. It should be limited
to the creation of proper governments for new countries acquired
or settled, and to the necessary provision for their eventual admis
sion into the Union; leaving, in the meantime, the people inhab
iting them to regulate their internal concerns in their own way.
They are just as capable of doing so as the people of the States;
and they can do so, at any rate, as soon as their political indepen
dence is recognized by admission into the Union. During this
temporary condition, it is hardly exj>edient to call into exercise a
doubtful and invidious authority, which questions the intelligence
of a respectable portion of our citizens, and whose limitation,
whatever it may be, will be rapidly approaching its termination —
an authority which would give to Congress despotic power, uncon
trolled by the Constitution, over most important sections of bur
common country. For, if the relation of master and servant may
be regulated or annihilated by its legislation, so may the relation
of husband and wife, parent and child, and of any other condition
which our institutions and the habits of our society recognize]
What would be thought, if Congress should undertake to prescribe
the terms of marriage in New York, or to regulate the authority
of parents over their children in Pennsylvania? And yet it would
be as vain to seek one justifying the interference of the National
Legislature in the cases referred to in the original States of the
Union. I speak here of the inherent power of Congress, and do
nottouch the question of such contracts as may be formed with new \
States when admitted into the Confederacy.
Sectional Questions.—^' Of all the questions that can' agitate
us, those which are merely sectional in their character are the most
dangerous, and the most to be deprecated. The warning voice of
him who from his character and services and virtue bad the best
right to warn us, proclaimed to his countrymen in his farewell

612 LIFE AND TIMES
address — that monument of wisdom for him, as I hope it will be' of
safety for them — how much we had to apprehend from measures pe
culiarly affecting geographical portions of our country. The grav;e
circumstances in which we are now placed, make those words of
safety; for I am satisfied, from all I have seen and heardhere, that
a successful attempt to ingraft the principles of the Wilmot proviso
upon the legislation of this government, and to apply them to new
territory, should new territory be acquired, would seriously affect
our tranquillity. I do not suffer myself to foresee or to foretell the
consequences that would ensue, for I trust and believe there is good
sense and good feeling enough in the country to avoid them, by
avoiding all occasions which might lead to themj-
Th'e Reasons for leaving to the People of the Territory
the Eights of Legislation.—!-" Briefly, then, I am opposed to the
exercise of any jurisdiction by Congress ' over this matter, and I
am in favor of leaving to the people of any territory which may
be hereafter acquired, the right to regulate it for themselves under
the general principles of the Constitution. Because —
" 1. I do not see, in the Constitution any grant of the requisite
power to Congress ; and I am not disposed to extend a doubtful
precedent beyond its necessity,— the establishment of territorial
governments when needed, — leaving to the inhabitants all the
rights compatible with the relations they bear to the Confed
eration. " 2. Because I believe this measure, if adopted, would weaken, if
not impair, the union of the States, and would sow the seeds of
future discOrd, which would grow up and ripen into an abundant
harvest of calamity.
" 3. Because I believe a general conviction tbat such a proposi
tion would 'succeed, would lead to an immediate withholding of
the supplies, and thus to a dishonorable termination of the war.
I think no dispassionate observer at the seat of government can
doubt this result.
" 4. If, however, in this I am under a misapprehension, I am
under none in the practical operation of this restriction, if adopted
by Congress, upon a treaty of peace making acquisition of Mexican
territory. Such a treaty would be rejected, just as certainly as
presented to tbe Senate. More than one-third of that body would
vote against it, viewing such a principle' as an exclusion of the citi
zens of the slave-holding States frOm a participation in the benefits

OF LEWIS CASS.! 613
acquired by the treasure and exertions of all, and which should be
common to all. I am repeating— neither advancing nor defending »
these views. That branch of the subject does not lie in my way,
and I shall not turn aside to seek it. <
- "In this aspect of the matter,, the people, of the United. States
must choose between this restriction and the extension of their
territorial limits. Tbey can not have both; arid which they will
surrender must depend upon their representatives first, and then,
if these fail them, upon themselves.
V" 5. But after all, it seems to be generally conceded that this
restriction, if carried into effect, could not operate upon any State
to be formed from newly-acquired territory. The well known
attributes of sovereignty, recognized by us as belonging to the
State governments, would sweep before them any such barrier,
and would leave the people to express and exert their will at plea
sure. Is tbe object, then, of temporary exclusion for so short a
period as the duration of the territorial government, worth the
price at which it would be purchased ? — worth the discord it would
engender, the trial to which it would expose our Union, and the
evils that would be the certain consequence, let that trial result as
it might ?J As to the course which has been intimated rather than
proposed, of ingrafting such a restriction upon any treaty of acqui
sition, T persuade myself it would find but little favor in any por
tion of this country. Such an arrangement .would render Mexico
a party, having a right to interfere in our internal institutions in
questions left by tbe Constitution to the State governments, and;
would inflict a serious blow upon our fundamental principles.
Few, indeed, I trust, there are among us who would thus grarit to
a foreign power the right to inquire into the constitution and con
duct ofthe sovereign States of this Union; and if there are any, I
am not among them and never shall be. To the people of this
country, under God ^ now and hereafter are its destinies committed;
and we want no foreign power to interrogate us, treaty in hand,
and to say,iWhy have you done this, or why have you left that
undone ? Our own dignity and the principle of national indepen
dence unite to repel such a proposition.
DlFFERENOE BETWEEN INCREASE AND DIFFUSION OF SLAVERY.—
"But there is another important consideration, which ought not
to be lost sight of, in the investigation of this subject. The
question that presents itself, is not a question of the increase, but

614 LIFE AND TIMES
of the diffusion of slavery. Whether its sphere be stationary or
progressive, its amount will be ,the .same. The rejection of this
restriction will not add one to the class of servitude, nor will its
adoption give freedom to a single being who is now placed
therein. The same numbers will be spread over greater terri
tory; and so far as compression, with less abundance of the
necessaries of life, is an evil, so far will that evil be mitigated by
transporting slaves to a new country, and giving them a larger
space to occupy.
The Improbability of Slavery going to the Californias
and New Mexico. — " I say this in the event of tbe extension of
slavery over any new acquisition. But can it go there , This may
well be doubted. All the descriptions wbicb reach us of the con
dition of the Californias and of New Mexico, to the acquisition
of which our efforts seem at present directed, unite in representing
thbse countries as agricultural regions, similar in their products
to our middle States, and generally unfit' for the production ofthe
great staples which can alone render slave labor valuable. If
we are not grossly deceived — and it is difficult to conceive how
we can be— the inhabitants of those regions, whether they depend
upon their plows or their herds, can not be slaveholders. In
voluntary labor, requiring tbe investment of large capital, can
only be profitable when employed in tbe production of a few
favored articles, confined by nature to special districts, and paying
larger returns than the usual agricultural products spread over
tmore considerable portions of the earth.
" In the able letter of Mr. Buchanan upon this subject, not long
since given to the public, be presents similar considerations with
great force. ' Neither,' says this distinguished writer, ' the soil,
the climate, nor the productions of California, south of 36° 30',
nor indeed of any portion of it, north or south, is adapted to slave
labor ; and besides, every facility would be there afforded for the
slave to escape from his master. Such property would be entirely
insecure in any part of California. It is morally impossible,
therefore, that a majority of tbe emigrants to that portion of the
territory south of 36° 30', which will be chiefly composed ofour
own citizens, will ever re-establish slavery within its limits.
" ' In regard to New Mexico, east of the Bio Grande, the
question has already been settled by the admission of Texas into
the Union.

OF LEWIS CASS. 615
"'Should, We acquire territory beyond the Rio Grande, and
east of the Kocky Mountains, it is still more impossible that a
majority of the people would consent to re-establish slavery. Tbey
are themselves a colored population, and among them the negro
does not belong socially to a degraded race.'
, ," With' this last remark Mr. Walker fully coincides, in his letter
written in 1844 upon the annexation of Texas, and which every
where produced so favorable an impression upon the public mind,
as to have conduced very materially to the accomplishment of
that great measure. ' Beyond the Del Norte,' says Mr. Walker,
'slavery will not pass ; not only because it is forbidden bylaw,
but because the colored race there preponderates in the ratio of
ten. to one over the whites ; and holding, as they do, tbe govern
ment and most of the offices in their possession, they will not
permit the, enslavement of any portion of the colored race which
makes and executes the laws of the country.'
" Thp question, it will be therefore seen on examination, does not
regard the exclusion of slavery from a region where it now exists,
but a prohibition against its introduction where it does not exist,
and where, from the feelings of the inhabitants and the laws of
nature, ' it is morally impossible,' as Mr. Buchanan says, ' that it
can ever re-establish itself.'
s,The Power of the Union — The Fundamental Principles of
our Union — Their Power. — " It augurs well fpr the permanence '
of our Confederation, that during more than half a century which
has elapsed since the establishment of this government, many
serious questions, and some of the highest importance, have agi
tated the public mind, and more than once threatened the gravest
consequences ; but that they have all in succession passed away,
leaving our institutions unscathed, and our country advancing in
numbers, power, and wealth, and in all the other elements pf
national prosperity, with a rapidity unknown in ancient or in
modern days. In times of political excitement, when difficult and
delicate questions present themselves for solution, there is one ark
of safety for us ; and that is an honest appeal to the fundamental
principles of our Union, and a stern determination to abide their
dictates. This course of prpceedings has carried us in safety through
many a trouble, and, I trust will carry us safely through many
mdre should many more be destined to assail us. The Wilmot
proviso seeks to take from its legitimate tribunal a question of

616 LIFE AND TIMES
domestic policy, having no relation to the Union, as Such', and to
transfer it to another created by the people for a special purpose,
and foreign to the subject matter involved in this issue. By going-
back to our true principles, we go back to the road of peace and
safety. Leave to the people, who will be affected by this question,
to adjust it upon their own responsibility, and in their own "manner,
and we shall render another tribute' to the original principles of
our government, and furnish another guarantee for its permanence
/ and prosperity. " I am, dear sir,
" Respectfully " Your obedient servant, "Lewis Cass.- -•
"A. O. P. Nioholson, Esq., Nashville, Tenn."
This lttter expresses frank, statesmanlike and national senti
ments, and contains not a single word which an impartial reader
can interpret as favoring slavery. On the contrary, many express
sions indicate that General Cass regretted its existence mo less
than do all enlightened men and genuine friends of human liberty.
Envy and disappointed ambition may pretend otherwise, but the
proof is lacking to countenance the shameless effrontery; It was
the offspring of a conviction in the mind of its distinguished
author, that the pressing upon Congress the adoption of the pro
viso, was urging useless legislation — by many deemed plainly
unconstitutional,' and defiant to the wishes of tens of thousands of
patriotic citizens. He treated the question as one not having
reference to the exclusion of slavery from territory where it ex
isted, but a prohibition against its introduction where it did not
exist, and where, in his judgment, from the feelings of the inhab
itants and the laws of nature, he believed it morally impossible to
go and plant itself. Indeed, he took occasion expressly to say,
that, in his opinion, " slavery never would extend to California or
New Mexico, and that the inhabitants of those regions, whether
they depend on their plows or their herds, can not be slave
holders." The letter contained his honest sentiments, and by
them has he guided all his public action on this subject. Subse
quent events have proven the truth of his prediction in relation
to New Mexico and California. The territory is free — the State
government does not tolerate slavery ; and it was a government

OF LEWIS CASS. 617'
made by the people who dwelt there, acting in their own sove
reign capacity. This right was no new doctrine with General'
Cass. He recognized it when Michigan was a Territory — he
referred to it and countenanced it in bis article upon tbe Georgia
difficulties, before alluded^ to, which we reproduce from the review
of the decision of the Supreme Court, in 1832,' heretofore given,
as appears in the following extract. He observed:
"That the clause of the Constitution authorizing Congress 'to
dispose of, and make all needful rules and regulations respecting
the territory or other property of the United States, refers to ter
ritorial rights, and grants no jurisdiction over persons.' Among
other things I say : 'The power to dispose of, and make needful
rules and regulations respecting the territory and other property
of the United States, and: the power to exercise generaL jurisdic
tion over persons upon it,are essentially different and* independent.
The former is general,,and is given in the clause referred to; the
latter is special, and is found in another clause, and is confined to
the federal tract (the District of Columbia,) and to places pur
chased by consent of the Legislature of the State in wbich the
same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock
yards and other needful buildings.' "
-i And it is worthy of note, that the views expressed in this letter
have entered into and marked the legislation of Congress, and
received the approbation of many eminent men of the country,
who at first differed with him; thus evidencing the soundness of
tiie position he assumed at the outset of the agitation on this

The letter was read by several gentlemen, northern and southern,
before its publication. Some of the latter requested the General
to omit that part of it which asserted the right of the people of
the territories to legislate for themselves on all questions relating
to their internal policy. He declined' to -accede to this request,
because of his unwillingness to misstate. Ms views by omission.
It did not comport with his self-respect to dovsptf although he was
not unmindful tbat this doctrine might ever afterward be regarded
an inexpiable offense by extreme southern' men. At the same
time he was aware that the position that Congress had no power
to legislate upon the subject of slavery, would be equally unac
ceptable and unpardonable with extreme northern men.

618 LIFE AND TIMES
The introduction of the Wilmot proviso into Congress created
quite a stir among the politicians, without distinction of party, 'all
through the southern States. The opinion soon became prevalent,
that it was not slavery or involuntary bondage, but the power
which the institution exercised in the political world, that induced
people to pay it so much attention. It was a hot-bed of parties.
On the platform of opposition, an anti-slavery party could exist
in the free States ; on the platform of self-defense, another party
could exist in the slave States ; whilst between these two extremes,
another party still was always to be found, composed of the con
servative mind of the entire country.
The prospect of territorial acquisitions awakened into new life
all the elements of politics. Whether these vast domains should
be bond or free, was, indeed, a magnificent question. Anti-slavery
had opened the battle, and made a vital attack ; it was no less
than a pronunciamento of entire interdiction ; the area of slavery
was never, under any circumstances, to be extended. No matter
if the blood of tbe slaveholder had watered the roads, valleys
and mountains of Mexico ; and southern armies, with chivalrous
bravery, were first among the foremost to plant the standard of
their country upon the walls of the imperial capital. This should
not give tbeir relatives and families at home, the right to emigrate
with their property. Not so, thought they ; and their statesmen
echoed the sentiment in tbe halls of Congress.
Action for self-defense was necessary. A convention was sug
gested, to combine the efforts of the citizens of the slave States.
Mr. Calhoun favored it; others did the same. This looked sec
tionalism in earnest. The government of Washington was evi
dently fast drifting to the rubicon. Statesmen who would cling to
the Constitution to the last extremity, paused to take a reckoning.
And with th,e annexation of new territory, what would be the
relative rights of the inhabitants thereof, was the great problem
to be solved. General Cass had no misgivings ; to his mind, it
was clear upon what tack to put the ship of State.

OF LEWIS CASS. 619

;CHAPTER XXXYI.
Harbor Appropriations — Views of General Cass — The Chicago Convention — The' Famous Letter—
, .Seneral Cass' Official Acts for Harbor and other Public Improvements — His Speeches and
Votes — His Vindication.
The subject of making appropriations for the improvement of
harbors on the northern lakes, has frequently been before Con
gress since General Cass has been a member. Uniformly he has
favored, advocated and voted for all reasonable and necessary
appropriations. Several times he has drawn up and introduced
bills appropriating moneys for this purpose. If he has not always
been successful in his efforts, it is to be ascribed to the variety of
interests which, unfortunately, the extent of our country has crea
ted; and the question has become involved with other measures
of public expenditure, having no natural connection with it. The
constitutional right of Congress to appropriate money for the im
provement of rivers and harbors on the lakes, has been designedly
connected with tbe right of that body to commence and prosecute
a general system of internal improvements, so that frequently
those who believe that the constitutional right exists in the one
case and not in the other, are compelled, by tbe arts of parliamen
tary tacticians, to oppose tbe system entirely, as ftt is presented
to them. '
It has been charged upon General Cass tbat he is opposed to
appropriations for harbor and river improvements. The history
of his votes, during his career, in the Senate of the United States,
disproves the truth of tbp.unfounded allegation.- He supports' the
creed of the Democratic party on this subject, early established,
and frequently reiterated in National Convention. It is summed
up in the following declaration : " tbat tbe federal government is
one of limited powers, derived solely from the Constitution, and
the grants of power shown therein ought to be strictly construed
by all the departments and agents of government, and that it is
inexpedient and dangerous to exercise doubtful constitutional

620 LIFE AND TIMES
powers ; that tbe Constitution does not confer upon the general
government the power to commence amd carry on a general
system of internal improvements."
It does not deny the power of Congress to improve the great
harbors, and rivers, and lakes of the country, that can be consid
ered national in tbeir character, and important to its defense and
commerce. He recommended appropriations for such purposes
when Secretary of War ; but he does deny the power, and is op
posed to its exercise, to devise and prosecute a vast system, whose
pecuniary extent can not be foreseen, and whose corrupting influ
ence in and out of Congress, may well excite apprehension ; at
the same time he has advocated and voted for particular appro
priations, justified by the position and importance of the location
to be improved.
In one of his speeches on this subject he says, " With respect
to harbor improvements upon the great lakes, in which my con
stituents feel a deep interest, I may be permitted, I trust, to make
a few remarks. It is the exercise of a power essential tothe pros
perity of the country, a/nd necessary to prevent a prodigal waste of
human Ufe."
We will give one instance, from Congressional record, to show
the position of General Cass on this question :
In July, 1846, Mr. Dix moved to take up the river and harbor
bill. ,
Mr. Bagby (of Alabama) objected. He was opposed to the bill
in principle, and with a view to record his vote, asked for the yeas
and nays on the question, and they were ordered.
The yeas and nays were taken on the question, and stood, yeas
thirty-seven — nays fourteen; General Cass voting in the af
firmative. July 21. — On motion of Mr. Dix, the Senate resumefi the con
sideration of the river and harbor appropriation bill.
Mr. Atcbinson moved the reconsideration of the vote by which
the following clause was stricken out :
" For the improvement of Little Fort harbor, on Lake Mich
igan, $12,000."
Upon this motion discussion ensued.
General Cass advocated the appropriation. He argued for it on
the ground of expediency and constitutional right. He denied
that they were legislating for mere local views. It was the duty

OF LEWIS CASS.
of Congress to legislate with a regard lo local as mell as general
'interests. He contrasted tbe importance of harbors on the lakes
with the rivers. On the Mississippi and great western rivers every
species of craft could land, at any point ; but, on the lakes, the
God of nature had imposed tbe most formidable difficulties. He
himself was once shipwrecked near the town of Cleveland, and
saved his life at imminent hazard. He alluded to the commerce
of the lakes. , Last;year the number of vessels of all kinds navi
gating the lakes was four hundred and ninety-five, and thirty were
building; thirty-six vessels had been drivenashore — twenty total
wrecks, and four had foundered.
The vote was reconsidered — yeas 32, noes 19 — General Cass
voting for the reconsideration. The further consideration of the
bill was postponed.
: July 23d. — Mr. Dix moved that the Senate resume the consid
eration of the river and harbor appropriation bill.
Mr. Atherton offered, an amendment : Provided that no money
shall be drawn from tbe treasury on account of any appropriation
•contained in this act^ unless the revenues of the government shall
be sufficient to pay the current expenses of the year without
resorting to treasury notes or, loans.
On tbe amendment Mr. Atherton demanded the ayes and noes,
which being called, the amendment was lost — ayes 18,, noes 33 —
General Cass voting in the negative.
After offering and discussing various amendments, upon which
General Cass invariably voted to' sustain the bill, the question was
taken upon ordering the bill to a third reading, which was done-
ayes 31, noes 16 — General Cass voting in the affirmative.
The bill was then, by unanimous consent, read a third time and
passed, General Cass voting for the passage of the bill.'
Here, then, is the irrefragable proof that General Cass advo
cated in his speeches, and supported by his vote, appropriations
for the improvement of our rivers and harbors ; and he voted
against Mr. Atherton's amendment, which was intended to, and
would, if adopted, defeat the operation pf tbe bill.
In further illustration of General Cass' construction of the con
stitutional power of Congress to make grants for specific improve
ments where the benefit will accrue to the country in general, in
1846 he advocated and voted for the bill to grant alternate sections
of public land to tbe State of Michigan, to complete certain works

622 LIFE AND TIMES
of internal improvement. Upon a more recent occasion, in the
winter of 1848, he advocated and voted for a grant to the State of
Illinois of the right of way and a donation of public lands for
making a railroad, connecting the upper and lower Mississippi
With the lakes at Chicago.
Probably much of the misrepresentation of the General's views
on this question should be attributed to a studied purpose, on the
part of his political opponents. Perhaps there are persons so
inimical to any measure which receives the sanction of the Demo
cratic party, that, at times, tbey oppose what their judgment con
vinces them is right. However this may be, in the summer of
1847, an attempt was made to commit the people of the west, who
were personally interested in river and harbor improvements, to
a disavowal of the doctrines of the Democratic party in this par
ticular ; and, with this view, a convention was called and held at
the city of Chicago in July of that year. The delegates to this ¦
convention were self-appointed, and it was numerously attended.
The ultimate object of it was to procure action condemnatory of
the policy of the Democratic party, as was thought in many quar
ters ; and if persons, known to be members of that party, were in
attendance, such a vote would have the appearance, at least, of
being sustained by a portion of the Democratic party. The dis
tinguished men of all parties were invited to be present by a com
mittee of arrangements. To these invitations answers in writing
were returned. Some of the more prominent men of the Whig
school of politics discussed the question at length in their replies, —
and very properly, if such was tbeir inclination. Among other
distinguished men of the Democratic party, General Cass was very
politely invited to be present. He had prior engagements on his
hands to fulfill, and he declined accepting the invitation, in the
following neat and concise note in reply, nearly two months in
advance of the assembling of the convention : " Detroit, May lTth. ,
" Dear Sir : — I am much obliged to you for your kind attention
in transmitting me an invitation to attend tbe Convention on In
terna! Improvements, which will meet in Chicago in July. Cir
cumstances, however, will put it out of my power to be present at
that time. " I am, dear sir,
" Respectfully yours,
" Lewis Cass.
"W. L. Whiting, Esq., Chicago, 111."

OF LEWIS CASS. 623
There was no occasion for an expression of bis opinions or views
upon the subject matter of the invitation, or what the action of
the convention to which it alluded should be. The records of
Congressional legislation contained them in abundance, and all
who had taken the trouble to inform themselves ofthe current
history of their country, could not be otherwise than fully informed.
Perhaps a man less scrupulous about obtruding his personal sen
timents upon the public than General Cass, might have seized
upon the opportunity to avow, unasked, his private views ; but
such an answer to a simple invitation to attend a public meeting,
all will readily admit would have been in bad taste, especially
when it is understood (for such was the fact,) that the General was
not aware that Mr. Whiting was a member of any committee, but,
on the contrary, regarded his note as a private communication
from one gentleman to another.
This brief and very intelligible letter, however, in a subsequent
year, formed tbe text for much political badinage; and we do not
now remember that ever six lines were written which have been
the subject of so much perversion. It has been cited, frequently,
as evidence of the General's hostility to harbor and river improve
ments, when it does not contain one word on the subject, or inti
mation, even, from which such an unfounded and unwarranted
inference could be drawn.
As there hars been so much anxiety manifested to know why the
Genera] did not attend the convention, it is but just to say, that,
in addition to prior engagements that put it entirely out of his
power to be present, without much inconvenience personally, he
did not deem it absolutely necessary for himself to attend, because
it was his opinion that the object of the convention was political,
entirely incompatible with his views and practice ; and, above all,
¦ that its labors would not effect any particular benefit. He, in
short, was unable to perceive how any useful plan of action could
be devised or adopted by a large assemblage, among whom differ
ences of opinion existed, in a time of great political excitement,
gathered from many sections of tbe country, without limitation as
to numbers, and possessing no degree of responsibility for the
wisdom or felicity of the measures it might happen to propose ;
and the result proved he was right, for no good resulted from
its labors.
On his route homeward from Washington, immediately after

624 LIFE AND TIMES
his acceptance of the Presidential nomination in 1848, General
Cass was welcomed at Cleveland by a large concourse of his fel
low-citizens. Judge Wood, of that place — an old acquaintance
and political friend of the GeneraW-at their request, formally
addressed him. To this, General CasB made a suitable reply,
acknowledging the respect paid him, that his voice was weak, his
health feeble, and his strength prostrated with the fatigue of sev
eral days' travel, and suggested that he was doubtful whether,
amidst ihe noise add confusion that prevailed, he could be dis
tinctly heard by all present. After making a few further ob
servations appropriate to the occasion, he concluded his reply,
and received the personal congratulations of such as saw fit to
approach him.
It has since been ajledged, that the General sheltered himself
behind the noise and confusion, to avoid an expression of his
views on the subject of harbor and river improvements. As if
his views on that topic were not fully, before the people, the alle
gation has often been reiterated, until the words italicised in
the preceding paragraph, have become classical in our political
nomenclature. The allegation is untrue, and was regarded as too
Silly to be noticed by the General's political friends, until Janu
ary, 1850, when, having been revived by the Washington Repub
lic, Messrs J. W. Gray, the editor of the Cleveland Blaimdealer,
and H. Y. Willson, a respectable citizen and lawyer of Ohio, ad
dressed Judge Wood-^then Governor of Ohio^and received
from bim the following ^explicit statement of what transpired on
the occasion alluded to :
"Jj^eoutwe Office, Columbus,, January 21st,. 1851. •
" Gentlemen : — Your favor of the 28th instant came duly to
hand last evening,' on the-subject oi.Ha.at stale slander, the speech
of General Cass at Cleveland in 1848, as reported in the Herald,
and requesting my recollection of it, and the order in which it
occurred. , ,
"Injustice to myself, I must say,, at tbe time of the reception
of General Cass at Cleveland, I had not read his letter accepting
the nomination for President, or no opportunity would have been
given for the perverse and silly version of his speech, which; was
published in the Herald on tbat occasion.
" The speech attributed to the, General, that there was 'so much
noise and confusion ' that he could not be heard in answer to tho

OF LEWIS CASS. 625
particular subjects of river and harbor improvements, and the
extension pf slavery into the free territories of the United States,
to which his attention had been especially invited, was not made
by him in that connection at all.
" His remarks were very able, eloquent, and appropriate, for an
effort of the kind. He commenced by saying he was fatigued
with several days' travel; tbat his health was feeble, his voice but
weak, and he was doubtful whether, amidst the noise and confu
sion that prevailed, he could be distinctly heard by all in that
vast assembly.
" General Cass then gave a brief history of bis emigration to
Ohio when a youth ; his residence in the State of his adoption.
He spoke of the condition of Ohio when he first settled at Zanes-
ville; of her rapid advance in intelligence, population, and wealth,
and of the interest he had always felt in her institutions and pros
perity, &c, &'C.
" General Cass then, in order, alluded to the recent events in
Europe, and drew a comparison between the governments of Eng
land, France, and Germany, and the American Republic, &c„ &c,
which occupied him fifteen or twenty minutes ; and then, turning
from the assembly directly to me, he observed that the particular
subjects to which I had called his attention were those upon which
he had hoped his sentiments were well known and understood.
For a knowledge of his opinions on those subjects, he could only
refer to his votes and action in the Senate of the United States for
several years— to his letter to Mr. Nicholson, in, which he had ex
pressed himself without reserve; and he thought they would afford
more satisfactory evidence of his sentiments than any assurances
he could then give, under the circumstances by which he was sur
rounded. ' Besides,' (said he) ' in my letter accepting the nomina
tion for President, I have stated that it must close my professions
of political faith, and to this declaration I think I ought to adhere.'
" This was the substance of the speech, according to my recol
lection of it, and the order in which it was delivered. The report
of it in the Cleveland Herald, and which was put into my hands
but a short time after General Cass left tbe stand, was doubtless
an artful and designed misrepresentation ofthe whole affair.
" I am, gentlemen, very respectfully,
" R. Wood.
:¦ "Messrs. Gray and Willson, Esqs., Cleveland, &c, &c."
40

626 LIFE AND TIMES
In order that there may be no misconception of his views on
this interesting topic, we make a few extracts from a speech of his,
delivered in the Senate at the close, of the session of Congress in
March, 1851. on the river and harbor bill.
"Now, sir, the honorable senator from South Carolina [Mr.
Butler] has referred, rather triumphantly, I thought, to the reso
lutions of the Baltimore Convention, and seems to suppose that
their faithful observance would prevent those of us who acknowl
edge their obligations from voting for any river or harbor bill.
Mr. President, for one, I see neither difficulty in the case, nor in
consistency in the course. This resolution, disavowing the right
to establish a general system of internal improvements — for that
is the doctrine reproved — was first presented to the Democratic
party by that able and incorruptible statesman, Silas Wright,
whose memory is embalmed in the heart of every true Democrat.
Well, sir, he, its acknowledged father, held at the time he urged
it, and continued to hold till his lamented death, the same opinions
upon this subject which are now sanctioned by the Democratic
party, and which authorize these appropriations for certain na
tional, objects. Can a doubt rest upon tbe mind of any man,
fairly disposed, respecting the construction he put upon his own
declaration ? What he meant, and what the Democratic party
mean to repudiate, is, the oower to spread a great system of public
works through the whole country, embracing roads, canals, rivers
and harbors, and ponds, too, for aught I know — a system by which
the Union was to be covered with roads and canals, as by a net
work, and whose consequences, as well financially in the enor
mous expenditure it would entail, as morally and politically by
the corruptions it would lead to, no man can seriously contemplate
without alarm. Why, sir, a fact which has just been stated by an
honorable member, [Mr. Downs,] that at the time of the Maysville
veto there were propositions before committees of Congress for
lines of roads to the amount of $106,000,000, as I understood him,
for I have not time to refer, to the documents, places in a striking
light the dangers we were exposed to, and from which we escaped
by the firmness and wisdom of Andrew Jackson ; and, by the
adherence of the Democratic party to the principles of this great
act we are yet safe from this peril. They have taken roads and
canals from the grasp of the general government, and all the
rivers, except a few, which can be considered national in their

OF LEWIS CASS. 627
character, by the contributions they furnish to the commerce of*
the country. A great system of internal improvements is exploded,
and the powers of the government are confined within their legit
imate boundaries, — the right to regulate commerce, and to improve
natural reservoirs and some of the principal natural avenues of
communication. " Look, sir, at the votes in the Senate in 1847, the last time a
bill upon this subject passed, and but a year before the meeting
Of the Baltimore Convention. You will find that on a test vote,
so announced by the mover, Mr. Bagby, to strike out the sum of
$156,000 for the improvement of the Ohio river below the falls,
there were thirty-nine nays and but six yeas. My name is recorded
among the former; and a far greater one than mine is there, too,
— the name of Calhoun.
" With respect to harbor improvements upon the great lakes, in
which my constituents feel a deep interest, I may be permitted, I
trust, to make a few remarks. It is the exercise of a power es
sential to the prosperity of the country, and necessary to prevent
a prodigal waste of human life. When I first removed to tha
region, there was but one natural harbor free from a bar between
the mouth of the Detroit river and Black Rock, the whole extent
of Lake Erie, and that was at Put-in-Bay Island. How this great
defect was to be remedied was a subject of anxious inquiry; for
almost every day demonstrated both the danger and the difficulty
of the' navigation. I have never been exposed to more peril than
at Cleveland, where I was driven ashore, and narrowly escaped
with my life, — the mouth of tbe river being entirely closed. At
length the plan, of building piers was suggested and adopted, by
which the current of the rivers being confined within narrow
limits, they were thus enabled; when high, tp sweep away the bars,
and so to create and preserve navigable channels. Experience
soon came in aid of the system, and it is now found effectual for
its Object. It must be recollected that storms arise violently and
suddenly upon those great fresh-water seas ; and as there is not
sea room, as sailors say, to work a vessel off, she must often perish,
with cargo and. crew, unless there is a harbor near, in which she
can take refuge. And these circumstances render a greater num
ber of ports necessary, than would otberwise be required. But
as it is, and with all the improvements which have taken place,
the statistics of the lake commerce for 1850 exhibit a most

LIFE AND TIMES
lamentable loss of life and property, as the following abstract
will show :
Loss of life  1  ¦;;  395
Loss of property  ,  .,  $558,000
Number of vessels lost  32
" The value of the property and number of persons running this
risk are stated as follows :
Value -of the commerce  $191,000,000
Passengers  ...355,000
American tonnage  -.  167,000
v" Here, sir, is an exhibit of danger great enough to awaken the
solicitude and to command the active attention of the most care
less Legislature. I can never surrender a principle which enables
the government to discharge a sacred duty, dear to all my con
stituents ; and I should faithlessly discharge my obligations to
them, (and those obligations are many and great,) if I did not use
all my efforts to have this trust fulfilled by the general government,
so far as I can consistently with the Constitution and the true
principles of sound legislation.
'_' Harbors of commerce and of refuge are not only necessary,
but harbors are also indispensable for the purposes of war. A fact
that occurred in 1813 should teach us to be provident in season:
the fleet, commanded by Commodore Perry, which gained the
most glorious naval battle recorded in our annals, was constructed
at Erie, in Pennsylvania. At that time the waters ofthe Lake
were low, and the bar at the mouth of the harbor could not be
passed without lighting the vessels. The British fleet was off the
shore, blockading ours, which could not go out while the enemy
was there, because the guns Could not be mounted, as they would
have occasioned too great a draught of water. A violent storm
arose, which compelled the hostile squadron to leave the coast,
and, by great energy and activity, Commodore Perry was enabled
to get his vessels over the bar, and to embark bis guns and follow
the enemy, and thus to gain that splendid victory which he fought
with Spartan courage, and reported with Spartan "brevity, when
he met the enemy, and they were ours.
"Anxiously did I look out for tidings of the result, for the boom
ing cannon had told that the contest had gone on and was finished ;
and joyfully did I open the dispatch of the gallant commander,

OF LEWIS CASS. 629
for it was my fortune to receive it in the absence of General Har
rison ; and the shouts of the express, as he rode through the camp
to my quarters, prepared us for the intelligence he brought ; — but
what, I felt when I read tbe glorious letter, no tongue or pen can
tell or record. ^It opened to us the road to the conquest of western
Canada, and to the recovery and security of our own northwestern
frontier. The British would otherwise have retained tbe command
of the Lake, and our whole operations would have ended in useless
and enormously expensive efforts to invade the hostile possessions
by land, * * * * * # # # * *
"I repeat that I am in favor- of the great principle of keeping
the expenditures within t^e receipts, and I am prepared to support
it, if the deficiency is thrown equally upon all the objects of ex
penditure wbich are in the same circumstances. I agree tbat the
authorized and usual expenses of the government — those sanc
tioned by existing laws, and the private claims which have become
acknowledged debts by our legislation, should be first met. We
can not avoid these without the most serious injury, and without
the palpable violation of a moral duty. But I can not extend this
immunity any further than our existing obligations. I can not con
sent that all the excess should be thrown upon the river and harbor
appropriations ; it is not just. There is a vast variety of objects,
for which we are providing with .railroad rapidity,, and amid a rail
road noise and confusion, which are far inferior in real importance
and utility to many of thpse contemplated by this bill. Among
them are appropriations made or anticipated,/for the capitol, for
mints, custom-houses, post offices, steamboat lines, and books — no
inconsiderable source of expense — and many other purposes, all of
which may be delayed, and many of which may be omitted with
out injury to thp public service. I repeat, sir, it is unjust, flagrantly
so, to throw all the deficiencies upon the river and harbor bill, and
leave every thin % else to go on, money or no money. I propose to
the senator from Maine, to accept an amendment whiph will carry
out this view, and I will then vote for his proposition."
• General Cass did not vote on this bill, because tbe question was
not reached before midnight of the third of March.. We have,
some pages back, given his views of the Sabbath. But, in addition,
he had constitutional scruples on another point— thp right of sit
ting after the third of March, at alternate sessions of Congress.

630 LIFE AND TIMES
So had General Jackson ; so bad Mr. Polk : and for the reason
that the term of Congress expires on the third day of March. The
only pretense for prolonging it until noon of tbe fourth, is because
General Washington was inaugurated at that hour. General
Cats believes that the Presidential term commences with the
fourth, but that the power to execute the duty of the oflice com--
mences only with the qualification. General Taylor's term com
menced on Sunday, although he was not sworn in until Monday.
He had just as much right to be sworn in at one o'clock in the
morning Of Monday, as he had at ten, eleven or twelve o'clock ; and
then this strange anomaly would result — that we should have two
Presidents from the time the new one is sworn in until twelve,
two lawful Presidents of the United States ; for we take it for
granted, that tbe same rule of construction is as applicable to
the President as to Congress. And who ever drew pay for half
a day? The pay of members of Congress, by common consent
and usage, terminates on the third of March. How, then, break
the calendar and legal day, and run into the fourth? General
Cass' constitutional scruples and invariable practice are againstit.
Again, in 1852, on the sixteenth of August, he spoke in the
Senate for appropriations, when that body, as in Committee ofthe
Whole, had under consideration the bill granting to the State of
Michigan the right of way, and a donation of public lands, for
the construction of a ship canal around the Falls of St. Mary.
In addition to the advantages to accrue from such a canal to
commerce, and to the people at large who resided along the bor
ders of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin,
he advocated the passage of the bill because of the facility it
would • afford in case of war, for the transportation of munitions
of war, and for defense to tbe frontiers generally. Read what
he says :
" In the course of this discussion, besides the improbability of
war, we have heard it charged as another reason for refusing to
grant this application, that it would be useless, because, should
war come, Canada would fall with comparatively little opposition;
certainly with so little as to render a military marine upon the
lakes unnecessary. Mr. President, we are taught as well by the
book of history as by the book of revelation, that the race is not
always to the swift, nor the battle, to the strong. Too much pre
sumption and self-confidence have often robbed powerful nations

OF LEWIS CASS. 631
of victory, and driven them recreant from the field of contest. It
is not easy to reduce a people determined upon resistance ; and
in any future war with England, come when or how it may, the
success of our operations in Canada, or at any rate their facility,
will depend essentially upon the disposition of the inhabitants.
England has great means of annoyance; no one denies that; and
if she should put forth her full strength — and who doubts it — she
would be, a formidable coadjutor with her Canadian subjects in
the defense of the country. That we could overrun and deprive
her of her possessions in our neighborhood, I am perfectly satisfied.
But I wish neither to underrate the difficulties we should have
tO encounter, nor the preparations we ought to make. It is an
error we committed once to our cost, and which I hope we shall
not commit again. It is an error of which I partook as well as
others ; but from which, for my own part, I recovered forty years
years ago this very day, when the surrender of Detroit told the
dishonor of our country and the uncertainty of human expecta
tions. There was even then a great disparity in our strength,
compared with that of our opponents. It is indeed greater now;
but still British North America has increased since then in a
rapid ratio in population and power. In the event of a war with
England, it will undoubtedly be our policy, among other means
of annoyance, to seize her continental colonies, and to hold them
to await the arrangement of a treaty of peace. For myself, sir, I
should be glad to see those countries annexed to the United States,
as well from their position and contiguity as from tbe nature of
the population, which is capable of appreciating tbe benefits of a
free government, and of aiding in its administration. I live in -
sight of Western Canada, and a beautiful country it is, rejoicing
the heart and the eye of the traveler ; but I want no annexation /
at the expense of political honesty, nor of a war with England,
nor without the free consent of the people themselves. I would
not, if we could, unjustly deprive tbat country of her existing
territorial possessions, whatever examples I might find in her
own history of successful spoliations. But should war come, which
is a contest of injury as well as of strength between the parties,
we should have a moral right to carry our arms into her colonies,
and to subdue them if we could, and then to retain them on the
conclusion of peace, should England find it necessary to assent to
the cession. But even then, I repeat, I would not hold On to an

632 LIFE AND TIMES
acre without the free consent of the people ; for their intellectual
and moral condition is such that they ought to be permitted to
decide that vital question for themselves. I would rather have
them contented neighbors, than reluctant citizens,
" I have been charged, sir, with a great desire to swallow terri
tory, and I do not deny but that I have the bump of acquisition
tolerably well developed for a Jonathan; but for a John Bull,
even mine would be a very small organ, a molehill to a moun
tain. But I should like a reasonable 6lice north, and one near
insular acquisition on • the south ; both of which regions are im
portant to our security and prosperity. But I would not receive
either of them but upon condition that the deed were done openly,
honestly, acceptably to all parties; unless, indeed, a just war
should give us a right to subdue them, and thereby to violate no
principle of national conduct.
" But I mnst return to tbe lakes, which, while they separate us
from Canada, furnish also the means of communication along
almost the whole frontier. I have before said, they constitute
three plateaus,1 the lower being Lake. Ontario, the middle, Lakes
Erie, Huron, and Michigan, and the upper, Lake Superior. The
interruption of navigation between the upper and middle of these
great reservoirs, I have already shown. Between the middle and
the lower, the Falls of Niagara are interposed, which, however,
have been overcome by tbe Welland Canal, constructed by the
British government, and which furnishes a navigable communi
cation for vessels ; and we learn, from recent information, that a
surveying party was a few days ago at St. Mary's, surveying a
route for a canal across the falls, to be constructed by the British
government,-^a wise precautionary measure, which we shall do
well to imitate. The slightest inspection of the map will show
that the command of these lakes by one party, restricts the
Other, both for its supplies and for all its means of communica
tion, to three or four points where the frontiers approach each
other, thus facilitating the powers of offense and defense by the
command of the water.
" Now, sir, in the event of hostilities, we must have armed ves
sels upon Lake Superior, as well as upon Huron, Michigan, Erie,
and Ontario.' We can not neglect tbe country upon tbe greatest
of our, lakes. It is growing into importance; and tbe further
our researches are pushed, the greater becomes its promised The

OF LEWIS CASS. 633
mineral treasures, already so productive, though but yet in the
infancy of our knowledge of them, and the population there, and
daily going there, must be protected, both from the civilized and
uncivilized foe, who will be sure to take hold of the tomahawk
together in that region, should war render their co-operation
desirable. And a heavy Indian force can be collected there, from
the extensive northern and northwestern regions, ready to strike
upon our frontiers, if the necessary supplies can be secured, which
can only be done by«the command of the lakes. Our naval
superiority would enable us to intercept all this atrocious inter
course, leading to blood and destruction.
'*Well, sir, open a passage for vessels from Lake Huron to
Lake Superior, and the same squadron can act, as necessity may
require, upon the appearance of danger, on all the lakes above
Ontario. Leave the present interruption to exist, and you must
doubleyour marine force, as it can not be transferred from one of
these theaters of operation to the other. We may be driven to
another war of ship-carpenters, such as we fought, at an enormous
expense, upon Lake Ontario, in 1813-'14. All who lived in those
days know from recollection, and those who have come upon the
stage of action since Tsnow from history, what prodigious efforts
both the" parties made for maritime superiority. The dock-yards
were kept in constant activity, and wfyen a new ship gave too
great an ascendency to one fleet, tbe other kept out of harm's
way till the trees of the forests — for they were cut as they were
wanted-^could be fashioned into a vessel, and, an equality or
superiority insured. And thus the contest went on, with no deci
sive results, till the peace, which found us with, the largest ship in
the world, or almost the largest, upon the stocks, and I do not
know how many others in process of construction ; and I believe
the British commander, Sir James Yeo, was not a whit behind us
in this race'for*power. The expense must have been prodigious ;
and, I think, after the peace, that our huge monster rotted in her
cradle. " Now, sir, if after the naval battle of Lake Erie, by which the
whole British armament was destroyed, the gallant Perry had
possessed the means of conveying his squadron to Lake Ontario,
the naval warfare would have been finished in a week, or the
British vessels would have been hermetically shut up in their
ports, leaving to us the command of the lake. The canal we ask,

634 LIFE AND TIMES
being once made, would exist forever, for light tolls would keep it
in repair, and its cost would be far less than the necessary expense
to provide vessels even upon a single occasion for Lake Superior,
whose destruction a few years would witness by natural decays
leaving us to do the work of building again.
" It has been asked here, with a kind of ex cathedra manner, in
what remote generation can hostilities occur on Lake Superior ?
I do not precisely understand the purport of the question ; but as
it was put with a good deal of emphasis, I suppose it was intended
to include a good deal of argument or objection, or both. But
whether it intimates that tbe country will not be worth fighting
for, or that there will be no inhabitants requiring our protection,
I know not. It seems to concede that there may be a foe in that
rpgion, in some remote period, no man knows when.
" Now, sir, the history of our whole progress is the best answer
to such an interrogatory, and especially the history of the West.
There is one simple fact, within my own knowledge, which I trust
the Senate will pardon me for referring to, because nothing can
place in a more striking aspeet the wonderful advance of this
country in power and prosperity. I have often conversed with a
venerable relative, who was the cotemporary of Peregrine White,
the first child born to tbe Pilgrims after their arrival upon this
continent. But one generation between him who tells the story,
m this great depository of political power — a portion of the power
of one of the mightiest nations on the face of the earth — and the
oldest of the sons of tbe Puritan patriarchs. Yerily, though God
made no covenant with them, as he did with Abraham the patri
arch of Israel, when he said to him, " LoOk now toward heaven,
and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them," and then gave
him the memorable promise, " So shall thy seed be ;" though we
can point to no such covenant, yet, if we have not been a chosen,
we have been a favored people, and already have become like the
stars in the heavens, .which it is hard to number.
" But though our mighty progress marks every page of our his
tory, and attracts the admiration of the world, provoking, also, less
justifiable feelings in some portions of it, at least, yet we are asked
here, in the American Senate, in what remote generation one of
our magnificent regions will be worth defending ? Why, sir, when
I crossed the' Ohio river, in the last century, there was but one
organized political community— the old North-western Territory,

OF LEWIS CASS. 635
with a venerable revolutionary officer (General St. Clair) at the
head of it, and with a population of a few thousand inhabitants
—north of that river, and east of the Mississippi ; and now there
are five States of this Union and five millions of people there,
occupying as fair a country as God ever gave to man to enjoy —
a rate of increase which outstrips all previous human experience,
as it almost outstrips the human imagination; and the advance in
the other elements of power and prosperity have not been less
striking than the* augmentation of numbers, and all this within
the limits of an active life. Why, sir, at that time we had but
one small American vessel, I believe, of perhaps a hundred tons,
upon all the middle lakes ; and now we have upon the various
lakes a navigating interest of not less than two hundred thousand
tons. I remember when a single vessel — the Adams — made two
annual trips from Buffalo to Chicago ; one in the spring, to take
the supplies to tbe upper country, and the other in the autumn,
to bring down the furs, almost the only article of trade collected
there. And those two voyages occupied tbe navigating portion
of the year. Now, the annual value of tbe freight carried over
the lake routes is not less than $200,000,000 ; and a solitary pas
senger or two, who then ranged over an almost unknown world,
is now succeeded by hosts of travelers, with splendid homes on
the waters, numbering certainly more than half a million, probably
nearly approaching a million, every year.
"Well, sir, I shall say no more upon this subject; but beg gen
tlemen to judge tbe future by the past, and to look forward to the
day when a numerous and thriving population upon both shores
of Lake Superior will demand the attention, and, if need be, the
protection, of the governments who may then have jurisdiction
there. - -:
"Is it really believed, says one of the senators opposed to this
measure, that we shall ever have war vessels on the lakes ? The
question is so emphatically puty that it is intended to carry with it
its own answer— as if tbe thing were impossible, and the supposi
tion absurd. Proper confidence is well, but presumption is prone
to lead to disaster. I have already shown, I trust, that whether
we" may ever need a military marine upon our inland seas,de-
pends'upon considerations not within the reach of human sagacity;
and that ordinary circumspection requires us, not, indeed, to pro-
ride such an armament before it is needed, but to construct a work

636 LIFE AND TIMES
which can not be hastily done, and which will greatly reduce the
expense and extent of our naval arrangements when the period,
for their use shall come, and which, in the mean time, will add
essentially to the growth and prosperity of the frontier."
With these evidences of General Cass' uniform friendship for
appropriations from the general government, and his steady efforts,
to obtain the same, we pass on to other points in his life.

OF LEWIS CASS. v 637

CHAPTER XXXYI1.
foreign Governments — General CasB' Sympathies with the King-ridden People — Austrian Intercourse
—General Cass favors Suspension — Extracts from his Speech — Ireland — The Distress ofthe People —
General Cass moyeB an Appropriation in their Behalf— ms Relations with Mr. Polk's Administration
—Yucatan.
The position which General Cass has so long held in public life
has given him unsurpassed opportunities to acquire a thorough
knowledge of the schemes of foreign powers. Not only that, but
also to become conversant with the wants ofthe inhabitants. He
has always found that under monarchical governments there is a
proneness, to tyranny. To the bondage of either body or mind
he has ever been an unyielding opponent. Democratic in his own
sensations ¦ and education, he sympathizes with the oppressed
every where. Hence, in all the popular movements that from time
to time have occurred to improve the condition of mankind, his
sympathies have been for success. He; has regretted, it is true,
on many occasions, that the leaders of the masses in the thickly
populated districts of city and country, where the phrensy of the
hour has broken the bonds of municipal regulation, were not
possessed of more wisdom, and, as it sometimes seemed to him,
genuine patriotism — a patriotism that merges all selfish consider
ations in tbe promotion of the common cause of their country and
all its citizens. But he has made due allowance for poor human
, nature on such occasions, and, overlooking personal glory or
aggrandizement, wished them in -his heart God-speed. Often a
witness of the wrongs and injustice heaped upon the king-ridden
subjects of European monarchs, he observed that tbe people of
those countries were, in most instances, mere machines, submissive
to the will of their masters only because the sword and the bay
onet were there to wring obedience ; and he could well appreciate
how grateful to the fugitive from oppression is this land of the
free, and how consolatory to their aching minds and bodies is the
word of kind welcome and tbe hand of friendly greeting., Neither

638 LIFE AND TIMES
has he been insensible to the alleviation afforded to those left be
hind and still struggling, by a recognition of them from the high
places of republican power on this continent ; and, when an
opportunity has offered, no one has been more prompt to give
utterance to tbat glorious impulse wbich would, if it had the power,
strike off every manacle. When freedom has cried for sympathy
or aid from any quarter, with a generous enthusiasm he was always
ready to unite in sending them the encouragement of millions of
brave citizens of a happy and prosperous republic.
When Napoleon was banished to Elba, he felt that freedom had
retrograded a century in the old world — notwithstanding this pro
digy of the age occupied the throne of an, emperor, and was
invested with the robes and paraphernalia of imperial power.
When the tri-colored banner waved in triumph over distracted
Paris in 1830, he rejoiced that Louis Phillippe ascended to the high
seat of authority. And again, when Lamartine and his philoso
phical compeers hurled Louis Phillippe, in turn, from the throne,
he celebrated the event with his fellow-citizens assembled at the
capital of his country. He addressed them. He briefly reviewed
the conditions ofthe governments beyondthe Atlantic, the efforts
of the people to establish freedom, and rear a regenerated gov
ernment on the platform of equality and justice, in such a form
as would most conduce to their happiness and safety. He traced
tbe revolutions all over the continent to their sources — to the
abuses and oppressions which for centuries had been engrafting
themselves upon those governments. And the origin of the move
ments of 1848, he traced to the avowal by the Pope of his attach
ment to free principles.
" .One of the strangest events," said he, " in this day of great
events, is the origin of these movements in fayor of liberty upon
the continent of Europe. Whence come tbey ? Erom the Eternal
City — from the head ofthe Catholic religion — the successor of St.
Peter. Immediately on his elevation to the pontificate, the Pope
avowed his attachment to free principles, and from the Vatican
went out the decree which is now spreading through the earth. The
pontiff who holds the keys of St. Peter, has found a key to unlock
the recesses of the human heart. His moral courage was but the
more tried by the difficulties of his position. The abuses of the
government were the work of ages, and had entered into all
the habits of life and the ramifications of society; and he was

OF LEWIS CASS. 639
surrounded by despotic governments, jealous of the first aspirations
of liberty, and maintaining their sway by powerful armies. The
.Austrian, too, with his Pandours and his Croats from the banks of
the Danube, had descended the ridges of the Alps, and had spread
himself over the sunny plains of Italy. Almost in sight of the
dome of St. Peter's, he watched, with interest and with many a
threatening word, tbe progress of the Pope. But the work went
on. Naples is in a state of revolution ; Tuscany and Sardinia in
a state of reform ; and Prance of apparently peaceful progress in
the new career opened to ber."
He also supported and voted for the resolution introduced, ten
dering the congratulations of Congress, in the name ofthe Ameri
can people, to tbe people of France upon their successful efforts
to consolidate the principles of liberty in a republican form of
government. The same desire to spread the doctrines of republicanism, and
give a word of encouragement to the patriotic reformers of Europe,
prompted General Cass to support the proposition to send a min
ister to the Papal States. There was .another consideration: the
United States bad commercial relations with those States, and
many of our citizens resided there. ; the protection of these inter
ests, argued the General, required that our government shouldi be
represented in this new capacity,
, Again ; when the gallant people of oppressed Hungary rose
against their rulers, andxin an organized combination made one
mighty and vigorous Jfert to shake off Austrian domination, and
regain their long-lost'constitutional rights and religious privileges,
General Cass' heart was with them, and his voice was heard cheer
ing them on in their holy work. To him the opportunity seemed
a proper and a favoJableWe to offer, by one strong act of national
legislation, the confofPnce of a great and powerful people to the
bravery of the oppressed, and their indignation against the cruel
ties and barbarities of the hoary and tyrannical oppressor. With
' these emotions, on the24h of December, 1849, he offered for the con-
1 sideration ofthe SejJft resolution instructing the Committee on
Foreign Relations to^quire into the expediency of suspending
diplomatic relations with Austria. It was, indeed, a bold measure,
hut such as a patriot would wish to see adopted. He supported
ifche proposition with a manly speech, and summoned the patriot
ism ofthe Senate to its duty.

640 LIFE AND TIMES
In, the course of his remarks we observe the following :
" But, sir, while I maintain that the cessation of diplomatic
intercourse with Austria would give the government of that
country no just cause of offense, I do not seek to deny or conceal
that the motives for tbe adoption of this measure will be unaccept
able and peculiarly obnoxious to the feelings of a power prover
bially haughty in the days of its prosperity, and rendered more
susceptible by recent events, which have destroyed much of its
ahcient prestige, and compelled it to call for Russian aid in the
perilous circumstances where the noble efforts of Hungary to assert
her just rights had placed the oppressor. On the contrary, the
course I propose would lose half its value were any doubts to rest
upon the motives that dictate it.
" And certainly, were they not open to the day, I should not
look for that cordial approbation which I now anticipate from the
American people for this first effort to rebuke, by public opinion
expressed through an established government, in the name of a
great republic, atrocious acts of despotism, by which human
liberty and life have been sacrificed under circumstances of auda
cious contempt for the rights of mankind and the sentiments of
the civilized world, without a parallel even in this age of warfare
between the oppressors and the oppressed. I say this first effort,
for, though tbe principle of public disapprobation in situations
not very dissimilar may be traced in the, proceedings of at least
one of the representative bodies of Europe, I do not recollect that
any formal act has been adopted renderinSthe censure more sig
nal and enduring.. If we take the first step in this noble cause,
where physical , force with its flagitious abuse, if not conquered,
may be ultimately restrained by morak^pnsiderations, we shall
add to tbe value of tbe lesson of 1776, alleaqkso important to the
world, and destined to become far more\so by furnishing one
guarantee the more for the preservation oFfitejaaaan rights where
they exist, and for their recovery where they are lost.
^ Mr. President, I do not mistake the baie position of my coun
try, nor do I seek to exaggerate her irrfl Ekice by these sugges
tions. I ana perfectly aware that whatev|^we may do or say, the
immediate march of Austria will be onward in the course of des
potism, with a step, feebler or firmer as resistance may appear
near or remote, till she is stayed by one of those upheavings of the

OP LEWIS CASS. 641
people, which is as sure to come as that man longs for freedom,
and longs to strike the blow which shall make it his.
" Pride is blind, and power tenacious ; and Austrian pride and
power, though they may quail before the sighs of the times — before
barricades and fraternization, by which streets are made fort
resses and armies revolutionists, new and mighty engines in popu
lar warfare — will hold out in their citadel till the last extremity.
But many old things are passing away; and Austrian despotism
will pass away in its turn. Its bulwarks will be shaken by~the
rushing of mighty winds — by the voice of the world, wherever its
indignant expression is not restrained by the kindred sympathies
of arbitrary power." •
He asked that the senators of the United States, from their high
places of government, might reflect tbe true sentiments of their
fellow-citizens, and express, in an effective form, their sympathy
for struggling millions, seeking, in circumstances of peril and op
pression, that liberty which was given them by God, but wrested
from them by man. This sentiment is beautifully and powerfully
portrayed in the following extract :
" Here is an empire of freemen, separated by tbe broad Atlantic
from the contests of force and oppression, which seem to succeed
each other like the waves of the ocean in the mighty changes
going on in Europe — twenty millions of people enjoying a mea
sure of prosperity which God, in his providence, has granted to
no other nation of the earth. With no interest to warP their
judgment ; with neither prejudice nor animosity to excite them ;
and with a public opinion as free as tbe air they breathe, they can
survey these events as dispassionately as is compatible with that
natural sympathy for the oppressed which is implanted in the
human breast. Think • you not, sir, that their voice, sent from
these distant shores, would cheer the unfortunate onward in their
work^-would encourage them while bearing tbeir evils to bear
them bravely as men who hope — and when driven to resist by a
pressure no longer to be borne, to exert themselves as men who
peril all upon the effort? >'¦ But where no demonstration of interest
on the part of a government is called for by circumstances, a
sound public opinion is ready to proclaim its sentiments, and no
reserve is imposed upon their expression. It is common to this
country, and to every country where liberal institutions prevail;
and it is as powerful and as powerfully exerted in France and in-
41

642 LIFE AND TIMES
England as in the United States. Its effects may not be imme
diate or immediately visible ; but tbey are sure to come, and to
come in power. Its voice is louder than the booming of cannon ;
and it is heard on the very confines of civilization. Our Declara
tion of Independence has laid tbe foundation of mightier changes
in the world than any event since the spirit of the Crusades pre
cipitated Europe upon Asia with zealous but mistaken views of
religious duty."
This speech reached tbe banished patriots of Hungary; and
Kossuth, in his exile at Kutalya, (Asia Minor,) in a letter to Gene
ral Cass, under date of May 25th, 1850, thus utters the deep joy
of bis heart : „
* , # # * # * *
" It is not a coward lamentation that makes me say all this,
General, but the lively sense of gratitude and thankful acknowl
edgments for your generous sympathy. I wanted to sketch the
darkness of my destiny, that you might feel what benefit must,
have been to me your beam Of light, by which you, from the
capital of free America, have brightened my night. It was in
Broussa, General, that the notice of your imposing speech reached
me ; in yonder Broussa where Hannibal bewailed his country's
mischief, and foretold the fall of its oppressors.
*******
" Yes, General, your powerful speech was not only the inspira
tion of sympathy for unmerited misfortune, so natural to noble,
feeling hearts; it was the revelation of the justice of God — it
was a leaf from the book of Fate, unveiled to the world. On that
day, General, you were sitting, in the name of mankind, in tribunal,
passing judgment on despotism and tbe despots of the world;
and as sure as the God of justice lives, your verdict will be
accomplished." On another occasion his heart was warm for the sufferings of
poor Ireland. When famine stalked abroad over this gem of the
sea, and disease was busy in the work of death ; when her people
cried for bread, and, without resources, laid down and died from
the cravings of hunger, General Cass came to their aid, and gave
them the benefit of his eloquence and influence in the Senate of
the United States. This secured the adoption by that body of a
bill authorizing the President to purchase such provisions as he
might consider suitable, and to cause the same to be transported,

'OF LEWIS CASS. 643
and tendered to the government of Great Britain in the name of
the United States, for the relief of the people of Ireland and Scot
land from famine, and appropriating the munificent sum of five
hundred thousand dollars to carry into effect the provisions of
the bill.
He was aware that many of his political friends in the Senate
had doubts as to the constitutional power of Congress to pass
such a bill, yet he gave it his unqualified support. In speaking
for the sufferings of Ireland's oppressed children- — her strong
claims for sympathy — the advantages we have enjoyed bythe
immigration of ber industrious, free-hearted sons, who have added
to our numbers, and increased the elements oft our power and
prosperity, he remarked :
" As one member of this body, I feel obliged to the senator from
Kentucky for the motion he has submitted and for the appropri
ate remarks with which he introduced it. He has expressed my
sentiments, but with an eloquence peculiarly his own. While
physical want is unknown in our country, the angel of death ,1s
striking down tbe famishing population of Europe, and especially
the suffering people of Ireland. The accounts which reach us
from that country, indicate a state of distress, in extent and de
gree far exceeding any previous experience in modern times. It
is a case beyond tbe reach of private charity ; its fountains are
drying up before tbe magnitude of the evil ; it is a national ca
lamity, and calls for national contribution. The starving millions
have no Egypt ' where they can go and buy corn, that they may
live and not die.' From our granary of abundance let us pour
forth supplies. Ireland has strong claims, upon' the sympathy of
the United States. There are few of our citizens who have not
Irish blood in their veins. That country has sent out a large
portion of the emigrants who have added numbers to onr popula
tion, industry and enterprise to our capital, and the other elements
of power and prosperity which are doing that mighty work from
the Atlantic to the Pacific that is already exciting the admiration
ofthe Old World, and will stimulate, by its example, the exertions
of the New. Our population of Irish descent have fought the bat
tles ofthe country with as much zeal and bravery as any class of citi
zens; and from the Hights of Abraham, where Montgomery fell, to
the walls of Monterey, their Blood has been poured out like water
in defense of liberty.

644 LIFE AND TIMES
" We can now send to Ireland, not indeed what she has spnt us,
her children. — those we can not pr.rt with — -but food for their rela
tions, our friends upon whom the hand of God is heavily laid. In
a petition presented yesterday by the senator from New York, was
a suggestion which I am gratified to find embodied in the bill
reported by the senator from Kentucky, and which I should be
happy to see carried into effect: to employ in the transportation
of provisions such of the armed ships of the United States as are
not required for the operations of the war. It would be a beauti
ful tribute to the advancing spirit of the age. Tbe messenger of
death would thus become a messenger of life ; the agents of de
struction, agents, of , preservation ; and our eagle, which has flown
above them, and carried our arms to the very coast of Ireland,
would then become the signal of hope where it has been the signal
of defiance. I shall lend the bill my support with pleasure."
While the bill was under debate, Mr. Mason, of Virginia, moved
to change its character, so as to make it authorize the free trans
portation of food to Ireland in national vessels, instead of being
a direct grant of money for the purchase and transportation of
provisions. General Cass voted against this amendment, moved
by his political and personal friend. He preferred that the meas
ure should be a direct grant of money for relief purposes. The
final vote on the passage of the bill was taken on the twenty-
seventh of February, 1847, and General Cass voted for the bill,
as he declared he should do when it was first introduced before
the .Senate.
General Cass gave a willing support to the leading measures of
Mr. Polk's administration. He did so, because they accorded
with his own opinions of what the good of the country required.
He advocated and voted for the constitutional treasury, to enable
the government to be its own banker — to collect, keep, and dis
burse its own moneys, without inflation of the currency, and free
from the fear of and losses incidental to bankruptcy. He believed
the measure expedient ; and also that it was the only way of
managing the public finances recognized in the Constitution.
He was opposed, upon principle', to a protective tariff. He
believed it to be unequal in its operations, and unnecessarily
oppressive to large portions of our people. It was class legisla
tion, favoring the few at the expense of the many. His vote,

OF LEWIS CASS. 645
consequently, stands recorded against the tariff of 1842, and in
favor of that passed in 1846, and which is still in full force.
He supported the bill to enable the President to take temporary
military possession of Yucatan. The correspondence between the
Secretary of State and the commissioner from that country, was
laid before the Senate in May, 1848. From that, it appeared
that the blacks and. tbe Indians had murdered the white popula
tion, burnt and sacked the towns, and the people of that country
solicited relief. Subsequently, the Committee on Foreign Affairs
reported a bill for that purpose. Yucatan had also sought pro
tection from England and Spain. This circumstance furnished an
additional reason to induce General Cass to give'the bill bis sup
port. The interference in the domestic affairs of a neighboring
country, contemplated by this bill, was an important step in tbe
policy of preventing any foreign government from planting its
standard on this continent. We quote what he says on this point:
"During the palmy days of Napoleon, it is said that one of his
projects was to convert the Mediterranean into a French lake.
England has nearly done what defied the power and ambition of
the great conqueror. She bas almost converted. it into an English
lake in time of war. Gibraltar commands its entrance, Malta tbe
, channel between Sicily and Africa, and the Ionian Islands the
waters of the Levant. There were good reasons for believing, a
short time since, that England was seeking to obtain a cession of
the island of Crete, the ancient kingdom of Minos, which would
give her the port of Canea — that I found one of the most magni
ficent harbors in the world, equally capacious and secure. If
England, in the pursuit of the same system, should acquire similar
commanding positions on the Gulf of Mexico, that great reservoir
would become a mare clausum, and no keel would plow it, nor
canvass whiten it, in time of war, but by her permission. Now,
sir, looking to the extent of our coast in that direction — to the
productions which must pass there to seek a market — to the nature
of our population — and to the effect upon all these, which a per
manent naval superiority would produce — where is the American
who is not prepared to adopt any measures to avert such a calam
itous state of things? Who can fail to see the nature of the pred
atory warfare which England would carry on, in all times of
hostilities, from her various positions, which would encircle the
Gulf from the Bahamas to Cuba and to Yucatan? and who, also,

646 LIFE AND TIMES
can fail to see that, even in time of peace, her many harbors would
become places of refuge for a certain class of our population, and
that perpetual collisions would occur, involving the peace of the
two countries?
"The Gulf of Mexico, sir, must be practically an American lake,
for the great purpose of security; not to exclude ' other nations'
from its enjoyment, but to prevent any dominant power, with,
foreign or remote interests, from controlling its navigation. It
becomes us to look our difficulties in the face. Nothing is gained
by blinking a great question. Prudent statesmen should survey
it, and, as far as may be, provide for it. We have, indeed, no
Mount Carmel, like that of Judea, nor prophet to ascend it and
to warn us against a coming storm, but the home of every citizen
is a Mount Carmel for us, whence he can survey the approaching
cloud, even when no bigger than a man's hand, which threatens
to overspread the political atmosphere, and to burst in danger
upon his country. It should be a cardinal principle in our policy,
never to be lost sight of, that the command of the Gulf of Mexico
must never pass into foreign hands. Its great geographical fea
tures indicate at once our safety and our danger. From the
southern point of Florida to Yucatan, the chord of the arc does hot
probably exceed two hundred and fifty miles — a shorter distance
than that from Yucatan to Yera Cruz. From the southern point
of Florida to Cuba, it is not more than forty miles; and from the
western extremity of Cuba to the peninsula of Yucatan, it is not
more than sixty miles. These two outlets — the latter into the
Caribbean sea, and the former into the Atlantic ocean — do not,
therefore, exceed one hundred miles in their united width, and
together make the exit and entrance of the Gulf. Opposite the
mouth of the Mississippi is the noble harbor of Havana, almost
within sight of which the whole commerce of the Gulf passes.
England has already got the Bahama Islands, with tbe port of
Nassau, and other positions. So long as Cuba and Yucatan are
held by their present possessors, neither we nor the commercial
world have anything to fear from English projects, whatever they
may be. But let their dominion be transferred to England, and
where are we? The mouth of our great river might, at any time,
be hermetically sealed, and the most disastrous injuries inflicted
upon us. One important step, in the command of the outlet of
the Gulf of Mexico, she has already taken, by the possession of

OF LEWIS CASS. 647
the Bahanias. If she gets peaceable possession of Yucatan, by our
remissness, she will have taken tbe second. Cuba may be the
last. I will ask the distinguished senator from South Carolina if
he would advocate the interference of this country, by force, if
England were attempting by force to take possession of Yucatan ;
and, if he would — as I believe he would — how can he consent to
permit her to do peacefully what we may peacefully prevent? I
have already; sir, alluded to the effects which steam navigation is
to produce upon the commercial and military marine ofthe world;
and the various harbors and inlets of these possessions would be
rendezvous whence armed steam vessels would issue to prey upon
our commerce, to close the great channels of communication, or
to carry on marauding expeditions against our coast."

648 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER XXXYHI.
The Baltimore Convention of 1848 — The New York Difficulties — General Cass again named for the
Presidency — His Nomination — Resigns his Senatorship — The Canvass before the People— The
Buffalo Convention— The Clay Letter of 1825— The Eesult.
As the time drew near for another Presidential election, the
National Democratic Committee, in pursuance of usage, desig
nated the twenty-second of May, 1848, at Baltimore, as the time
and place for the holding of the Democratic convention. Demo
cratic politicians, in all tbe States, began the incipient movements
for the campaign ; Democratic presses began to fill the newspapers
with columns of editorial matter relative to the nominee, on the
question of preference ; primary assemblages, composed of persons
who adhered with tenacity to the political tenets of Jefferson and
Jackson, canvassed the merits and demerits of the prominent men
suggested for the Presidency, and, by resolve, indicated, in many
instances, their preferences ; States were delegated, with and with
out instruction as to their vote in the convention. In all, save
one, the party was a unit on the delegates selected, and evinced a
willingness to abide by their action. This exception was the
Empire State of New York.
In the State of New York there were two party organizations,
each professing to be regular, and claiming the right to speak for
all the Democracy within the limits of the commonwealth. This
double-headed organization had its origin in domestic difficulties,
which occurred in October, 1847. A State convention convened
in tbe city of Syracuse in the latter part of September in that year,
extending its deliberations into the following month. The con
vention was called to nominate candidates for State officers, and
the delegates to it were acrimoniously contested in -nearly every
county. In many instances dissatisfaction was openly proclaimed;
and, on the organization of the convention at Syracuse, there
appeared many contestants for seats, in that body. The adjust
ment of these difficulties consumed much time, and produced
great acerbity of feeling among the members and a numerous-
and excited lobby.

OF LEWIS CASS. 649
Finally, the convention, in due order of business, reached the
resolutions. Not two months before, Mr. Wilmot had offered his
celebrated proviso in Congress. Several of the Democratic mem
bers of Congress from New York had voted for that proviso,
and many of these gentlemen now had seats in this convention.
Naturally enough, tbey' wished the convention to endorse their
congressional action, and declared, in unmistakable language,
that the proviso must thereafter be the chief corner stone in all
Democratic platforms. Several delegates interposed their objec
tions, and declared, in as unmistakable langdage, tbat tbey could
not, consistently with tbeir political antecedents, consent to any
new platform on the subject of slavery, and deprecated in their
speeches any incipient steps in relation thereto.
The debate resulted in a motion to lay the proviso on the table,
which was carried, on a division by ayes and noes, and tbe con
vention adjourned sine die, amid much noise and confusion.
The provisoists in a few days assembled in mass convention,
in the village of Herkimer, and resolved that they were against
the introduction of slavery into any new territory, and that Mr.
Wilmot was right, and that, thereafter, the doctrine contained in
his amendment would be regarded by them as of vital importance
in all party movements. They also resolved that tbe decision of
the then late Syracuse convention on contested seats was all wrong;
that the action of, the convention was not obligatory upon Demo
crats ; and, by solemn resolve, repudiated tbe nominated ticket of
State officers. On the contrary, those members ofthe convention
who "constituted the majority, returned to their several homes, and
gave the ticket their usual cordial support.
Here, then, were two party organizations — both professedly
within the lines of the same party, and each claiming the right to
act for New York with the Democratic party of the nation.
Public opinion, as indicated in the various State conventions,
pointed to General Cass, and gradually but steadily settled upon
him as the Democratic candidate for the Presidency. The nu
merous manifestations of public feeling evidenced the fact that he
was the favorite candidate of the Democracy of a majority of the
States, and ofthe Democratic party within those respective States.
Indeed, all over the Union, excepting those States having a distin
guished citizen of their own aspiring for the Presidency, public sen
timent pointed to him. Endowed by nature with great physical

650 LIFE AND TIMES
and mental energy, and the latter highly cultivated by science
and experience ; trusted with official power and responsibility by
Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, and Yan Buren, and honored
with the confidence of Polk, he had shown himself worthy and
competent tq tread in the footsteps of these distinguished states
men. In his views on the Oregon question, on the slavery ques
tion, on the tariff, currency, annexation of territory, and foreign
interference, he looked upon the entire country as alike interested,
and, in acting upon them, he was governed by what, in his judg
ment, seemed most beneficial to all. Many of the eminent states
men of the country thought it was most fit that such a man should
be at the head of the government at a time when agitation, party
spirit, and an unhealthy sentiment on some topics, prevailed to a
greater or less extent.
The nominating convention convened at Baltimore on the day
designated. Andrew Stevenson, of Yirginia, was selected to pre
side over its deliberations. As was anticipated, two sets of dele
gates appeared, with credentials in their hands, from New York.
After an elaborate discussion, running through three days, the
convention ruled to admit both delegations, with the right to cast,
altogether, the vote of New York. The delegation known as
Barnburners protested against this decision, and retired from the
convention. The delegation known as Hunkers, remained, but
declined to cast the vote of the State. The former were under
stood to be opposed to the nomination of General.Cass ; the latter,
in his favor.
The primitive cause of the double-headed organization above
alluded to, dates back to an anterior period. -It had its origin in
the winter of 1838, when Mr. Yan Buren— then President of the
United States — broached the financial measure of an independent
treasury. A pOrtion of the Democracy of New York at first
disapproved of it, and were known in political nomenclature as
Conservatives. But a short period of time intervened, however,
before this cognomen was merged again in the word Democratic,
and the Conservatives as well as the Hard Currency Men again
shared victory and defeat. The Democratic party of the State
passed into a minority for a brief season, and, upon restoration to
place and power, once more divided ; but the division this time
was upon the financial policy of the State. This diversity of
opinion strengthened at the capital, and gradually spread its

OF LEWIS CASS. 651
influence in all parts of the empire commonwealth. At length,
in 1843, this diversity of sentiment widened, so as to embrace tbe
national question of the annexation of Texas ; and then, in a
modified form, the immediate annexation to tbe United States of
all the country known as Texas, as far south as the Rio Grande.
William L. Marcy was the recognized leader of those who were in
favor of annexation, and Silas Wright of those who were disposed
''to wait a time in patience." In the meantime, Mr. Yan Buren—
a prominent candidate for tbe Presidency — was interrogated as to
his views upon this, then the great political question of the day,
and such was his response that the national Democratic Conven
tion of 1844 set him aside for James K. Polk, of Tennessee, as the
leader already bas been apprised. Immediately upon the ad
journment of this national convention, a circular — commonly
known as the Secret Circular — emanated from several gentlemen
iipposed to be privy to the confidential views of Mr. Yan Buren,
and circulated among prominent Democrats in the State of New
Tork, who were supposed to be imbued with similar views, sug
gesting the propriety of giving particular attention to tbe Con
gressional canvass that was to occur simultaneously with the
Presidential, leaving an impression upon tbe minds of those who
were in favor of annexation, that the design was to let the electoral
ticket float without chart or compass.
.As was quite natural, those who were content with tbe final
action of the National Convention, were somewhat alarmed at
this unlooked for and unprecedented proceeding. They redoubled
their energies for the success of the Presidential ticket, and Mr.
Wright was nominated for the office of Governor, and triumph
antly elected. His majority was some five thousand higher than
that cast for the electoral ticket; this discrepancy confirmed tbe
suspicion on the part of tbe Annexationists, that all the friends of
Mr. Wright had not cast their suffrages for Mr. Polk.
As the day approached for the inauguration of ¦ Mr. Polk, in
March, 1845, much interest was felt in, the caste of the Cabinet.
Inasmuch as New York had cast her electoral votes — then thirty-
six in number — for the successful candidate, it was taken for
granted that she would be honored with a seat. Governor Marcy
was named by the Annexationists, and Asariah C. Flagg by the
personal friends of Governor Wright. After an, animated strug
gle, Governor Marcy was invited to the War Department. Under

LIFE AND TIMES
the circumstances, this selection seemed very obnoxious to the
supporters of his competitor, and much murmuring ensued. This
dissatisfaction, nevertheless, was more or less held in abeyance
until the close of the year 1846, when, upon the retirement of
Governor Wright from the gubernatorial chair, the pent-up feeling
burst the barriers of prudence, and crimination and recrimination
were freely indulged by all grades and classes. , Congressional
appropriations to conquer a peace with Mexico occasioned the
introduction of the Wilmot proviso, and the Wilmot proviso rup
tured the harmony of the Democratic party in New York, and
finally rent it in twain. Pari passu with the progress of the
events above referred to, there were numerous intrigues and
schemes for personal advancement among the leaders and the led
on all sides, the details of which we omit to elucidate.
To recur to the convention. In conformity to precedent, tbe
~ two third 'rule was adopted, and the convention proceeded to take
a ballot for the nominee. The result of the first ballot was
announced as follows:
Lewis Cass, of Michigan, one hundred and twenty:five votes; '
James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, fifty-five votes;
Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire, fifty-three votes;
John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, nine votes;
William J. Worth, of the United States Army, six votes;
George M. Dallas, of Pennsylvania, three votes. (Florida and
New York hot voting.)
The whole number of votes cast on this ballot was therefore two
hundred and fifty-one; and the necessary number for a choice was
one hundred and sixty-seven. No one having received this num
ber, a second ballot was taken, and announced as follows:
Cass, one hundred and thirty-three votes;
Woodbury, fifty-six votes;
Buchanan, fifty-four votes;
Worth, five votes;
Dallas, three votes. (Florida and New York not voting.)
'No one receiving two thirds of tbe votes cast, the convention
proceeded to a third ballot, with the following result :
Cass, one hundred and fifty-six votes;
Woodbury, fifty-three votes;
Buchanan, forty votes;
Worth, five votes. (New York not voting.)

OF LEWIS CASS. 653
The necessary number (Florida having voted) was one hundred
and sixty-nine. The States were again called, and on the fourth
balloting the following result was attained : v
Cass, one hundred and seventy-nine votes;
Woodbury, thirty-eight votes;
Buchanan, thirty-three votes;
Butler, three votes; ,
Worth, one vote, (New York not voting) — in all two hundred
and fifty-four votes. General Cass had received two thirds and
ten to spare, and was declared the nominee of the convention for
President of the United States. This was received with enthusi
astic applause, the members of the several delegations almost
instantaneously and universally springing to their feet, and uniting
in one spirit-stirring shout of approbation.
William O. Butler, of Kentucky, was nominated for Yice-Presi-
dent; and, with the adoption of resolutions and the ordinary busi
ness of a nominating convention, tbe members separated for their
homes, full of confidence and strohg in the expectation of victory.
Mr. Stevenson, the president of the convention, on taking leave
of it, took occasion to pay the following tribute to the character
and capacity of their nominee for President :
" I congratulate you," said he, '* and the country upon the issue
of your deliberations. I rejoice that you, have done that which I
knew you would do — honored yourselves, honored the party, hon
ored the country, by presenting two candidates worthy— most
worthy— to fill these high and distinguished stations. Gentlemen,
you have discharged that duty. With one of these nominees I
have been intimate from early life. I know him well. I have
observed him at home and abroad, and I can say, unhesitatingly,
that if there be one man. of stainless character— if there be one
man whose claims to public confidence are founded upon private
virtue, that man is Lewis Cass."
General Cass was notified of his nomination at Washington,
Where he then was, and, with grateful appreciation of the partial
ity and confidence of the convention, accepted it in a handsomely
written letter, and in which he took occasion to express his unre
served approval of the resolutions which the convention had
adopted. On accepting this nomination, General Cass resigned his seat
in the Senate,,and retired to his residence at Detroit. His route

654 LIFE AND TIMES
homeward was a continued scene of welcome. In all the principal
towns through which he passed he was received with every mani
festation of respect. ' Congratulatory addresses were made to him,
and the Democracy everywhere proclaimed their approval of the
nomination, so far as public expression was given.
In a few days, the Whig National Convention met in Philadel
phia, and, casting aside all their favorite statesmen, nominated
General Zachary Taylor for the office of President — taking him
up on the score of availability. His military successes on the Rio
Grande, before the walls of Monterey, and on the plain of Buena
Yista, were his recommendations. These startling achievements
had won for him a high place in the affections of the people, and
his friends had brought bim forward at an early day. Letters
reached him, one after the other, in Mexicp, asking him to declare
himself a candidate for the Presidency. To these letters it was
his wont to reply, that, he was ready to receive the votes of all,
without distinction of party, who were disposed to sustain him.''
He declared that he had no particular politics, and had not been
in the. habit of availing himself of tbe right of suffrage. He did
not appear to desire the nomination of either of the political par
ties, but was willing to receive tbe support of all at the polls.
Efforts were made to commit him to the support of certain politi
cal dogmas, and, if elected, to a pledge to adhere to them in his
administration; but without avail. He expressed his unalterable
determination to staad upon the no-party platform. And thus he
remained to the moment of his nomination by the Philadelphia
convention; and tbat convention adjourned without any declara
tion of principles for the public eye. This action — so peculiar
and novel for a delegated political body — gave umbrage to many
of tbe staunch, and intelligent, and influential Whigs, in various
quarters. Some of them went so far as to repudiate the nomina
tion openly, and, without stint, to express their abhorrence at this
unexpected result of the deliberations of the convention.
In the meantime, the Barnburners of New York called and held
a delegated convention at the city of Utica; and inasmuch as the
Baltimore Convention had precluded them from casting the undi
vided vote of their State in that convention, they resolved to
oppose the nominees in the canvass, and designated Martin Yan
Buren as the man for whom they should vote for the office of
President. Tbe evident disaffection prevailing among the Whigs

OF LEWIS CASS. 655
encouraged and emboldened them in their efforts. That class of
citizens at the North, who had been known in the political world
as Abolitionists, believed that they might fraternize with the
Barnburners and disaffected Whigs, throughout the northern
and north- western States; and if a combination could be made,
a choice of President and Yiee-President in the electoral colleges
might be prevented, and the, election of these high officers be
transferred to the House of Representatives. A plan was soon
devised to bring all these conflicting elements into a consolidated
policy of action, and a mass convention assembled at the city of
Buffalo, in tbe month' of August, foi; tbe purpose of achieving this
result. There were a large number in attendance from the States
of Massachusetts, New York,, and Ohio. Other northern and
north-western States were represented by smaller delegations.
The deliberations extended through three days, and resulted in
an agreement to support Mr. Yan Buren for the office of Presi
dent, and Charles F. Adams, of Boston, for Yice-President. This
latter gentleman was a son of John Quincy Adams, and in attend
ance on the convention. Both himself and. Mr. Yan Buren
accepted the nomination; and their supporters, with the platform
oi free soil, free speech, and free men, worked with energy to
draw off voters from the Democratic and Whig parties.
The, acceptance of this nomination, from such a constituency,
by Mr. Yan Buren, surprised and mortified thousands of his old
friends and partizans, and occasioned much unpleasant crimina
tion and recrimination. Many of them insisted that his conduct
was,only reconcilable with tbe supposition, tbat, since 1844, he had
nurtured in his bosom, in tbe peaceful quietude of Linden wald,
a deep resentment against the Democratic, party, and re
sorted to this mode of gratifying it, in the hope that the defeat
of that party in this struggle would be inevitably permanent.
What rendered his course more reprehensible than it otherwise
would have been, was the fact, that the doctrines in regard to
slavery, promulgated, by the convention tbat nominated General
Case, were identical with those adopted by the convention of
1840, which nominated Mr. Yan Buren; and that the resolutions
of the, last named convention were drawn by Silas Wright, and,,
as was generally understood, examined and approved by Mr,
Tan Buren prior to their adoption by the convention. The late

656 LIFE AND TIMES
Governor Hill, of New Hampshire, stated in a letter, that Mr.
Yan Buren not only approved of the resolutions referred to, but
suggested that fhe resolution relating to slavery should be pointed
and unequivocal; and that, upon his suggestion, the concluding
clause of that resolution was added to the draft, namely: " That
all efforts of the Abolitionists or others, made to induce Congress
to interfere with questions of slavery, or to take incipient steps in
relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the most alarming and
dangerous consequences; and that all such efforts have an inevi
table tendency to diminish the happiness of the people, and
endanger the stability and permanency of the Union, and ought
not to be countenanced by any friend of our political institutions."
The Democratic platforms of 1840— of 1844— of 1848— were iden
tical on all questions relating to slavery. With 'reference to its
extension or non-extension, on what should be the policy with
reference to the government of new territories that might be
acquired, nothing was said. That subject was still open for con
sideration. The action of the Buffalo Convention completed the programme
of the Presidential campaign -of 1848. There were three tickets
in the field : Cass and Butler, Democratic — Taylor and Fillmore,
Whig — Yan Buren and Adams, Free Soil. As the canvass pro
gressed, it became very personal. Partizan spirit was intensely
excited: the Whigs, generally, in the northern States, really did
not care so much for the election of their nominated candidates
as they did for the defeat of General Cass. The free-soilers pre
ferred the defeat of Mr. Yan Buren to the success of the Demo
cratic candidate ; and thus, in effect, General Cass was at all
times and on all occasions the main point of attack. His political
opinions were misrepresented — his private character was maligned
in every manner that could be divined by vigilant and skillful
politicians. The rubbish of times long gone by were raked up
to see if something could not be discovered to be used as a make
weight against him. True, he had served his government for full
forty years, and during that time had disbursed hundreds of thou
sands of dollars for the government. [But it came out upon the
call of Congress and tbe consequent report ofthe Treasury Depart
ment, that his accounts were balanced, and that he did not owe
the United States one cent.] True, when Henry Clay — the intre
pid champion ofthe war measures of Mr. Madison, whose patriotic

Of lewis cass, 657
Bervices are written upon the history of our country, and whose
memory is impressed upon the hearts of his countrymen — was
elevated to the premiership of Mr. John Quincy Adams' admin
istration, General Cass wrote him a letter congratulating him on
his personal advancement; but not a blot upon the bright pages
of his own political history could be found. His record was'clean.
Of a patriotic and democratic ancestry, he had not dishonored it;
but in all bis actions, private or public, personal or political, he
Btood on an eminence too high to be reached by the shafts of envy
or malevolence.
The Democrats of tbe whole cbuntry were alive to their duty.
The efforts of the opposition were too vigorous and tireless for
' them to remain idle. There was not a city, village, or hamlet,
from the lakes to the Rio Grande, tbat was not canvassed ; and when
the noils closed, he had no occasion to be ashamed of the result.
Fifteen States — or half the entire number — :cast their electoral
vote for Lewis Cass :• the remaining fifteen for Zachary Taylor.
The name of Martin Yan Buren does not appear on the returns
from the electoral colleges. The States of New York and Penn
sylvania voted for the Whig candidate, and outnumbered tbe
Democratic candidate thirty-six electoral votes. The aggregate
vote of the people amounted to 2,872,000, of which General
Cass received 1,219,962— General Taylor, 1,360,752— Mr. Yan
Buren, 291,342, of which 120,000 came from New York — thus
plainly showing tbat he diverted a sufficient number of Democratic
voters from their accustomed allegiance to party to turn the scale
in favor of General Taylor. Taking into consideration the vote
for Mr. Yan Buren, General Cass received a very large majority
of the votes of the people over General Taylor; but the sixty-two
electoral votes of New York and Pennsylvania turned the scale,
and the hero of Buena Yista was, in dui time, declared elected
President of the United States.
To this decision no one submitted piore cheerfully than General
Cass. He bad nb regrets. Tbe Democratic party was defeated;
but the polls told, too plainly to be mistaken, that it was not van
quished ; and "that its principles, and its distinguished candidate,
still lived in the hearts of American freemen.
The Presidential vote in the electoral colleges, as announced in
the House of Representatives, stood thus :
42

658 LIFE AND TIMES
For Lewis Cass —
Maine, nine votes;
New Hampshire, six votes; (
Yirginia, seventeen votes;
South Carolina, nine votes;
Ohio, twenty-three votes;
Indiana, twelve votes;
Illinois, nine votes;
Michigan, five votes;
Wisconsin, four votes;
Iowa, four votes;
Missouri, seven votes;
Mississippi, six votes;
Alabama, nine votes;
Texas, four votes;
Arkansas, three votes; — one hundred and twenty-seven votes.
For Zachakt Tatlor —
Massachusetts, twelve votes;
Rhode Island, four votes;
Connecticut, six votes;
Yermont, six votes;
New York, thirty-six votes;
New Jersey, seven yotes;
Pennsylvania, twenty-six votes1
Delaware, three votes;
Maryland, eight votes;
North Carolina, eleven votes;
Georgia, ten votes;
Kentucky, twelve votes;
Tennessee, thirteen votes; :
Louisiana, six votes;
Florida, three votes; — One hundred and sixty-three votes.
The entire nortb-west--Missouri included — in one unbroken
column, pronounced for the Democratic nominee — the man who
had wintered and summered with them, and never deserted their
interests. His native State, although voting for Mr. Woodbury
in the nominating convention, did not forget her son at the polls.
Surely General Cass had no reason to be restless at such a result.
Tbe Wilmot proviso had done its work. It alone had caused
tbe defeat. Upon calm reflection, and in the exercise of'dispas-

OF LEWIS CASS. 659
^ipnate judgment, after the smoke and roar of the battle had
passed away, General Cass was better satisfied than ever with his
. position upon that exciting topic. He bplieved that he had not
abandoned the faith of his fathers, and was stiU within the »pale of
the Democratic church. It was alleged against him, as for years
previously against Mr. Yan Buren, that he was a dough-face on
the Bubject of slavery ; but the glorious vote of the old north
west territory repudiated the charge. It was urged that his
reliance was upon the southern States; but a majority ofthe slave
States had voted for bis competitor, and a majority of the free
States had voted for himself. In every aspect, then, as he reviewed
the field of battle, the position was rightly taken; and all that now
remained for bim to do, was quietly to pursue the even tenor of
his way, diverging neither to the right nor the left, strong in the
integrity of his own political career, and impressed with an unal
terable conviction that the doctrines enunciated by the Baltimore
Convention were alone compatible with the prosperity of his
country and the perpetuity of the Union.
It may not be uninteresting for the reader to know with what
philosophic coolness General Cass received the result.
It was about midnight of the day of the Presidential election
in 1848, that Mr. Ledyard, his son-in-law, handed to the General
a telegraphic dispatch from an esteemed friend — Wilson McCand-
less, of Pittsburgh — which gave the returns from Alleghany Co.,
Pennsylvania. The General, upon reading the dispatch, at once
": remarked, "that tbe whole question was settled; the election had
resulted in favor of General Taylor, and that he was going to
bed," and he did so, and slept soundly.
The next morning be was waited upon by a committee of the
New England Society of Michigan, and invited to deliver tbe
annual address at its then approaching anniversary. , He accepted
the invitation, and that evening commenced to write what proved'
to be one of his best literary efforts. It was a wonderful instancp
of philosophical submission to tbe defeat of bis aspirations to the
highest prize in our political lists.
He commenced his address before the society on the 22d' of
December, 1848, in the following beautiful style :
"It was a bleak and sterile coast, and an arctic winter began to
kood over sea and land. Neither man nor his works disturbed
the solitude of nature. All was dreary, silent and desolate— all,

660 LIFE AND TIMES
save a tempest-tossed bark, with its weary inmates, which, two
hundred and twenty-eight years ago, approached the shore of the
new continent, then recently made known to the inhabitants of
the old. For sixty-tbree days, this feeble vessel had plowed the
ocean, leaving behind it many of the associations dearest to man,
and many of the intellectual and physical enjoyments which make
life desirable, and having before it an unknown world, unknown
indeed in its great features, but known to be covered with a primr
itive forest, stretching beyond human knowledge, and almost
beyond human imagination, inhabited by fierce and roving sav
ages, and offering nothing but to laborious exertion defended by
constancy and courage. This sterile coast, thus approached, was
New England ; this tempest-tossed bark was the Mayflower, and
its passengers were the Pilgrims."
As his mind lingered upon the departure of the Pilgrims from
their father-land, his imagination seized upon their last act on their
native coast, and pictured the solemn transaction with the colors
of reality.
" And now came the embarkation ; the first act in tbe great
drama of their pilgrimage. The Mayflower, — I pass over the
history of her consort, as she did not reach America, — the May
flower, destined to become their ark across the ocean, was ready
to receive them at the small port of Delft, in Holland. The little
colony, male and female, youth, manhood and old age, marched
in solemn procpssion to the strand, and here occurred an impres
sive scene, one of those incidents which mark the character of
events, and leaves its impress upon history during all time to
come. The departing band kneeled down upon tbe beach, and
their venerable pastor blessed their enterprise, and commended
all, with all their interests, to Him who made the sea and land,
and could save them from the perils of the deep, as be saved his
chosen people, and guided them in his own miraculous path
through the waters of the Red sea.
"And on the strand of the ocean, in that temple not made with
hands, was the last offering of the Pilgrims. The old cathedrals
of Europe are imposing structures, powerfully affecting the human
imagination, and preparing the human mind for the solemn duties
of religion. Their dim light, mellowed by the stained glass,
painted with interesting scenes from biblical story, their lofty
arches, their clustered columns, their long aisles, their Bilence and

OF LEWIS CASS. 661
their magnitude, and the centuries that have passed over them,
with the memory of the numberless host who worshiped there
and have now gone to their account, all these impress the fac
ulties with awe, and while they shut out external nature, they
invite man to the contemplation of himself and of his relation to
the Creator. But the shore of the ocean was the cathedral of the
exiles. They had the blue firmament of heaven, God's own can
opy, over them ; their altar was the tide-worn beach, where land
and water had met and contended for mastery since the creation ;
around them was the coast of Europe, they were about to leave,
and the broad Atlantic, they were about to cross, rolling its surges
upon the strand, and mingling its mighty voice with the voice of
the preacher ; and between them, their wives and children, and
the 'forest of the new world, was nothing but the sky and the
water, and the wonders of the great deep. And thus they prayed
and departed."
He possesses kindly feelings towards his political opponents,
although strong in his attachment to political friends, and firm
and ardent in his political faith. Years afterwards, he obtained
from President Pierce a commission in the army for the grandson
of General Taylor, who was then in his grave.

662 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER XXXIX.
Re-election to the Senatorship — General Cass proceeds to Washington — Reception in New York City*-
Campbell P. White and others address him — Invited to a Public Dinner — His Letter of Declension
— In the Senate again — Wilmot Proviso — Instructed to Tote for it — Declines — Instruction repealed
— General Cass' Motives impugned — Charged with Inconsistency— The Refutation.
The Legislature of Michigan, in January, 1849, returned Gen
eral Cass to the United States Senate, to fill the vacancy occasioned
by his resignation. This was in accordance with the general wish
of the Democratic party in Michigan, and elsewhere, and be
immediately resumed his seat in that body.
On his way to Washington in the following autumn, he was
waited on by many of his fellow-citizens in the city of New York,
and invited to partake of their hospitality. The following cor
respondence was of importance at the time, as disclosing his
opinions and position on the difficult questions that then presented
themselves on tbe horizon, relative to the newly acquired terri
tories of New Mexico and California. " New York, November 21st, 1849.
" Hon. Lewis Cass. Sie : — Even amid the fierce contests of
party, all men have awarded to you the praise and admiration
due to one who has so highly distinguished himself as the father
of the west, a soldier in war, a statesman in peace, an eloquent
advocate and defender of the. honor of bis country, both in her
councils at home and her representation abroad ; and, therefore,
you can not be surprised to learn that the Democracy of this city,
whose leader and champion you are, regard you with, an affection
almost filial. Your arrival in this city affords them the long de
sired opportunity to testify to you the sincerity of their devotion,
as ardent now as when they were struggling to crown you with
tbe highest honor of the republic. To enable them to do so, we
respectfully solicit you to name some day when you will partake
of a public dinner, at wbich, we are well assured, you will be
joined by those who can and do appreciate the eminent services

* OF LEWIS CASS. 663
of one who has devoted his whole life to the good of his fellow-
men, and contributed so much to the permanency of the Union,
the happiness of our people, and the elevation of our national
character. " With sentiments of profound respect,
" We are, sir,
" Your Democratic fellow-citizens,
Campbell P. White, Heney Stoems,
Heney M. Westeen, , Edwaed. Steahan,
James C. Stoneall, "Xoeenzo B. Shepaed,"
C. S. BoGAEDUS, GUSTAVDS A. CoNOVEB,
,..,.. *P: W- Eawbence, Daniel E. Delavan,
j-. Heney Nicoll, , John J. Cisco,
Yi. ,M D. Feench, Daniel E. Sickles,
John M. Beadhuest, Robeet J. Dillon,
J. W. Bell, James M. Smith, Je.,
r,CHAELES O'CONNEE, JOHN AuG. BoGAET,
„_._; Edwaed C. West, and many others."
"N«w Yobk, November, 26th,. 1849.
'¦' Gentlemen : — I thank you for the honor you have conferred
on me, by the offer of a public dinner ; and while I decline the
invitation, which I trust you will excuse me for doing, I can not
withhold the expression of my feelings for such a testimonial of
regard from the Democracy of this great city. I shall cherish it
with grateful recollection during life.
" I thank you, also, for tbe favorable terms in which you have
been pleased to allude to my position and services. These, I am
very sensible, have few claims to consideration, but such as are
derived from your kind partiality. An emigrant to the West in
early youth, the better portion of my life has been passed in that
great contest with nature in wbich tbe forest has given way and
an empire has arisen, already among the most magnificent crea
tions of human industry and enterprise. Placed in a geographical
position to exert a powerful influence upon the duration of this
confederacy of republics, attached to the Union and to the whole
Union, and attached equally to the principles of freedom, and to
the Constitution by which these are guarded and secured, should

664 LIFE AND Tlxtt.cS *
the time ever come — as I trust it will not — and come whence and
why it may, when dissolution shall find advocates, and the hand
of violence shall attempt to sever the bond that holds us together,
the West will rise up as one man to stay a deed so fatal to the
cause of liberty here and throughout the world — ay, and it will be
stayed. Success can never hallow the effort. If we are not struck,
by judicial blindness, we shall hold on to tbe Constitution with a
tenacity defying time and accident, thanking the God of our
fathers, and our own God, for political institutions which have
secured to us a greater measure of national prosperity than it has
ever been the lot of any people before us to enjoy.
"We have but one danger to fear. As to military power and
the general corruption of manners and morals — causes to which
history attributes the fall of many republics in ancieht and in
modern day6 — I believe, if they are not the last, they are among
the last of the evils we have to apprehend. Our future would be
all the patriot could desire, if that future contained no other seeds
of danger than these. The prophetic sagacity of Washington
foresaw and foretold the true danger which threatens us : the
danger of sectional interests and passions arraying one portion of
the Union against another. A spirit of compromise was necessary
to create this confederation, and it is equally necessary to preserve
it in its integrity and. efficiency. When questions come, deeply
affecting the country, and dividing it by geographical lines, then
comes the time of trial, which no true American can contemplate
without anxiety. It is seldom that such issues can be presented
when mutual forbearance is not dictated alike by duty and by
wisdom. If one half of a great country, abandoning all other
differences of opinion, is unanimous in its sentiments upon any
measure of internal policy locally affecting itself, its citizens should
meet from their countrymen of the other section kindness, and not
denunciation ; argument, and not recrimination' ; and a desire
to reconcile conflicting opinions as harmoniously as is compatible
with the nature of the controversy. No such views, respecting
their rights or their position, can be so held by an extensive com
munity without the existence of forcible considerations which call
for careful inquiry, and for a wise as well as a kind decision. In
this spirit should sectional questions be discussed ; and, if they
are so, they will bring with them no danger, but will furnish

? OF LEWIS CASS. 663
additional motives for union, and will contribute powerfully, to
our strength and prosperity.
"I am, gentlemen, with great respect, •
" Your obedient servant, "Lewis Cass.
- <* Campbell P. White, Esq., and others-"
The first session of the thirty-first Congress, in 1849-50, was
prolific with propositions, resolutions, and bills, that augured no
good to the internal peace of the country. The southern members
had long complained of trespasses upon their rights as members
ofthe confederacy. This feeling was not confined simply to their
peculiar domestic institutions^ but extended to commercial and
monetary matters. The politicians ofthe north retorted; and this
crimination and recrimination, increasing. in bitterness and exas
peration, culminated at this session of Congress. Mr. Hale — a
senator from New Hampshire — even went so far as to present a
petition to dissolve the Union, and asked for its reception and
consideration by the Senate.1 It was evident enough to the wise
statesmen of the land, that an evil of portentious magnitude was
sispeuded over the country— being no less than civil war, with
all its horrors^-unless this discord and dissension were removed.
Eminent men from both sections, north and south, and from both
the Democratic and Whig parties, paused to unite in devising
some measures to allay the irritation. They saw that, if the spirit
of compromise was necessary at the formation ofthe Constitution,
it was now still more so. Several measures were suggested, and
offered in Congress. Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, Mr. Bell, of Tenn
essee, and Mr. Foote, of Mississippi, respectively proposed meas
ures to compromise and adjust all questions in controversy between
the free and slave States, relative to the subject of slavery. The
propositions of Messrs. Clay and Bell were embraced in a series
of resolutions, wbich elicited much discussion. Mr. Foote simply
introduced a resolution to the effect, that it was the duty of Con
gress, at that session, to establish suitable territorial governments
for California, New Mexico, and Deseret. General Cass supported
this resolution with his accustomed zeal and ability. Mr. Hale
gave notice that he should move the Wilmot proviso as an amend
ment, to be attached to the resolution, and thus again brought up
that vexed and exciting point for discussion.

666 LIFE AND' TIMES *
Much had been said, during tbe Presidential canvass of 1848,
with reference to the principles of legislation shadowed forth in
the Nicholson letter ; and General Cass availed himself of this
opportunity to give his views at still greater length. He con
tended that Congress was not vested with unlimited power of
legislation over the Territories. He insisted that there was a wide
difference between the right to institute governments for Territo
ries arid the right to legislate over their internal concerns.
"It was precisely this claim of unlimited legislation which led
to our revolutionary struggle, and to our separation from England..
And I must confess I have listened with amazement, in this hall
of American legislation, to the long and subtle metaphysical in
quiries into the rights of sovereignty, and the power it brings with
it, as if the rights of sovereignty were everything, and the rights
of man nothing. It is a revival almost, in terms, of the discussions
between the parent country and the colonies, but in which we
have changed- places, and now assume to exercise the very power
— the power of legislation without representation — which we first
denied in argument, and then resisted in arms. The British
statesmen could not understand what practical limits there could
be to the power of the sovereign Parliament over the colonies-,
and, as they found none in their constitution, they admitted none
in their legislation. They could not elevate their eyes from their
own narrow system to those fundamental principles of human
freedom, ' written,' as Lord Chatham said, ' in the great volume of
nature,' wbich are immutable and indestructible. They had one
advantage, however, in tbe argument, of which we are deprived ;
tbey had an unwritten Constitution to appeal to, and a legislature
to act, which, by the theory of their government, was omnipotent.
When, therefore, the exercise of any power was brought into ques
tion, it was not necessary to establish its existence, but it was for
those who opposed it to establish the limitations by which it was
sought to be controlled. But the powers of our government are
both defined and limited, and, before tbe authority of Congress
can be brought to bear upon any subject, the constitutional grant
of power must be clearly pointed out.
" Now, sir, it is no pleasant task to argue with any man who
does not see, and feel, and acknowledge the difference between
the right of unlimited legislation over distant regions, where there
is no representation, and the right to organize governments, leaving

OF LEWIS CASS. 661
fo the people to be affected by them to regulate their own concerns
lx. their own way. The one may be necessary and defensible, and
is reconcilable with practical liberty. There are no circumstances
which require c-r justify the other, or which can reconcile its exer
cise with the great principles of human freedom. I am well aware
that the Constitution bas given to Congress fhe power of .exclusive
legislation over the seat of the federal government. That anoma
lous feature in our system had peculiar reasons for its introduction';
and, though the condition of the people in the District places them
at" the disposal of a legislature neither elected by nor responsible
to them, still there is a community of interest and of feeling, result
ing from residence, personal intercommunication, and political
associations, which temper the real despotism ofthe measure, and
which can never exist "between the members of Congress and a
remote colony. And, above all, this right of exclusive legislation
is one of tbe terms of the national compact, neither doubted nor
susceptible of doubt.
"I have heard a good deal said upon this subject of uncon
trolled legislation over the Territories, which is the very paraphrase
of what was said by Lord North, Mr. Dundas, and by other mem
bers of the ministerial party in England, three quarters of a cen
tury ago. The lessons of experience are indeed too soon forgotten;
but I did not suppose that tbe lessons taught us by our revolu
tionary fathers would so soon fade from tbe memory of tbe present
generation. A great principle is involved in this controversy —
the inseparable connection between legislation and representation.
And what paramount necessity calls for its violation? Are not
the people Of tbe Territories competent to manage tbeir own inter
nal affairs? Are they not of us and with us? — bone of our bone
and flesh of our flesh?— the same people, with the same views,
fcbits, and intelligence; all, indeed, which constitutes- national
identity? aye, sir; and exhibiting, by the very act of emigration,
a 'spirit of enterprise wbich commends them the more to our
respect. Can not such a people administer their own government
safely and wisely? Experience says they can. They have, in
every instance, proved their capacity for self-government, and
life, liberty, and property have been as well protected by their
laws as by the laws of the States.
"It is clear, then, tbat there is no'necessity for Congress to leg
islate for the Territories. They have never legislated exclusively ;

668 LIFE AND TIMES
and the very few instances of the exercise of such a power
upon the statute book were not only unconstitutional, but were
acts of supererogation, which the territorial legislature was much
more competent than the national legislature to consider and
determine to the satisfaction of the people of the Territory. It
may be said, sir, that some of the recent acquisitions contain a
considerable population foreign to our political institutions, and
not as well qualified to appreciate them as our native or natural
ized citizens who are familiar with their operations. But, sir, this
objection — which, however, does not touch the principle — is en
titled to no consideration as a practical one. There is not a terri
torial government we shall organize in which the majority of the
active population will not be American citizens, emigrants from
the older States, and in which this class of persons will not exer
cise a preponderating influence, controlling all public measures.
What, then, have we to fear? The great issues of life and death
are left to tbe people. No one calls this in question ; and to the
same trust may be committed, with equal safety, all the other
objects of internal legislation.
' " And the late proceedings in California to organize a govern
ment, and the constitution which has been the result, are the best
proofs that could be offered of the capacity of the people to lay
the foundations of their political institutions wisely and justly.
What a practical comment is that constitution upon the doubts
we have heard expressed, in this hall and out of it, respecting the
intelligence of these remote Territories, and the necessity of re
straining them by Congressional legislation. I know of no con
stitution in this broad Union where the principles of rational and
progressive liberty are better secured than in this first great polit
ical offering from the shores of the Pacific.
" So much for the difference, both in principle and practice,
between the power to institute governments for the Territories and
the power of internal legislation over them. But this difference
is not a mere speculative one, nor one which appeals only to the
feelings of the American people and their representatives. It
enters deeply into the question before us; into the constitutional
power of Congress to legislate over the Territories, and thus pre
sents itself on tbe very threshold of this inquiry.
" There is no clause in the Constitution which gives to Con
gress express power to pass any law respecting slavery in the

OF LEWIS CASS. 669
Territories. The authority is deduced from various sources,
which I propose tp examine by and by. But every construction
which would give to a foreign legislature jurisdiction over this
subject of slavery, — by foreign, I mean not elected by the people,
to be affected by its acts, nor responsible to them, — would equally
give it jurisdiction over every other department of life, social and
political, in the Territories : over the relations of husband and
wife, Of parent and child, of guardian and ward, as well as over
the relations of master and servant ; and embracing within the
sphere of its operations the whole circle of human rights, personal
and political — life, liberty and property in all their various modes
of enjoyment. I say ' the power of Congress over slavery;' for,- if
we have power to abolish it, or to exclude it, we have poiver to
institute it. We possess complete jurisdiction over the subject;
for there is no intellect, however acute, which can so limit the
legislative right Of action, if it exist at all, as to apply it to the
exclusion of slavery, and withhold it from its institution. If any
one doubts this proposition, let bim turn to tbe Constitution and
show the limitation. Before I can believe that such a power was
granted, so remote from the objects of the government which the
trainers of the Constitution sought to establish, belonging exclu
sively to the local questions affecting the different communities
into which we are divided, I must abandon many of the allusions
Ihave cherished respecting the wisdom of the statesmen who
composed the convention of 1787.
" We are all aware tbat there are various clauses of the Consti
tution, and various other sources, foreign and domestic, whence
this right of unlimited legislation over the Territories is sought to
he deduced. One of these, at least, is an express constitutional
grant of power, arid if it fairly includes the authority to bind the
Territories in all cases whatsoever, then there is an end of this
question, and we may pass this proviso and regulate all their
other concerns at our pleasure. But there are other sources,
accepted or rejected, as minds differently constituted take part in
this controversy, whence this right is derived indirectly, as neces
sary to the exercise of some power found in the Constitution, or of
some other power found out of the Constitution. It will hardly
be denied,— the time for denial has-mot yet come, though appear
ances indicate it as fast approaching,— that these indirect or inci
dental powers are to be employed no further than is necessary to

670 LIFE AND TIMES
meet the occasion which calls them into action. Derivative in
their nature, they are limited in their exercise. They can not go
beyond the legitimate object which is sought to be attained... Jf
the necessity for social order in the Territories, as many, perhaps
as most, of the speakers contend, is the true foundation of the
•right of Congress to legislate over them, it is a right which
extends no farther than may be necessary and proper to fulfill
this first duty pf society. The means must be proper for the end,
and proportioned to it; and if this end can be obtained by the
establishment of local governments, there ceases tbe constitutional
action of Congress, and the internal legislation should be commit
ted to the people to be affected by it. It is essential, therefore, to
ascertain whence this power comes, that we may ascertain how
, far it may go; essential, that we may not violate the Constitution;
essential, that we may not violate a fundamental principle of free
dom, the unalienable connection between representation and
internal legislation; and essential, that the people of the Territo
ries may conduct their own concerns in their own way — the very
cardinal doctrine of American freedom.
" Reverting to the proposition that Congress has unlimited
power of legislation over the Territories, the first reflection which
strikes the inquirer is, that if this power were intended to be
granted, nothing was more easy than for the convention to place
the subject beyond doubt, by a plain expression of the object.
Instead, then, of five or six clauses of the Constitution, some with
remote relation to the subject, and some with none at all, which
are in succession relied, upon as the foundation of this power, we
.should have had a clear authority for tbe exercise of one of the
highest attributes of government; the highest, indeed — the right
of unlimited legislation. The clause most frequently quoted in
support of this right is that which provides that ' the Congress
shall have, power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and
regulations respecting, tbe territory or other property belonging
to the United States.' But I have no hesitation in saying,, that if
general jurisdiction over life and liberty was intended to be
granted by this provision, its phraseology is little creditable to
the person who prepared it or to the body which adopted it.
Heretofore the universal judgment of our country has pronounced
that the Constitution of the United States is not less admirable
for the force and perspicuity of its language, than for the principles

OF LEWIS CASS. 671
it establishes and the government.it instituted. Proper words
in proper places have been till now the characteristic fea
ture of its mode of expression. But if the power to make needful
rules and regulations for the property of the United States — for
this is the grant, and all the grant— conveys full legislative
authority over this property, and over all persons, living in. the
same region of country, making man tbe mere incident of prop
erty, certainly never were words more unhappily chosen, nor a
reputation for clearness and certainty more unjustly acquired.
That the convention, when they intended to grant full legislative
power, knew what terms to employ, is manifest from the phrase
ology of the provision for the government of the Federal District,
and of places ceded ' for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals,
dock-yards, and other needful buildings.' Here the right to exer
cise exclusive legislation is given in express terms, admitting no
doubt, and the very words are employed which are best adapted
to convey the power intended to be granted, and no other power.
When, therefore, a. construction is put upon the authority to make
needful rules and regulations for property, which carries it far
beyond the obvious import of the words, those assuming this
ground are bound to explain why similar language was not used
to grant similar powers, and by what just rule of implication a
phrase so limited is made to convey a power so unlimited. How
is it that, in the same instrument, to exercise exclusive legislation
and to regulate property convey equally a general jurisdiction
over all the objects of human concern? No man has done this.
No man has attempted to do it; and it is an obstacle, in limine,
.which, till removed, is insuperable.
. " I have looked over the discussions on this subject with a view
to ascertain whence this power is derived bythe various speakers
'or writers who have taken part in this controversy, and it is not
a little curious to analyze tbe different opinions, and to find what
diversity of sentiment prevails respecting the true ground of Con
gressional interposition. There seems to be a sort of consentane
ous admission that the power exists, but then comes the diversity
of views when seeking to justify its exercise by tbe provisions of
the Constitution.
" I will enumerate tbe most prominent of these suggestions, and
• then proceed to test them by the principles ofthe Constitution':
" 1. The principal reliance, till recently, for tbe support of this

672 LIFE AND TIMES
general power of legislation has been upon that clause of the Con
stitution, already quoted, which authorizes Congress to ' dispose
of, and 'make all needful rules and regulations respecting, the ter
ritory or other property belonging to the United' States.' More
recently, however, as the subject has been investigated, this
clause has found less favor, and other provisions have, in succes
sion, been brought forward as justifying Congressional interposi
tion. Among these are —
" 2. The war and treaty-making powers.
" 3. The right to admit new States.
" 4. The right to sell the public lands.
" 5. The right of ownership.
" 6. The right or duty of settlement.
" 7. The right of sovereignty.
" 8. The nature of government.
"9. Nationality.
" 10. The principles of agency and trust.
" 11. That provision of the Constitution which declares that
' all debts and engagements entered into before tbe adoption of
the Constitution shall be as valid against the United States under
this Constitution as' under the Confederation.' The ordinance of
1787, it is contended, is one of these engagements, and the gov
ernments established by it are therefore recognized by the Con
stitution. " 12. While it is admitted that the ordinance of 1787 was
' passed by the old Congress of the Confederation without author
ity from the States,' it is contended, not that the clause respecting
' debts and engagements ' confirmed it,, but that it ' had been
tacitly confirmed by the adoption of tbe present Constitution and
the authority given to Congress in it to make needful rules and
regulations for the territory.'
" These various reasons are not selected here and there from
speeches and essays, first separated from their natural connection
and then arranged in a formidable column for the sake of effect,^
but they are each and all of them urged with zeal, and I doubt**
not with sincerity, as grounds for the constitutional action of
Congress upon the subject of the Wilmot proviso.
" Much of the confusion wbicb accompanies this subject has ob
viously arisen from the use we now make of the word ' territory'
applying it to those political communities which are organized

OF LEWIS CASS. 673
under the name of Territorial governments, and considering it
as so applied in the Constitution. Indeed, so prevalent is this
notion, that in an address of the Democratic members of the
legislature of New York, dated in April, 1848, this clanse is quoted
as though it read territories or ' other property belonging to the
United States,' thus fixing upon the word its acquired political
signification ; and this example has been followed in the House
of Representatives, where one of the most intelligent members
says, '.the, Constitution speaks of territories belonging to the
United States.' This use came by time, for the ordinanceof 1787
obviously employed the word territory as descriptive of a region
of country belonging to the United States, and which bad been
ceded to them by the members of the Confederacy. Tbe ' Western
Territory' was its popular designation^ and it is thus called in'an
act of the old Congress passed May 20th, 1785, entitled 'An ordi
nance for ascertaining the mode of disposing of lands in the
Western Territory.' The meaning' is here geographical, and not
political; for no government was established there till more than
two years after this period. And tbe proceedings of the old Con
gress abound with its use in tbat signification, proofs of which
will be found in an act of April 13th, 1785, in another of May 9th,
1787, and in yet another of May 12th, of the same year, all before
the passage of the ordinance for the government of the North-
Western Territory. Then came that ordinance providing for the
government of this region of country, this territory, or land, or
domain, as it is indiscriminately called in the legislative and other
official acts of that period. Its more appropriate political desig
nation seems to have been 'district] for the ordinance commences
by declaring ' that the said territory, [or region of country,] for
the purposes of government, shall be one district, subject, bow-
ever, to be divided into two districts, as future circumstances may,
in the opinion of Congress, make it expedient.' And these dis
tricts were, each to constitute a government, with a governor and
judges to 'reside in the district,' who are to 'adopt and publish
'laws in the district,' and eventually, with a partially elective
legislature, having authority ' to make laws in all cases for the
good government of the district,' &c.
"The territory, or region of country, is thus organized into a'
political district; and had these local communities, which we now
call Territories, preserved this term, district, as descriptive of
43

674' LIFE AND TIMES
their political organization, or been known as colonies, the English
designation for remote possessions, we should probably never have
heard of the extended construction now given to this power of
making needful rules for territory or land, and other property.
As in the ordinance, so in the Constitution, both adopted in the
same year, the word territory retains its geographical signification,
and it was only by time and custom that it sometimes came to
mean political communities, distinct from the geographical region
where these are established. But this use of the term, I repeat,
was unknown at the time of the adoption of the Constitution.
" What, then, is the true import of this constitutional power, to
make needful rules and regulations forthe public property ? If
this were a question of the first impression, and a construction
were now to be put upon this clause unembarrassed by practice
or precedent, it is so clear in its phraseology and objects, that it is
not probable there would be any diversity of opinion upon the
subject. It would be conceded that it gave to Congress power
to dispose of, use, and preserve the public property, wbere-
ever situated, and to exercise any power fairly ' needfuV to attain
these objects. The slightest analysis establishes this construction.
It is property alone which is the subject ofthe grant ; and its dis
position, and in connection with that, its use and preservation, are
tbe objects. The frame of the sentence places this beyond doubt.
The phrase ' territory or other property,' makes territory one of
the classes of property, and was doubtless here introduced as far
the most important of them, being the Western Territory, the
great fund destined to relieve the finances of the infant Confede
ration. He who denies this, is beyond the reach of philological
reasoning. '
" There are two provisions of the Constitution, and only two,
which touch the property ofthe United States. One is the clause
which we are considering, and which contains this necessary grant
of power to the government, as a landholder or holder of other
property, to use and dispose of the same at its pleasure; and the
other is the clause authorizing Congress ' to exercise like authority '
(exclusive legislation, like that exercised over the Districtof Colum
bia,) over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of
the State in which the same shall be situated, for the erection of
forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards and other needful buildings*
" The object of these clauses is essentially different. The one is

OF LEWIS CASS. 675
to enable Congress to manage and control the property of the
United States, wherever situated, in order that it may be applied
fo its proper uses without the necessity of resorting to other legis
lation; and the other, to exercise jurisdiction over all persons living
in their forts and other buildings, in circumstances where such
jurisdiction is necessary, and is accordingly ceded by the proper
authority. The one provision is universal, applying wherever the
United States have property. The otber is applicable only to
places held for special objects, and where cessions of jurisdiction
are expressly made.
" Now, it is manifest that if tbe power to make needful rules
and regulations conveys a general grant of legislative authority,
then the express clause for the exercise of jurisdiction with the
consent of the States was unnecessary, and the government of the
United States, wherever it owns property, possesses by the act of
ownership complete legislative jurisdiction within its limits.
" For it is to be observed that this power ' to dispose of and
Inake needful rules and regulations,' attaches to the public prop
erty whether found in the States or Territories, and is the only
authority by wbich the public lands, wherever situated, are sold;
and, consequently, the people living thereon are subject to Con
gressional legislation, and may be placed beyond the reach of State
authorities. Either this consequence follows, or tbe very 6ame
words, operating upon the very same subject, convey powers
altogether different.
" It is under this authority that our whole system of land laws
has been established ; that land has been surveyed and sold,
trespasses prevented or punished, intrusions prohibited, and the
proceeds of the -national domain realized and carried to the
national treasury. Tbe laws for these purposes are general in
their operation, not applicable to the Territories alone, but embrac
ing in their action those portions of all the States where this kind
.of property exists.
I " And these laws, passed by virtue of this clause relating to the
'public property, cease to operate as soon as the United States
cease to own Buch property. If a tract of land, wherever situated,
whether within a State or Territory, is paid for and sold, all the
provisions for tbe security ofthe United States, arising out of this
special clause of the Constitution, disappear at once, and the tract

676 LIFE AND TIMES
passes into tbe common mass of property, subject to all the usual
incidents, and governed only by the usual local laws.
" But it is yet strenuously contended, though certainly not with
the same earnestness of conviction which marked the earlier dis
cussions of this subject, that the natural and obvious import of this
clause, giving Congress power to make needful rules and regula
tions for the public property, is not the true one, but that it gives
complete legislative jurisdiction over the property itself and over
all the persons living within tbe Territories of the United States.
And Why? I have examined with some care the long debates
upon this subject, and I find there are two different views taken
of this clause, both of which unite in the same conclusion, but
separate in the process by which it is reached. Those who advo
cate the one, contend that the word ' territory' does not mean land
alone, but includes also political jurisdiction; thus ihaking Ameri
can citizens a part of the national property, which Congress may
' dispose of,' or otherwise regulate at its pleasure. The advocates
ofthe other, who certainly bring to this discussion greater numbers,
as well as higher talents and position, while conceding that the
word ' territory' in this connection means land, maintain that the
right to make needful rules and regulations concerning it, neces
sarily conveys unlimited powers of legislation over such property,
as well as over the political communities, called Territories, where
it is to be found.
" So far as I have been able to ascertain, a member of the House
of Representatives from Massachusetts [Mr. Hudson] is the new
Galileo to -whom we owe the discovery that the people of a
Territory are property; and tbat tbe framers of the Constitution,
with equal liberality and wisdom, made special provision for their
sale whenever it may please Congress to put them into the market;
and, as a corollary from this doctrine, the construction which
considers territory in this clause as land or other property, is
denounced as a 'miserable quibble,' put forth possibly to please the
faithful; and the honor of its paternity is attribnted to me by
name, and with one of those sneers of intelligence with which
great minds— alas for the infirmities of human nature ! — are but
too prone to consummate their victories over small ones. Truth,
however, compels me, while professing my sincere adhesion to this
position, to decline the honor of this gentleman's censure, and to
limit my claim to the humble services of a disciple in this school,

OF LEWIS CASS. 677
while disavowing the title of master. Had he sought his princi
ples -of government less in European writers, and more in the
Constitution of his country and its expositions, it would not be
necessary for me to tell him that it is the Supreme Court of the
United States which years ago put this construction upon the
Constitution, and pronounced 'territory' and 'land' in this article
to be synonymous. I place in juxtaposition the dictum of the gen
tleman from Massachusetts 'and the opinion ofthe Supreme Court,
in the case ofthe United States vs. Gratiot and Others: '
" ' Mr. Hudson. " ' The Supeeme Court.
'"'This new doctrine of General Cass', '"The term 'territory,' as here used,
put forth possibly to please the faithful in is merely descriptive of one kind of pro-
certain parts of the country, is entirely -perty, and is equivalent to the word
superficial, and. will not bear the test of lauds ; and Congress has the same power
examination for a mom'Snt. Because terri- over1 it as over any other property vested
tory and other property are associated toge- in the United States,' &c.
ther, the General contends that territory
must be synonymous with land, and that
the clause simply confers the power to buy
and sell it, as they would any other species
of property, goods, or chattels.'— Vol. 1,
p. 664. " I suppose I may shelter myself under this authority, faithful
among th$ faithless who desert it; for this gentleman, while affect
ing to place confidence in the Supreme Court, denounces its
pinion; and I leave it to him to reconcile his assertions with the
.aistory of his own times. How the Supreme Court, after thus
deciding that teifitory here means land, could decide also that the
power to sell and regulate land includes the power of unlimited
political jurisdiction, I profess my inability to comprehend; more
especially as the power to be exercised must be ' needful,' and this
necessity upon the face of it is incompatible with the idea tbat
' this power is vested in Congress without limitation.' But I shall
return to this subject in the further progress of my remarks.
"Now, sir, what are tbe reasons urged in favor of separating this
word territory from its natural connection, other property, or, I
inight rather say, in" favor of unlimited legislation over it as a
political community ? I will try to deal with the doctrine as fairly
as I can, and as -gently as may be, though I should consider my
own time, as well as yours, badly spent were I to undertake any
serious refutation of it. He who considers American citizens as
property, and seeks upon this assumption to establish a great

678 LIFE AND TIMES
constitutional power, should not come to promulgate his doctrine in,
these halls, whose foundation was laid by Washington, and whose
superstructure is dedicated to the principles of constitutional
freedom. " Yattel says ' that possessing the territory gives us a perfect
right to govern and control it.' Then follows another quotation
from Yattel, the spirit of which is found iri this commentary of
the speaker. ' In this passage,' he says, ' the term property is
used in a 'broader sense than mere land. It implies sovereignty
or jurisdiction.' And then comes another quotation and another
commentary. I omit the former and give you the latter :
" ' Here, Mr. Chairman, we have the authority of Yattel for
saying that a nation has property in her sovereignty, and that the
right of domain implies the right of empire ; that owning the ter
ritory gives absolute jurisdiction, and hence full legislative power.
What, then, becomes of tbe miserable quibble about territory and
other property ? '
" And this is followed by much more of the same sort, and all
this time amid a profuse display of learning, collected for the
purpose, it seems never to have occurred to the speaker, that a
certain instrument called the Constitution of the United States
had quite as much to do with this question of the power of Con
gress as transatlantic writers, who died frOm a century to two
centuries before our time, and who were discussing questions of
national and natural law under a good deal of bias arising out
of monarchical institutions, where the sovereign, agreeably to the
doctrine of Louis XIY, was tbe State, and not the • authority of
the various departments of our government.
" And this speaker was followed by another who fortified the
doctrine by his own peculiar views, and peculiar indeed they
are, and by abundant references to tbe dictionaries and to other
equally learned authorities. He begins by declaring that 'the
men of the Revolution, the framers of the Constitution, were mas
ters of the English language. They used just words enough and
no more ; they invoked the powers of tbe language to confer in
the briefest and clearest manner this plenary power upon Con
gress.' And this eulogium is pronounced with apparent sincerity,
certainly with all due gravity, the better to prepare us for a
construction as much at war with the plain words of the Consti
tution as with the fundamental principles of human freedom. He

OF LEWIS CASS. 679
asks, with emphasis, 'What means the word 'territory?' Does it-
mean simply ' public lands ? ' ' Certainly not. When the govern
ment owns the soil, the word territory, as applied to it, means
that soil, and the dominion wbich lies like an atmosphere upon
it. The word ' territory,' then, expresses a compound idea, viz :
land and dominion. If the government does not own the land, it
expresses then a simple idea, viz: dominion over the land. In
neither case is its meaning synonymous with ' land ' or ' public
lands.' In either case it expresses a thing which is ' the property
of the government.' All this is equally clear and satisfactory,
and thus is it proved logically, constitutionally and almost mathe
matically, that the inhabitants of a Territory are a ' thing,' ' the
property of tbe government.' But further, because colonial pos
sessions are spoken of as belonging Or appertaining to the parent
country — the territories ofthe East Indies to England, for instance
— the speaker says it is so in tbe dictionaries; therefore 'the
matter can be made no plainer by argument,' and our Territories
are, by the Constitution, made property belonging to the United
States, and may be sold and governed as such — land, people
and all. — Mr. Rockwell, vol. l,p. 794.
"I can not argue such a point as this, nor undertake^ to refute
the proposition that unlimited jurisdiction over large bodies of
our fellow-citizens, embracing in its operation all the rights which
belong to man, whether natural or political, is ' a thing which is
the property of the government.' Do we hear aright, when we
hear an American legislator contend for a construction of the
Constitution which" carries us back to some of tbe worst doctrines
of the middle ages — to those feudal times when the dignity of
land was far more exalted than the dignity of human nature, and
when' men, I mean the many and not the few, were bound to the
soil, like the trees growing upon it, as they are yet in some of the
countries of the Old World, and one of the principal elements of
its value ? All this has passed away, wherever the very first
glimmering of the light of freedom has penetrated, and the at
tempt to revive it here is among the strangest of the strange
political revulsions which it has been my fortune, or rather my
misfortune, to witness in a long and active life.
" A few passing remarks , upon the practical consequences of
this position, and I leave it to exert what influence it may upon
the subject before us.

680 LIFE AND TIMES
" If the word ' territory ' here includes the right of jurisdiction,
it follows that it was the intention of the framers of the Constitu
tion to confer upon Congress the power to sell this jurisdiction
over all the western cessions, and that this clause accomplishes
the object. For whatever be the true meaning of the word ' ter
ritory,' whether soil or dominion, or botb, tbe authority granted
is an authority to dispose of or sell it, equally With' ' other prop
erty.' No process of analysis can separate the right to sell the
' territory ' from the right to sell the ' other property.' Congress,
by this construction, could sell to every man the right of juris
diction over his section or quarter section as well as the right of
soil ; or it could sell the title to one man and the jurisdiction to
another, or both, or either to a foreign State, or to its subjects.
Tbe bare enunciation of such a proposition carries with it its own
refutation. I can not deal with it as a subject of argumentation.
The power, under any circumstances, to cede a portion of the
United States is, to say tbe least of it, a very doubtful one under
our Constitution. For myself, I can find no such grant of authority
in that instrument ; its powers are preservative, not destructive.
I am speaking of a direct, unquestioned cession ; not of the fair
settlement of a disputed boundary with a foreign nation, where
the question is uncertain and where the act of adjustment estab
lishes the true line of demarcation. But that the Convention of
1787 should make it a fundamental provision of the new govern
ment that it might alienate from this country, at its pleasure, and
by the acre, too, its vast western domain, the objeet of so much
solicitude and the cause of so many dissensions, almost terminating
in separation, is a proposition equally at variance with our political
history and with the spirit of our political institutions. And what
still adds to the surprise which this course of reasoning is so well
calculated to excite, is the fact that gentlemen who seek by con
struction to give to Congress this unlimited power of cession, are
among those who contend most strenuously for the obligation arid
inviolability of the ordinance of 1787, and for its virtual recogni
tion by the Constitution, notwithstanding that ordinance places
the western territory beyond any other final disposition than that
of admission into the Union, with all the rights of the original
members. " The other construction which deduces a power of unlimited
jurisdiction from thisj constitutional authority ' to dispose of and

OF, LEWIS CASS. 681
make needful rules and regulations concerning the territory or
other property belonging to the United States,' concedes that ter
ritory is here land and property, but maintains that the needful
regulation of it includes complete jurisdiction — not only the
power to establish territorial governments, but to legislate for the
Territories in all cases whatsoever.
"It is not necessary to make extracts from various speeches to
show how prevalent is this opinion of the omnipotent power of
Congress over the Territories. I have already referred to the
declaration that they may be sold into slavery; and though this
position is tbe legitimate consequence of the doctrine of unlimited
jurisdiction, still there are few who would thus boldly follow it to
its just conclusion. "There is, however, so little diversity of views
upon the question itself, that nothing would be gained by reference
to individual speakers, where the general deductions are the
same." General Cass, in this elaborate speech, examined, in detail,' the
various positions taken by those who advocated the proviso, and
comriiented, with logical reasoning, upon the different provisions
ofthe Constitution which, in succession, had been brought forward
to justify Congressional interposition. He disproved the right of
entire legislation over the territories, on tbe part of the general
government: he met and refuted, in a candid manner, botb. by
argument and precedent, the pretense that the proposition had the
sanction of tbe Constitution, or even was contemplated by its wise
framers ; and reproduced the important fact, that Congress, from
1787 to that day, had never exercised, or attempted to exercise,
any suc'h power. * With respect to the ordinance of 1787, so often
cited botb in and out of Congress, he not only' triumphantly
Showed that the territorial government, established by that ordi
nance, was no compact within tbe accepted definition of the courts
and the orthodox writers upon jurisprudence, but, from the ordi
nance itself, he reminded the Senate, that the six sections often
quoted, and the provisions of which were forever to remain un
alterable, unless by common consent, did not contain one word on
the subject of territorial government.
"But," he continued, " it is all idle to talk about the compacts in
the ordinance' of 1787. The articles so designated are destitute of
the very first elements of reciprocal obligation. There was but
one party to them. The other party had not yet come into being,

682 LIFE AND TIMES
or, rather, the other party was not hoard at all ; for it was com-'
posed of tbe inhabitants then living in the territory — the settlers
upon the Wabash, in the Illinois country, in the Detroit country,
at Green Bay, and at Prairie du Chien. These constituted the
counter party then in existence, and this compact was declared
"binding upon thOm and their descendants, and irrevocably so,
without their consent and without their knowledge. Why, sir, if
there had been but one man in that country — and there were many
thousands, and among these not a few emigrants from the States-
he would not haye been bound by a compact he never heard of,
and to which his consent was never required, either expressly or
impliedly, and much less the people then there. As to making a
contract with unborn States and millions, by the simple act of a
foreign, body, constituting itself one of the parties, and acting for
the other, and without any means being provided for procuring
tbeir assent in all time, either by the act of the then existing o:
of any future generation, by an acceptance of the terms held out.
or by any other mode, had not our own ears told us the contrary..
we might well have doubted whether a man could be found to
contend for so strange a doctrine.
" Besides the want of parties, there was a total want of power.
No man with any regard to himself, looking to the articles of the
old Confederation, can deny this, even if we had not the authorita
tive declaration of Mr. Madison, when speaking of it as a question
neither disputed nor disputable, to which Mr. Adams assents.
The articles are utterly silent on the point, and the exercise of the
power was an open assumption of authority. If the ' engagement,'
supposing there to have been one, wanted validity, the Constitu-.
tion ,gave it none, but left it as it found it. A member of the
other House, whose zeal certainly outstripped his discretion when
he said, in quoting his previous opinions, tbat 'he had egotism
enough to believe his as good as any other authority,' and in doing
so ' that he but followed the examples of the courts in which it was
the regular and every-day practice to cite their own decisions/
declared also, quite ex cathedra, ' tbat he should be able to show*
&c, that these six articles of the ordinance were forever binding.
unless altered by mutual consent, and that no one in Indiana had
ever been ' silly enough' to doubt the validity of the ordinance.'
(Mr. Pettit, vol. 1, p. 718.) It is not tbe validity of tbe ordinancei
we are now seeking as an ordinary act of legislation, but its,

OF LEWIS CASS. 683
inviolability or perpetual obligation. The speaker confounds two
.propositions entirely different in their nature. Let me ask him if
any one in Indiana ever doubted the power of the people of that
State to assemble in conyention, and to introduce slavery there if
they please ?— to abolish tbe English common law, and substitute
the Code Napoleon, or the Louisiana Code, or even the contume
de Paris, which at one time was the law of a part of Indiana,, or
change the nature of bail for offenses, or find a better remedy for
the preservation of personal liberty than the writ of habeas corpus?
T-all which are declared by the ordinance to be forever unalter
able but by common consent, or, in other words, they are questions
of internal policy, which the people are not sovereign enough to
touch without the consent of Congress. I had supposed, till now,
that the new States were admitted into the Union on ' an equal
footing with the original States, in all respects whatever.' But
if this doctrine of, the perpetual obligation of this qrdinance be
correct, the new States and the old States occupy very different
positions in the Union, and the powers of the latter are much
greater than those of the former. As a citizen of the north-west,
I object toto ccelo to this humiliating difference, and I doubt if
.the gentleman will find many converts to his opinion in his own
Sfate. " In support of his views, he asks where the United States got
the title of the public lands, but in one of tbe provisions of this
' compact,' which prohibits' the new States from any interference
in their disposition. Why, sir, the United States got the title of
the public lands from tbe deeds of cession of the States who owned
them, and Congress got the power to sell and control them, not
from the ordinance, wbich, as we have seen by the opinion of Mr.
Madison, and which may be seen at any time by a reference to
the Articles of Confederation, was valueless for that purpose ; but
from the constitutional authority to make ' all the <¦ needful rules
and regulations ' respecting them, which was introduced to secure
this, very object.
"There can be no donbt, sir, tbat this form of a compact was
given tp these important, articles of the ordinance, in the absence
of all real power over the subject, as having somewhat the ap
pearance of a mutual arrangement, and therefore obnoxious to
less censure than a direct assumption of authority would have
been. The first ordinance, (for thatof 1787 is the second,) the

684 LIFE AND TIMES
ordinance of April 23d, 1784, which, however, was repealed by the
other before it went into operation, contained also this declared
compact, but in a much more imposing form than it afterwards
assumed. It provided that ' the foregoing article shall be formed
irito a charter of compact, shall be duly executed bythe President
of the United States, under his hand and the seal of the United
States, shall be promulgated, and shall stand as fundamental
constitutions,' &c, &c. I presume this pushing compacts into
constitutions for the new States by the sole authority of Congress
was afterwards thought to be going a little too far, and the more
modest form was finally adopted.
" It is a singular commentary on the positive declarations of
the inviolability of this ordinance, that at the very time they were
made, an act of Congress was passed, almost without opposition,
violating this ordinance in a fundamental particular. And We
have been told by the chairman of the Judiciary Committee of
the Senate, that although the question was raised before the com
mittee, four of the members out of five considered it of no weight,
and the bill passed this body without even a discussion upon it.
Among the articles of compact was one which provided that there
should not be less than three nor more than five States in the North
west Territory. This power had been exhausted, and the five
States admitted into the Union. But a large portion of the Ter
ritory has been detached from these States, and now forms part
of the Minnesota Territory, to be organized into a separate State,
or to form part of another, with the country west of the Missis
sippi. So much for the irrepealable articles of compact."
He referred, in the course of his remarks, to the extraordinary
observations of the proviso orators; and particularly to Mr. John
Quincy Adams — an ex-President of tbe United States, — citing
this remark of the ex-President, " the consequence has been, that
this slave representation has governed the Union. Benjamin, por
tioned above bis brethren, has ravened as a wolf; in the morning
he has devoured the prey, and at night he has divided the spoil."
General Cass, fully conscious of the manifold interests and un
told hopes that clustered around our Union and its institutions,
exclaimed :
" He is unworthy of the name of American who does not feel
at his heart's core the difference between the lofty patriotism and
noble sentiments of one of these documents and  ; but!

OF LEWIS CASS., 685
will not .say what the occasion would justify. I will only say,
and that is enough, the other  , for it is another,
'" -Benjamin, portioned above Ms. brethren, has ravened as a
'wolf; in the morning he has devoured the prey, and at night he
has, divided the spoil.' So much for Scripture and patriotism.
When translated into plain English, this means that the south
has fattened upon the north, as the wolf is gorged with his prey!
Lest the apologue should not be sufficiently clear, we are told that
almost everything which has contributed to the honor and the wel
fare tof the nation has been accomplished- by the north in despite of
the south; and that everything unpropitious and dishonorable,
including the blunders' and follies of their adversaries, may be
traced to the south.
"And this judgment is pronounced upon the land of Patrick
Henry, and Jefferson, and Laurens, and Rutledge, and Sumpter,
and Marion, and Madison, and Marshall, and Monroe, and Jack
son, and — above all and beyond all — of Washington ; and upon
the land of a host of other statesmen and warriors, as true and
tried in field or cabinet as ever maintained, the honor of their
country in times as perilous as any country ever encountered and
survived. "And yet almost all of good that has ever been gained by. our
' country has been gained by the north in despite of the south ;
while the south has brought upon us all our misfortunes, and upon
their adversaries all tbeir blunders and follies ! ! ! I suppose this
word ' adversaries' in the vocabulary of Mr. Adams, means the
other portions of the Union.
"Now, sir, I am not going, to mete out to the various regions of
this broad land the share of each in the wonderful career in ail
, the elements of power and prosperity into which we have entered,
and have, indeed, far advanced. The glory belongs equally to all,
and all have equally contributed to obtain it. And still less will
I undertake seriously to refute a "proposition which, if the refuta
tion is not in the heart of an American, he is faithless to the
common deeds of the past, and to the common hopes of the future.
"I am no panegyrist of the south; it needs none. I am a
northern man by birth, a western man by tbe habits and associa
tions of half a century ; but I am an American above all. I love
the land of my forefathers ; I revere the memory of the pilgrims
for all they did and suffered in the great cause of human rights,

686 LIFE AND TIMES
political and religious. And I am proud of that monument which
time and labor have .built up to their memory — the institutions of
New England — a memorial of departed worth as noble and endur
ing as the world has ever witnessed, glorious and indestructible.
But while I feel thus, I should despise myself if any narrow pre
judices or' intemperate passions should blind my eyes to the
intelligence and patriotism of other sections of our united country;
to their glorious deeds, to their lofty sentiments, to their high
names, and to those sacred aspirations, common to them and to
us, for the perpetuity and prosperity of this great Confederation,
which belong to the past, to the present, and to the future ; and
whose feelings and opinions are brought here and reflected here
by a representation in this hall and in the other, which now
occupies and has always occupied as high a position as that held
by any other portion of the Union — a representation which does
honor to our country in all that gives worth to man and dignity
to human nature."
The provisoists, in their own conceit, having adduced the power
to pass their darling measure, were then in the habit of acting on
the offensive, and with the air of a conqueror demanding the
source from whence the people in the Territories derived the power
to legislate for themselves. This interrogatory, often put at the
hustings, in the State legislatures and in the halls of the federal
capital, remained for General Cass to answer.
"And we are asked, where did the people of the Territories get
the right to legislate for themselves? Where did they get it?
They got it from Almighty God ; from the same omnipotent and
beneficent Being who gave us our rights, and who gave to our
fathers the power and the will to assert and maintain them.
" I am not speaking of a revolution ; that is a just remedy for
violated rights ; but I am speaking of a right inherent in every
community — that of having a share in making the laws which are
to govern them, and of which nothing but despotic power can de
prive them. That power in Europe is the sword. Here political
metaphysics come to take its place. The people of the Territories
get the opportunity of enjoying this right of government, of
bringing it into practical operation, from Congressional interposi
tion, and they then possess it with no other limitations than those
arising out of the Constitution and of their relations to the United
States. Their powers of legislation embrace all the subjects

OF LEWIS CASS. 687
belonging to the social condition. There is no act of Congress
respecting any of the Territories which undertakes to 'enumerate
the Various objects of legislation, and then to confer jurisdiction
over them. The whole power is conveyed, with the very few
exceptions I have stated, and these are expressly withheld."
This effort was highly extolled. The Democratic members of
the legislature of Tennessee compliinented him with an address.
Said they: "This oration will stand a perpetual monument in
honor of your memory, and will hand your name down to the
latest posterity as a scholar, learned and profound, as an orator,
eloquent and powerful, as a statesman, sagacious- and patriotic."
As if to break tbe power of this ' great speech among the free
men of the United States, the legislature of Michigan had, in
advance, instructed General Cass to vote for the proviso. In tbe
mutations of politics the legislature of that State, in 1850, was of
a different political complexion from that of 1849; many Demo
crats in the fall of 1849 took little or no interest in the election of
members of assembly — partly because there were no State ques
tions to be brought before the legislature, but more from a feeling
of dissatisfaction with the lukewarm support which their time-
honored fellow-citizen had received from the Democratic politicians
ofthe south and south-west in the late Presidential canvass. And
this inaction, by meagre votes, resulted in the temporary ascend
ency of the Whigs. After General Cass1 arrival at the seat of tbe
general government, he was taunted with this legislative instruc
tion on the floor of the Senate, and the newspapers were rife with
speculation as to the influence which they would have upon the
future course of this veteran patriot and statesman. Hence, when
he gave notice that he purposed to speak on this question, the '
interest to see what he would say and do increased. We believe
all doubt upon this head was removed in tbe minds of the most
skeptical even, when he resumed his seat. For, to solve all mys
tery as to bis official action when the vote of the Senate should be
taken, he took occasion to say :
"I will endeavor to discharge my duty as an American senator,
to the country, and to the whole country, agreeably to the convic
tions of mv own duty and of the obligations of tbe Constitution ;
and when i can not do this, I shall cease to have any duty here
to perform. My sentiments on the Wilmot proviso are now before
the Senate, and will soon be before my constituents and the

LIFE AND TIMES
country. I am precluded from voting in conformity with them.
I have been instructed by the legislature of Michigan to vote in
favor of this measure. I am a believer in the right of instruction,
when fairly exercised and under proper circumstances. There are
limitations upon this exercise; but I need not seek to ascertain
their extent or application, for they do not concern my present
position. I acknowledge the obligation of the instructions I have
received, and can not act in opposition to them. Nor can I act
in opposition to my own convictions of, the true meaning of the
Constitution. When the time comes, and I am required to vote
upon this measure, as a practical one, in a bill providing for a
territorial government, I shall kn*ow how to reconcile my duty to
the legislature with my duty to myself, by surrendering a trust
I can no longer fulfill."
Whether from the influence of this speech, or their own sense
of constitutional right, or both, certain it is that a change came
over the legislative mind of Michigan ; and, in abundant season,
rescinded the mandate to her senators, leaving them to act accord
ing to the dictates of their own wisdom and judgment."
This was wormwood to fanaticism. To parry the blow, she
pointed to inconsistency, and insisted, most strenuously, that the
disciple of Jefferson — the confidant of Jackson — the unflinching
flag-bearer of the Democratic hosts in 184S — was her votary. As
usual when attacked, either by open, manly foes, or by sinister,
pretended friends, he faced the attacking party; and, on a subse
quent day, at the first convenient opportunity, met the unfounded
accusation in bis place' in the, Senate. We give to the reader
what he said :
"It was intimated by the senator from Mississippi, [Mr. Davis,]
and by more than one gentleman, I believe, in the other wing of
the capitol, that I had not been consistent in my course. The
feelings of respect and kindness which I entertain for that senator
are, I am sure, a guaranty to him that I do not allude to this sub
ject in any spirit of complaint. My course, if worthy of notice, is
open to public examination, and, I trust, will bear it. The charge
is, sir, that, in my Nicholson letter, I laid down principles from
wbich I departed in my late speech upon the Wilmot proviso.
The allusion, as I understand it, is more particularly to the propo
sition, that the people of the Territories, as well as of the States,
have a right to manage their own internal concerns in their own

OF LEWIS CASS.
way, and that the condition of slavery may be regulated by. them,
as well as any other relatiori of life. In tbat letter, sir, which
seems to have become historical far beyond its importance, I laid
down four propositions, whichl then deemed to be correct, and
whose truth time and experience have but tbe more strongly con
firmed. Till I change my convictions, I shall neither seek to con
ceal nor disavow them. If any one has misunderstood me before,
I conceive the fault was his own ; if any one misunderstands me
hereafter, the fault shall be mine. I believe the Wilmot proviso to
be unconstitutional ; but, before I proceed to a full consideration of
this branch of the subject, I beg leave to trouble the Senate with
a brief review of my position, and of the circumstances connected
with it. I have desired an opportunity of doing/so for some time,
as this has been made a matter of reproach— as, indeed, what is
not, in times like these !
"When the Wilmot proviso was first' proposed, I have never
concealed or denied that, had* it been pushed to a vote, I should
have voted for it. There is no peed for any senator to resort to
and retail conversations in railroad cars to prove this. I had
never examined the constitutional power of Congress ; and, when
the subject was proposed/it did not excite that opposition from
the South which we have since witnessed, nor led reflecting men
to doubt whether stxih a provision could be enforced without dan
ger to the Union/Southern men, I believe, had previously voted
for a similar pleasure, and it had not become a grave sectional
question, involving the most fearful consequences. At a subse
quent session, convinced of its bearing, I spoke and voted against
it; stilJ, however, without touching the constitutional point. After-
.wajds, circumstances required me to examine tbe subject more
narrowly. The public mind in the South became highly excited,
and the indications were full of danger and difficulty. I felt then, (
as I do now, that the Union was tbe great object of every Ameri
can, and that there are few sacrifices which ought not to be made
to preserve it. I was prepared to go as far as any man ought to
go' to attain that object. In examining the, Constitution, with.
reference to the whole matter, more narrowly than I had ever
before done, I was startled by the conviction, that no authority
was granted in that instrument to Congress to legislate over tbe
Territories ; and tbat, consequently, there was no power to pass
the Wilmot proviso. Not satisfied with my own impressions, and
44

LIFE AND TIMES
being unwilling to take such a ground Without proper consideration,
'I determined immediately to converse with some person, fully
.conversant with the history of the legislation and of the judicial
decisions on the subject. In looking about for that purpose, it
immediately occurredto me that ah eminent judge ofthe Supreme
Court, [Judge McLean, of Ohio,] from his position and associa
tions,' as well as from bis residence in the west, could give me
better information upon this subject than any other person. An
ticipating that some discussion might soon arise, that would render
this explanation proper, I applied to that gentleman sontfe days
since, arid requested his permission thus publicly to refer tohhh,
should! deem it necessary. This he cheerfully granted; arid!
now make use of bis name with his own consent. I immediately
repaired to him, and etated my doubts, as well as the circumstances
which gave rise to them. I need not repeat the conversation here.
It is enough to'say that he confirmed my impressions, and informed
me that, in an article published in the National Intelligencers
day or two previously, and which I had not seen, I should 'find
his views fully set forth. That article has since been republished
in otber papers, and has attracted a good deal of attention, as it
deserves, for it is powerfully written. I speak, sir, solely of the
views which it presents of the power of Congress to legislate for
the Territories. The question of slavery, which it discusses, I do
not refer to. After reading this artiele, my doubts ripened into
convictions, and I took the ground, to which I shall always adhere,
that tbe Wilmot proviso is unconstitutional. And you. have now,
sir, the history of my course upon this subject."
Tbat the reader may have the whole, we may as well add, that
it had been, and continued to be, repeatedly charged upon General
Cass that he designed' his letter to Mr. Nicholson as a trapto catch
the unwary — a subterranean pitfall, into which was to tumble the
unsuspecting planters, whenever they reached the Territories with
their slaves. This theme had been fruitful of harangues all through
the south. For this reason, many in that section of the Union
were opposed to the doctrines of the Nicholson letter. At the
north, many were opposed to those doctrines, because, as they
claimed, the slaveholder could remove to the Territories and retain
his immunity over the slave for a season, at least. These' were
extreme opinions — dissimilar in fact — hased upon antagonistical
reaSOris, diametrically opposed to each in object, yet in harmonious
action. Extremes met.

OF LEWIS CASS. 691
^The objectors at the NortiTdesired positi've action, to prevent
the extension of slavery. They were unwilling to leave the matter
to the inhabitants of the Territory. General Cass was willing,
and he knew of no constitutional power to over-ride the right. The
objectors at the south desired negative action relative to the ex
tension of the area of slavery. They desired that the matter
should be left with the territorial settlers. So General Cass desired:
because that course of policy alone was the only one compatible
with the terms of compromise upon which the Union ofthe States
was formed. But these southern extremists — whether sincerely or
not, they best know — stoutly insisted that the doctrine of the
Nicholson letter did not recognize the territorial inhabitants as
possessed of power to prohibit slavery, until they were admitted
as a State into the Union. In. other words, that it was to the peo
ple of a State, not to the inhabitants of a Territory, that the power
belonged. That. there might no longer be any apology for mis
construction of his views upon this point, in March, 1852, when
examining, in his place in the/ Senate, a letter of Colonel Jeffer
son Davis, of Mississippi, under date of December 27th, 1851, he
remarked :
"If a newly-settled Territory is first occupied by a majority of
emigrants from a slave State, they will be very apt to establish
slavery in their new residence. If, on the contrary, they come
from a non-slaveholding State, they will probably be equally
Btrongly inclined to establish that exclusion to which they have
been accustomed ; and so with relation to all the objects of concern
which are regulated by law. And where was there ever a com
munity whose political and social system was not more or less
influenced by tbe predominant opinions and characters which
marked its .early inhabitants ? But this objection, sir, whatever
weight it is entitled to in the scale of expediency, does not touch
the question of right. That does not even depend on Congres
sional action, but upon the Constitution, which does not even look
to this subject of early or of late legislation, nor the practical
considerations to which it may give rise. The rightful power,
therefore, is not affected by the mode in which it may be exercised,
whether bearing upon one or another of the vast variety of objects
of civilized life which fall within the scope of legislation. All,
therefore, I claimed for tbe territorial governments was the right
of legislation in all cases not in conflict with the Constitution ; the

LIFE AND TIMES
same general rights of legislation which enabled tbe territorial
governments of Mississippi, of Alabama, and other southern Ter
ritories, to control the question of slavery within their limits, and
which the northern Territories might have controlled at their
pleasure, had there been no restriction upon their power. This
was no question of ' sovereignty,' but of right, under the sovereign
authority of the Constitution. And if the first settlers in the
Territories might establish their future policy upon this subject
by early legislation, I know of no constitutional principle which
refuses the same powers to all the others."
And then as to the term " squatter sovereignty," in connection
with its exercise, on the distant coast of the Pacific, he further
remarked :
"A few words more, sir, as to California, and what has been
called -' squatter sovereignty.' I have already said, that my Nich
olson letter referred only to such territorial governments as had
been established by Congress, and it looked only to such govern
ments to be thereafter established by the same authority, over
future acquisitions, should any such be confirmed to us by a treaty
of peace. As to the condition of things in California, which fol
lowed, in consequence of the failure of Congress to provide gov
ernments for tbe Mexican cessions, no one foresaw it ; certainly
no one endeavored to provide against it. My letter, therefore, did
not touch that point at all.
"As to the term ' squatter sovereignty,' or 'landlord sovereignty,'
and the reproach it is intended to carry with it, they become neither
our age nor country. Men are entitled to government, even if
thev are landless ; and human life and human happiness are worth
protection, notwithstanding a remote authority may be the great
landlord, holding vast domains in a state of nature, which it
neither grants nor governs. Many of the doctrines upon this
subject' carry us back to the middle ages, when land was every
thing and man nothing. We have arrived at a period when better
views prevail; when human nature asserts its rights, and the
exercise of political power does not depend upon the accident of
property, but upon tbe great principle of freedom and just equal
ity. One of two things is inevitable : either the people of Cali
fornia had the right to establish a government for themselves,
without reference to * squatter sovereignty,' or ' landlord sove
reignty,' or they were necessarily condemned to live without a

OF LEWIS CASS. 693
government, or rather to die without one ; for human life, under
such circumstances, would be far more precarious than in the
bloodiest battle on record. They choosed to do what we refused ;
to found a political system, affording protection to the great objects
of human society ; and I know nothing of the character of my
countrymen, north or south, if, on calm reflection, tbey do not
approve the proceeding. Nor do I believe there is one of them,
no matter where, who, had be been in California in such a perilous
crisis, would have hesitated to substitute established law for lawless
violence and physical strength."
Whatever may be the practical results of this doctrine of pop
ular sovereignty, General Cass is not responsible for. He did not
make the Constitution : no share of its paternity belongs to him.
As a senator, he has endeavored to carry out its provisions, in
good faith. And when, in tbe course of his senatorial career,
difficulties have crossed his path, that at first glance may bave
appeared almost . insurmountable, be bas set himself at work in
earnest to clear away the rubbish. With a mind patient in in
vestigation, and a physical energy that bas never yet failed him,
he has thought for himself, reached his own conclusions, for weal
Or wo, and fearlessly announced them to the world.

694 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER XL.
The Compromise Measures The Committee of Thirteen — The Reports— The Debate — The Union Fatty.
The famous measures — already passed intb history — known as
the " Compromise Measures," were initiated and perfected at the
first session of tbe thirty-first Congress. The session extended into
September;1 and although the incipient steps were taken early in
the session, the measures were not consummated till near its close..
The first movement was on the twenty-fifth of February, when
Mr. Foote, of Mississippi, moved the Senate that the resolution
which he had the honor to offer — 'and already given in the pre
ceding chapter, — be referred to a committee, to consist of twelve
members, six from the north and six from the south, and an
additional one to be by them chosen, with instructions to report to
the Senate, if practicable, a plan of compromise for the final
adjustment of all pending questions growing out of the institution
of slavery. A motion was then made, on a subsequent day, to
refer also to the same committee the resolutions offered by Mr.
Clay and Mr. Bell. General Cass supported both of these motions:
and openly declared that he would vote for any constitutional
measure that bad the appearance of harmonizing the different
sections of the country, and amicably terminating the slavery
controversy. Qn tbe nineteenth of April, the question of reference was put to
the vote, and carried on a division of thirty to twenty-two. The
committee was chosen by the Senate, by ballot, and consisted of
Messrs. Clay, Cass, Dickinson, Bright, Webster, Phelps, Cooper,
King, Mason, Downs, Mangum, Bell, and Berrien. On the eighth
of May the committee made their report to the Senate, accompa
nying it with bills, in accordance with its views and recommend
ations, in the following order.
First. — Admission of any new State or States, formed out of
Texas, should be postponed until they presented themselves for
admission.

OF LEWIS ,CAS,S. 695.
Second. — California should be, admitted forthwith, with the
proposed: boundaries.
Third. — Territorial governments, without the Wilmot proviso,
should be provided for New Mexico and„Utah, embracing all the
territory acquired , from Mexico, except that embraced; within the
boundaries of California.
Fourth. — The establishment of the northern and western boun
dary of Texas, and the exclusion from; her jurisdiction of all New
Mexico, for, which a pecuniary equivalent was to be paid.
,s Fifth. — Mpre effectual enactments of law .tb. secure, the prompt
recapture of fugitives from labor, bound to service ipj one State,
w,ho may have escaped into another. State.
Sixth. — Congress to abstain from abolishing slavery in tbe Dis
trict of .Columbia; but to prohibit the slave, trade within tbe
District. Seventh. — The second^ third, and fourth measures to be con
tained in the same bill.
General Cass was requested by several Democratic senators to
bring forward the measure of compromise, for it had been freely
discussed in private conversation before it was introduced, and to
accept the chairmanship of the committee. But he peremptorily
declined, and urged the selection of Mr. Clay, believing that he
would do more good than any other person. The circumstances
of .the times outweighed all other considerations^ and General Cass
believed there, would be less personal feeling towards Mr. Clay
than 3bo.war.d.s a prominent Democrat. It was exceedingly imports
ant, to carry as much of the Whig interest in the Senate as pos
sible. And besides, that eminent patriot possessed the high qual
ifications, and experience essential to such a duty. The result
proved the wisdom of the selection. He bore himself like a hero
during the whole controversy.
With reference to tfie constitution of this committee, Mr. Foote
—then U. S. senator from Mississippi— remarked at the Gover
nor's room in, the city of New York in December, 1850:
" The gentlemen who composed, that committee did rise above
influence; they did forget, their party, absorbed as they were in
patriotic solicitude for their, country's welfare and honor. Tes;
and I will give you an anecdote illustrative of. the spirit in which
these men acted. It was said, on a certain occasion, to my old
friend General Cass, by some gentleman who was consulting party

696 LIFE AND TIMES
policy a little more than the interests of the country, that if the
plan of adjustment were carried out, Henry Clay might become
President. Now, General Cass had nominated Mr. Clay as chair
man of that committee; and what was the reply of the old patriot ?
I will state the reply, because, perhaps, you will hear it from no
one else. When he replied, that honest face of his became reful
gent with the true spirit ofa patriot. He remarked, 'Then so be
it. If Clay's noble conduct at the head of our committee, in
rescuing his country from present danger, should conduct him to
the Presidency, no man in the nation will more cordially ratify
bis. election than myself.' I challenge you to point out to me such
another instance of patriotic, devotion and self-sacrifice. And that
was the feeling predominant among tbe friends of the adjustment
in both houses of Congress. I will not speak of those who held a
subordinate position like myself ; but I will say that Clay, Cass,
and Webster; on the altar of their country's happiness, sacrificed
everything like personal rivalry, disregarded everything like party
ascendency and the success of faction, uniting themselves as
a band of brothers, standing shoulder to shoulder in support of
tbeir common country, and' immortalizing themselves as the
unequaled of triad American patriots."
The admission of California, — the establishment of territorial
governments for Utah and New Mexiqo — and the boundaries of
Texas, elicited much debate, and many amendments were offered
by various senators. The union of so many subjects in the same
bill was regarded as objectionable by some members: its provi
sions were not entirely satisfactory to others who would have given
the bill a cordial support, whilst the ultraists of both north and
south were irreconcilable in their opposition. Propositions in
creasing the conditions upon which California might be admit
ted, and restriction of the powers of the territorial governments,
were offered. To all these General Cass was opposed. He
insisted that there was no express authority conferred upon Con
gress, by the Constitution, to establish and regulate territorial
governments. The absence of such grant was because no con
tingency was foreseen by the framers of the Constitution for the
use of such power, and that the right to act at all arose from the
necessity ofthe case. Upon the acquisition of new territory, it is
the moral duty of a country to take care that it is provided with
a government suitable to its own institutions. He further insisted

OF LEWIS CASS. - 697
that the power claimed for Congress was a tremendous power.
"It is claimed and exercised at St. Petersburg, at Vienna, and at
Constantinople, as well as at Washington: and no matter by whom
claimed, or where exercised — whether by Sultan, Emperor, King,
Parliament, or Congress — it is equally despotism, unsupported by
tiJelaws of God, or by the laws of man."
On the thirty-first of July, Mr. Pearce, of Maryland, moved to
strike from the bill all that related to New Mexico. The Senate
agreed to this. Mr. Walker, of Wisconsin, had previously moved
to strike from the bill all except "that part relating to California,
but the Senate did not agree to this. Mr. Atcbinson moved to
strike from the bill the provisions relating to California, and the
Senate, by a vote of thirty-four to twenty-five, agreed to the mo
tion. The bill was thus left containing simply the provision of a
territorial government for Utah, and in that shape passed tbe
Senate on the second of August ensuing. The admission of Cali
fornia — the establishment of a government for New Mexico, and
the proposals for the establishment of the boundaries of Texas,
were subsequently passed by the Senate in separate bills. And
thus was fulfilled the prediction made by General Cass at Fort
Wayne, on the fourth of July,,1843, when he said " tbe great tide
of civilization bas passed the Alleghany mountains and has spread
and is spreading over the prairies and forests of our own beautiful
. west, and will not stop till it reaches the boundary of the conti
nent upon the shores of the Pacific. The decree has gone forth,
and will be fulfilled. Tbe prospects of the futsire'may be seen in
the progress of the past. He who runs may read. Neither politi
cal jealousy nor mercantile cupidity can stop our onward march."
Strange as it may seem, some of the most eminent senators from
the southern States opposed the admission of California. They
assumed that the action of the people in forming a Constitution
was unconstitutional ;' and, therefore, that the assent of Congress
to their proceedings; by admitting California into the Union, would
also be unconstitutional. Mr. Berrien, of Georgia, even went so
far as to argue that the people of that region had no right to or
ganize themselves into a State government, and that the proceeding,
was altogether without precedent or authority. General Cass
exposed the fkllacy of this argument in an impromptu speec^ of
unusual power.

698 LIFE ,AN,D TIMES
The bill, "to provide forthe more, effectual execution of the;
third clause ofthe second section of the fourth article ofthe Con?,
stitntion of the United States,',' generally known as the "fugitive,
slave bill," was taken up for consideration in the Senate on the,
nineteenth of August. General Cass supported, it, as one, of the,
measures agreed upon as a compromise. Mr. Mason, of Virginia,,
introduced it in January preceding. Amendments to it had been
recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary, and by the se
lect, committee of thirteen. He, now offered a substitute for the,
original! bill, After yarious amendments had been, offered and.)
debated, the bill was finally perfected, and had its third reading,
and passed; tho, Senate on the twenty-fourth of August.
In supporting, this, bill General Cass desired it, to conform to the
act of 1793, upon the same subject, and that the changes which:
experience had shown to be necessary, should be introduced by,
way of amendnient to the law of 1793. He took the following
positions,: First. — The master's right to arrest his fugitive slave wberever
he may find him.
Second. — Hi& duty to, carry him before a magistrate in the State
where he is arrested, there to adjust the claim.
, Third.— The magistrate's duty to examine the claim, and to de
cide upon it like other examining magistrates, without a jury, and
then to commit him to the custody of the mastei*.
Fourth. — The right of the master then to remove the slave to
his residence. ^
The last of the compromise measures passed the Senate on the
sixteenth of September. , It was tbe bill abolishing the slave-trade
in the District of Columbia.. In all these bills the House of Rep
resentatives concurred, and they received the Executive approval.
The debates upon these bills were, at times, very stormy, and
their fate doubtful. General Cass was often referred to by both
parties. The ultras endeavored to upset his arguments and de
molish his doctrines. Anxious to allay the exciting elements that
appeared, in- all directions, and avert the danger of dissolution,
toward whiGh he believed the country rapidly progressing,' he was
constantly at his post inthe Senate throughout the entire time. His
policy was to soften, if possible, the asperities of exciting topics
and manfully battle for the Constitution and the Union, leaving
it for time and truth to vindicate the correctness of his doctrines,

OF LEWIS CASS;
and the integrity of his purposes. If his course did not meet
with the approval, of all, it at least entitled him to their respect.
He gave his views in full, and unhesitatingly, upon the fugitive
slave bill; and, that there might not thereafter be any misappre
hension of his sentiments upon slavery, in the abstract, he ad
dressed the Senate upon that point also. Neither did he withhold
comment upon the danger: of disunion, and its inevitable calami
ties. And as some of the members, from the south had intimated,
that, in case of dissolution,, their fellow-citizens would thereafter!
no longer be "hewers of wood and drawers of water" to the
north, he showed the futility of such insane hopes. That he may
be rightly understood by our readers on these points, we extract,
a portion of his remarks :
" The provision in the Constitution respecting the recapture of
slaves has been too often and grossly violated' and, neglected.
Every dictate of justice requires a law more efficient on that sub
ject, and more efficiently executed. Such a law, with proper
provisions, shall not want my vote. And this, Wilmot proviso,
unnecessary and unconstitutional as it is, has justly given great
offense to the south. I trust and believe its days, are numbered.
But allow me to say, sir, tbat when southern gentlemen attribute
the interference of tbe north with the subject of slavery to any
serious calculation about the balance of political power or of mar
terial interest, they are in a great error. It originates in otber
feelings. The spirit of inquiry is one of the marked characteris
tics of the age in which we live. It penetrates everywhere ; there
is nothing concealed from its research. Even the highest and
holiest things are assailed. Why, sir, the, rights of property in
the south are attacked ; and so they are in the north. There are
men who contend that slaves should not be held in bondage, and
there are men who contend, with equal pertinacity, that no one
should hold land, but that all things should be in common. The
marriage condition is assailed ; the domestic relations are assailed;
the being and the attributes of God are assailed,; and strenuous
efforts are making to overrun the whole constitution of • society.
'Error, of opinion,' said Mr. Jefferson, 'may be tolerated where
reason is left free to combat it.' Memorable words, and as true
as they are wise. If the schoolmaster is abroad, he takes with bim
a great many unsound opinions, which, however, can only become
dangerous by being met with resistance instead of argument.

700 LIFE AND TIMES
I have said, sir, that the southern gentlemen have an easy task
before them. They feel their wrongs and express their feeling
in no measured terms, and they are supported and applauded
by a constituency which feels as they do. But moderate men in
the north and west are placed in very different circumstances.
They are endeavoring to check the excitement ; they are throwing
themselves into the breach ; and yet their condition is not at all
appreciated- here, nor are they spared in the general denunciations
that are used. We hear this every day, sir, and we are becoming
very impatient. Why, sir, the honorable senator from Virginia,
[Mr. Mason,] whom this whole Senate holds in the highest respect,
and deservedly so, upoh the introduction of a bill providing a
more efficient mode of recapturing fugitive slaves, said, and re
peated, I believe, many times, that it would do no good ; that he
knew it would do no good. What he said I thought might be
translated. into this: Yon are all a set of knaves at the north and
west, and, legislate as we may, the law will be disregarded, and
the slaves retained. This was not his language, and I am sure it
was not his idea, and it is perhaps an extreme conclusion from
what he said ; , but there is still too much foundation for complaint
at such intimations. They do no good."
Mr. Mason, (interposing.) Certainly nothing was further from
me than intimating tbe idea that they were a parcel of knaves at
the north ; but they were disloyal to that provision in the Consti
tution. Their legislation shows it; and because of that disloyalty
I was afraid that no such law could be executed there.
Mr. Cass resumed. " I said tbat my words were too strong.
Still, sir, I will add that these continued reproaches, denunciations,
I may say, will necessarily provoke recrimination, and may go far
toward converting a just cause into an unjust one. Why, sir, it is
only a day or two since one of the most accomplished members of
this body told us, in substance, that if a dissolution of the Union
should take place, the northern portion, containing twelve millions
of people of the Anglo-Saxon race, and embracing regions among
tbe most fertile on the face of the globe, would be utterly destroyed;
that their cities would become like Tadmor, their bills like Gilboa,
their fields like the Campagna, and themselves without prosperity,
without hope ; that grass would grow in their high places, and
that they would become like modern Tyre, while the southern cities
would become like ancient Tyre, the entrepots of the commerce

OF LEWIS CASS. 701
of the world; All this grates harshly upon my ear. I do not
want any man to tell me what this Union would lose, north or
south, by a dissolution. It is enough for me to know that, if not
fatal to botb, it would check the prosperity of botb, and lead to
consequences which no wise man can contemplate without dismay.
I am an American, with the most kindly feelings to every portion
of our beloved country. Its strength is in its union ; its prosper
ity in its union ; its hopes in its union. I do not want any one to
come here to tell me tbe evils the north would suffer from a disso
lution, or the south would suffer from a dissolution. I need no
lesson upon that subject. If any one can explain to me what ad
vantage either section would gain by a separation, I might survey
such a prospect with less apprehension than I now do. Southern
gentlemen will allow me to say, and I know they will appreciate
the feelings with which I say it, for I have given proof of my desire
to do them justice by tbe sacrifice of my political position, that they
place the defense of slavery upon considerations which do not suit
the Spirit of the age. There is no use in going back to the days
ofthe patriarchs, and tracing the history and condition of slavery
from that time to our own day, and proving its compatibility with
the word of God and the wants of man. . Tbey have a much bet
ter foundation for their rights to rest upon than any isuch process.
Slavery is an existing institution in the south, for which no living
man is responsible; it is interwoven into the very texture of
society. Between three and four millions of people, differing in
race and color from the predominant caste, are held in bondage.
I: have seen a good deal of slavery, and I .believe its evils are
much magnified, and that tbe slaves generally in our southern
States are treated With as much kindness and consideration as are
compatible with this relative condition of bond and free, and cer
tainly as well as they would be treated in the north, if we had
slaves there. I do not see, myself, now such a mass of human
beings can be set free. Emancipation, unless the work, I may
say, of ages, would equally destroy the whites and tbe blacks.
God, in his providence, may bring it about. I do not see that men
can. It is a question which cqncerns the southern States alone.
They have every motive to deal with it. justly and wisely, and
every interference from abroad but adds to the difficulty of the
position, and creates a natural reaction m every southern mind.
Unfortunately, sir, every man who does not believe that Blavery

702 LIFE AND TIMES
is the best condition of human society, and tbat a community
never prospered as it might do without it, is too apt to be
considered in the south as a northern fanatic, regardless alike of
their rights and of the compromises of the Constitution.
" Now, sir, I do not believe this, and no consideration on earth
can' induce me to say so. I believe that slavery is a great misfor
tune for any country ; but the existing institution I have neither
the power nor the will to touch. On the other hand, every man
in the north who does not believe it to be his duty to enter into a
crusade against the south, and to cover the country with blood
and conflagration to abolish slavery, is considered by a large por
tion of his fellow-citizens as a dough-face — that is fhe cant term~—
sold by his hopes or fears to the south. Doughfaces, indeed!
Which requires greater moral courage, to keep foremost among
the forenfost in times of excitement, and to minister to the popular
feeling where we live, or to endeavor to moderate it, to hold back,
to survey the whole subject coolly and impartially, and to restore
harmony to a distracted country? The former swim with the
current, tbe latter against it ; and it needs little knowledge of
man to know which is the doughface, if I may use tbat opprobri
ous term. Mirabeau told the French Convention, long-since, that
names were itbings. They are so, and many a good cause has
been lost because it had a bad name. And the condition I have
depicted, is that which is occupied by every man who avoids ex
tremes in periods of great excitement, whether that excitement. is
moral, social, political, or religious. History is full of the most
impressive lessons on this subject. While- the excitement con
tinues, you may as well say to the whirlwind, stop, and expect to
be obeyed, as to endeavor to check its progress till time and reason
come to your aid.
Where all this is to end, I am not presumptuous enough to try
to foretell. Hard thoughts are followed by hard words, > and if
these are not followed by hard blows, it will be owing more to the
mercy of God than to the wisdom or moderation of man. I will
merely remark, in conclusion, that the senator from Alabama,
[Mr. Clemens,] bas alluded to a peaceable dissolution of theUnion.
He will pardon me for saying, that I hope no one will delude bim-
self with any such expectation. If it does not bring disappoint
ment, the history of the .world has been written to no purpose: In
political convulsions, like that which would attend the breaking up

OF LEWIS CASS. 703
of this Confederacy, the appeal from reason to force is as sure to
follow, as the night succeeds the day. May He who guided our
fathers in times of peril, direct us in the paths of peace and
safety ! "
Mr. Clay. — I thank the honorable senator from Michigan for the
few remarks wbicb he has just addressed to the Senate; and I beg
leave to say, sir, that I have not a particle of doubt that the
speech, the short, and to me, grateful speech, that he made the
other day, was perfectly spontaneous and unpremeditated. I do
not know when I have heard from any senator the utterance of
sentiments with more pleasure, than I did those from the honora
ble senator from Michigan on the occasion to which I allude.
And, sir, allow me to say, that the language in which the gentle
man has just closed his short address to the Senate, that it is
"nltraism" of which this country, at this moment, stands in so
much danger, is founded, I lament to say, too much in truth.
General Cass conscientiously discharged his duty throughout
this entire session : he was then content with bis labor, and at
no moment since has he regretted his votes or his public conduct.
The compromise measures having been consummated by Con
gress, a disposition was manifested, by several of tbe prominent
members, to' build thereupon a new party organization, under the
cognomen of the Union Paett. During this stormy period,
statesmen and party leaders who had for years been at the anti
podes of each other, in political movements, had co-operated in
legislation. Senators and members of thte House of Representa
tives, both of the Whig and Democratic parties, united in a
moment of peril to carry out measures, just in themselves, and,
as they believed, essential to the salvation of the country. Gen
eral Cass was one of the number to add his gigantic efforts in
behalf of the integrity and perpetuity of the Constitution. This
common object accomplished, it was evident to him that each of
these parties should be left free to pursue its future course unem-
D*rassed by any new scheme of mutual co-operation. He had
»livea a Democrat during his days that were passed, and he
'meant* to live a Democrat during his days, however few, that
were to come, believing that the duration of this government
iB closely interwoven with the duration of that party. He, there
fore, declined the overture, and discountenanced the project.
General Cass, for his course in the Senate during this period,

704 LIFE AND TIMES
was honored with many flattering testimonials of respect by his
fellow-citizens in various parts of the country. Among others,
the Democracy of Baltimore, by the hand of Francis Gallagher,
presented him with a cane cut from a hickory tree at the Hermit
age, as a testimonial of their high appreciation of his military and
civil services, through a long life of devotion to the best interests
of tbe country. The presentation took place at tbe Exchange
Hotel in Baltimore, September thirteenth, 1850, in the presence
of the immense assemblage wbicb had gathered together to wel
come him to the Monumental City.
During tbe interval of the Senate in 1851, General Cass was
waited upon at bis residence in Detroit, by Mr. G. B. Post, of
California, on the fifth of September, who, on behalf of the citizens
of tbat young and chivalrous State, made to the General a very
appropriate address, and delivered to him a magnificent ring of
California gold and manufacture. It was designed by tbe admirers
of General Cass in that State, as a token of their personal regard
for him, and an acknowledgment of bim as one of their earliest,
most devoted, and ablest friends. In accepting this signet of
esteem, General Cass made a suitable response, and in the
course of it, commenting upon the thirty-one communities, " while
independent, are yet dependent upon one another," exclaimed in
all the fervor of a patriot:
" God grant that no effort, whenever or wherever made, may
put asunder what, by tbe blessing of Providence, tbe Constitution,
formed by the wisdom and patriotism of our fathers, has joined
together ! Tbat day, if it ever comes, will come in the wrath of
God ; and I trust I shall not live to see it."
It has often been reproached to General Cass that on the final
passage of tbe fugitive slave act, he did not vote for it, and in the
cant language of the day, he is said to " have dodged it." If by
this be meant that General Cass kept out of the way, it is untrue,
for he was in his seat when tbe act passed, and would not vote
against it, on account of some action in the committee room, agd*
would not vote for it, for reasons he has more than once explained $j
in the Senate, and particularly in his speech on the Nebraska, bill,'"
February 20, 1854. The circumstances of his position clearly and
satisfactorily explain his course and redeem him from all censure.
When a fugitive slave bill was under consideration in the com
promise committee, General Cass proposed a clause, providing,

OF LEWIS CASS. 705
that when a fugitive should have been arrested and brought before
the committing magistrate, if on the examination of the case it
should be decided tbat he is a slave, it should then be tbe duty of
such magistrate to ask of such fugitive if he still persisted in bis
denial that he was a slave, to require the claimant or his agent to
give bond, without security, (for to require security of strangers
would in most cases have defeated the recovery,) in the sum of
one thousand dollars, conditioned, that on tbe arrival of such
fugitive in the alledged county of his escape, he should have a
trial by jury under tbe laws of the State, to ascertain if he were
a free man or slave. The bond was to be transmitted to the
United States District Attorney, who was required to take the
necessary ineasures in tbe matter. It was urged by some of the
southern gentlemen, in opposition to the proposition, that it was
unnecessary, because the laws of all the slave States contained
ample provision for a trial by jury for every alledged slave,
claiming to be free, and tbat such was tbe state of public opinion,
that the bar was always ready gratuitously to take up the cause
of such a claimant having any reasonable show of right on his
Bide. To this it was answered that in that case the arrangement
could do no injury in the south, and that in the existing state of
things in the north it would do great good, and would remove
much objection to the law; that the right of trial by jury was
dear to the American people, and more especially in cases of
personal liberty; that in the excited condition of the free States
it was the dictate of wisdom to render the law as little obnoxious
as possible, consistently with the preservation in their integrity of
the constitutional rights of the south, — and that this Would be
effected by the measure proposed, because no one could justly
deny that the validity of a jury trial, in the county where tbe
events occur, was just the security provided for fugitives of justice,
whether black or white. General Cass stated to the committee,
what indeed tbey already knew from his previous course, that he
was ready to make the most stringent provisions necessary, and
he voted against a trial by jury proposed to be given in the free
State where the arrest might be made, and also against a proposi
tion for allowing a writ of habeas corpus, believing that these
provisions would in practice altogether defeat the recovery of this
class of persons. And he was the earliest in the session to call
the attention of the Senate to this matter, and he uniformly
45

706 LIFE AND TIMES
advocated the justice and necessity of more efficient provisions in
relation to it. ¦;
, He also stated distinctly that with this provision of a trial by
jury, be should support the bill, but that without it he would not
A considerable majority of the committee, nearly all of them, in
deed, coincided in these views, and accepted the proposition, and
among them were Mr. Clay and General Foote, and other southern
senators, and the bill was reported to the Senate with this provi
sion in it. It will be in the recollection of members of the
committee, and especially of General Foote, for it had been stated
on the floor of the Senate, that General Cass made this declaration
to the committee of the necessity of this jury trial clause, and that
without it the bill would not receive his support.
When the bill reported by the compromise committee, with this
clause in it, was taken up, Mr. Mason, of Virginia, moved a sub
stitute omitting this clause, which was adopted, and thus the
provision deemed so important by General Cass, was iost. That
it would haye removed much of the dissatisfaction in the free
States, is now certain, and would greatly have facilitated the
execution of tbe law, and that while it rendered this act of justice
to the feelings of one portion of the Union, it would not have
worked the least injury to the rights of the other.
August 19th, 1850, the fugitive slave bill being under consid
eration in the Senate, General Cass- said:
"When this subject was before the Compromise Committee,
there was a general wish, and in that I fully concurred, that the
main features of the act of 1793, upon this subject, so far as they
were applicable, should be preserved, and that such changes as
experience has shown to be necessary to a fair and just enforce^
ment of the provisions of the Constitution for the surrender of
fugitive slaves, should be introduced by way of amendment. The
law was approved by Washington, and has now been in force for
sixty years, and lays down, among others, four general principles,
to which I am prepared to adhere :
" 1. The right of the master to arrest his fugitive slave where-
ever he may find him.
"2. His duty to carry bim before a magistrate in the State
where he is arrested, that tbe claim may be adjudged by him.
" 3. The duty of the magistrate to examine the claim, and to

, OF LEWIS CASS. 707
decide it, like other examining magistrates, without a jury, and
then to commit him to the custody of the master.
,,^i. The right of the master then to remove the slave to his

"At the time this law was passed, every justice of the peace
throughout the Union was required to execute the duties under it.
Since then, as we all know, the Sup'reme, Court has decided that
justices 0f the peace can not be called upon to execute the law,
and the consequence is, that they have almost everywhere refused
to do so. The master, seeking his slave, found his remedy a good
one at the time, but now very ineffectual ; and this effort is one
that imperiously requires a remedy; and this remedy I am willing
to provide, fairly and honestly, and to make such other provisions
as may be proper and necessary; but I desire for myself that the
original act shall remain upon the statute book, and that tbe
changes shown to be necessary should be made byway of amend
ment." * On the same day, Mr. Dayton, of New Jersey, proposed to annul
the bill by an amendment, which contained the following proviso:
"Provided, Tbat, if tbe fugitive slave deny that he owes ser
vices to tbe claimant under the laws of the State where he was
held, and after being duly cautioned as to the solemnity and con
sequence of an oath, shall swear to* the same, the commissioner or
judge shall forthwith summon a jury of twelve men to try the
right of the claimant, who shall be sworn to try the cause accord
ing to the evidence, and the commissioner or judge shall preside
at the trial, and determine the competency of the proof."
This proviso, if incorporated into tbe bill, would have been as
effectual a denial of justice to the owners of fugitive slaves as a
direct repeal of all laws upon the subject, and a refusal to pass
others. 'The amendment was rejected — yeas eleven, nays twenty-
seven. General Cass voted in tbe negative. ,
On the same day, Mr. Winthrop, of Massachusetts, proposed to
f. amend the bill by adding thereto the following proviso : ,
''\ "Provided, however, that no certificate of any commissioner, as
herein provided for, shall be an answer to a writ of habeas corpus,
issued by any judge of any State or United States court who may
he authorized by law to issue the said writ in other cases ; but it
shall be the duty of the commissioner, or other officer who may
give any certificate in the summary manner provided for in this

708 LIFE AND TIMES
bill, to inform, the party claimed as a fugitive of his right to
Baid writ of habeas corpus; and in case said supposed fugitive
shall demand said writ, the forms, proceedings, and evidence shall
be according to the law of the place, as in other cases where said
writ is issued."
This proviso, securing to the fugitive slave the right of the
habeas corpus, if made a part of the bill, would as effectually have
destroyed the bill and defeated the objects designed to be attained
by its passage, as would the incorporation of the right of trial by
jury to the fugitive in the State where arrested. This amendment,
also, was rejected, General Cass voting in the negative.

OF LEWIS CASS. 709

CHAPTER XLI.
Opposition to the Compromise Measures — California — Public Meeting ,in [New York — General [Cass
Present— What he said to the People— How they Received uV-Ile^lected Senator for Six Years.
The compromise measures were intended as a finality; and it
was hoped that the disturbing elements growing out of the subject
of slavery were*put to rest. In looking forward into the future,
statesmen beheld abolitionists trying to fan tbe embers of discord
—and, if need be — disunion; but they did not anticipate opposi
tion in any other quarter. They knew that the people of the north
were prone to regard this domestic institution of the south with
disfavor; and tbat, if they were called upon to vote directly upon
the question in the abstract, they would negative its existence with
, extraordinary unanimity.
California was a free State; — the inhabitants of the new Terri
tories of New Mexico and Deseret would, at the proper time,
decide the question for themselves — no more slave States were to
be carved out of Texas — slavery in the District of Columbia was
tolerated, and the law of 1793, with reference to the recapture of
runaway slaves, made effectual. These, together, constituted the
equilibrium of the Union: upon this altar were offered all opinions
to appease dissension among individuals and independent sove
reignties of this widely-extended confederacy.
With all the happy expectations which such a posture of
public affairs justified, the thirty-first Congress adjourned its first
session. The members went their several ways, from the proud
capital ofa magnificent nation, and traversed the highways ofthe
country homeward to their constituencies. They who had given
their voice and heart to the holy work of preserving intact the
integrity of tbe republic, were prouder than ever of tbeir country.
With rapture, and buoyant anticipations of a long career of pros
perity and glory — unequaled in all the memories and traditions
of the past— did they descant upon whatever of commerce— of
agriculture— of manufactures — came within the range of tbeir

710 LIFE AND TIMES
observation. On the contrary, they who had fought against peace
— who had early and late proclaimed uncompromising opposition
to the patriotic recommendations of the Senate committee of thir
teen — still nursed in their bosoms tbe feelings of disappointment
and hate; and as they passed metropolis after metropolis — happy
in the avocations of business — endeavored to shut their eyes to the
fact, that this was the legitimate fruit of a Union that compromise
ushered into existence, and whose guardian this goddess ever
since had been. And when they reached their homes, delighted
were they to learn that their speeches, transmitted in advance by
the post, had produced the desired effect. Excitement, instead of
being allayed, was on tbe increase ; and discussion, instead of
being more subdued and conciliatory, was more earnest and bitter
among the people and the public presses. The compromise mea
sures, especially the fugitive slave law — as it was called — were
the constant themes of angry dispute; and what was still more'
remarkable to tbe philosopher in his closet, whilst the work of
Congress was denounced by northern ultraists as conceding too
much to the claims of their southern brethren, it was at the same
time rejected by the southern secessionists as worthless. Extremes
again met. This state of the public feeling was called by some,
fanaticism ; by others, revenge ; and by all, as indicative of a
determination to sunder, if practicable, the bond of union.
Citizens in many of the larger marts of trade viewed this atti
tude of the abolitionists and secessionists with alarm. The
emporium of the empire State could ill afford to lose the advan
tages derived from all parts of tbe confederacy, and which its
inhabitants expected to lose, in great part, if civil dissension and
dismemberment ensued. To those men who bad been foremost
in the compromise legislation of Congress, they felt grateful, and
as the northern members of both Houses were on their way home-
Ward, tendered them a public reception.
General Cass was among this number. He had labored, in un
wavering obedience to the Constitution, in and out of Congress;
and in November, 1850, at his public reception by the citizens
of the city of New Tork, he addressed them upon the exciting
topics that now rocked the Union of these States from center
to circumference.
Adverting to the progress of the compromise measures through
Congress,1 the sacrifices made by all to ensure their adoption, the

OF LEWIS CASS. 711
s'etting aside political differences to accomplish one great object,
he remarked :
"And where, in tbe long annals of mankind, do we find a people
bo highly favored as we are at this moment, when we seem to be
struck with judicial blindness — almost ready, I may say, in the
language of scripture, to rush upon the thick bosses of Jehovah's
•buckler ? The suri never shone upon a country as free and so
prosperous as this, where human freedom finds less of oppression,
the human intellect less restraint, or human industry less oppo
sition. And what overpowering object is before us Which would
justify the sacrifice of all these blessings ? Why is one section
of the country arrayed against another, and why are men found
in it who are both ready to sever our constitutional ties by the
sword, and to commit the future of this great republic to those
dissensions whose consequences no man can foresee ? Is there any
advantage which disunion would make greater? Any security
for the present, or hope for the future, which would be increased
by separation ? None, none. I repeat, then, whence this agita*
tion, this alarm, these excited feelings, these hard thoughts, which
are spoken in hard wOrds, and are fast leading to bard deeds ?
Why is it that tbe series of measures adopted in tbe last session
of Congress, reasonable and equitable under the circumstances,
and approved by a large majority of the community, why is it
that these have failed to calm the excitement, and restore har
mony and tranquillity to tbe country? These various acts
formed part of one plan of compromise, and should be regarded
as pledging tbe faith of every portion of the country to their faith
ful observance, and if they are so in spirit and truth, we may-
speedily look forward to that gOod old fraternal feeling which
brought us together, and which alone can keep us together. But,
unfortunately, the public mind in the north has been much
excited by the passage of one of those laws: that for carrying into
effect the provisions of the Constitution on the subject of fugitive
slaves, and it has been misquoted and misrepresented with such a
MdneSs of perversion, unknown before in our political controvert
sies, that its repeal is loudly called for in one portion of the
country, and feared, if not anticipated, in another. For myself, I
believe the repeal of that law would dissolve this confederation,
as certainly as the morrow's sun will rise upon it. I believe the
• SOnth would consider it a dereliction of constitutional duty, which

712 LIFE AND TIMES
would leave inoperative ,a great constitutional obligation, and a
gross violation of political faith, which would destroy all confi
dence for the future, and that they would seek their remedy by
assuming an independent station among the nations of the earthy
and believing this, I, for one, shall oppose its repeal.
" I am among those who acknowledge the stability of the con
stitutional obligation to surrender fugitives from justice, and
fugitives from labor. I am among those who believe .that the
Constitution is a law high enough for American citizens, in the
regulation of their civil rights and duties, subject to the exposition
of the proper tribunals., And I am satisfied that the act of 1793,
on the subject of fugitive slaves, as I have already taken occasion
to say in the Senate, had become inefficient, and almost useless,
and principally from the adverse action of the State legislatures.
And nothing could more strikingly demonstrate the truth of this
proposition, than the fact stated by Mr. Webster, and confirmed
by Mr. Quincy, that in the State of Massachusetts, where the
opposition to . the present law has been most general and violent,
no fugitive slave has ever been surrendered since the adoption of
the Constitution. It is difficult to deal with sueh a state of things,
and at the same time preserve our respect for those who seek to
make political capital out of this agitation, so utterly unsuited to the
occasion. And what renders this course the more extraordinary, is
the fact that it has never been shown, so far as I know, that one
single person, not a slave, has ever been surrendered anywhere
under the Constitution. And yet, to read the violent speeches
and essays upon this subject, one might suppose that the sending
of free persons into bondage was an every-day occurrence, which
called for universal indignation. , The recent disclosures which
have been made since the new law went into effect, and which
show a fugitive slave population in the non-slaveholding States,
far beyond what any one had anticipated, is the best commentary
upon tbe inefficiency of the former statutory provisions, and the
best justification for the complaints of the south. What, then, my
fellow-citizens, do we want ? We want the restoration of harmony
and tranquillity, to every. portion, however scattered, of this great
republic, stretching from the shores that look upon Europe to those
which look upon the islands and continent of Asia. All want the
peaceful enjoyment of our priceless institutions, and especially so
do we who are approaching our three score years and ten, who

OF LEWIS CASS. , 713
have passed our lives happily under this government, and who
desire to cast off the fearful apprehension that, long as we have
lived, we may yet outlive tbe Constitution of our country. Am
erican citizens from the cradle, in God's good time, we hope to
descend as American citizens to the grave, with the conviction
tkat after the religion of His Son, we leave to our children the
richest heritage that ever descended to a people. We want no
more discord, excitement, agitation, but that the legislation, the
business, the intercourse of tbe country, should go on as in our
former days of true union, with all the prosperity which belongs
to such a state of things. No more , crusades against the, south,
no more public assemblies to denounce and vilify its people and
its institutions, no more traveling missionaries to excite us against
©ne another, and especially no more foreign traveling missionaries
who, have at home objects of misery quite enough to engage all
their philanthropy, and exhaust all their charity, without coming
here to instruct us how to deal with a great question of consti
tutional duty.
"We want the ministers of religion to preach the gospel of the
meek and lowly Jesus, and not to convert their pulpits into polit
ical tribunes, to inculcate the doctrine utterly inconsistent with
the existence of social order, tbat every man has the right to
resist the laws of his country, when they differ from a standard
he chooses to establish for himself, and of whose extent and obli
gations be must be tbe judge. This is; not the example which was
leftus by our Divine Master and his apostles. And who can
point to a single advantage which has resulted from all this vio
lence, much, indeed, of it, virulence ? Has the prospect of eman
cipation in a single State been advanced by it? No, no. By a
natural spirit of re-actiop — a spirit which prompts all of us to
resist foreign interference, the institution of slavery is more firmly
established in all the slaveholding States than it was thirty years
ago. In the operations of an excited zeal, the fearful, consequences
involved in the question of emancipating three and a half millions
#f human beings, of a different race, habits, color —in everything,
indeed,, that constitutes human identity, living in the midst of an
other and superior caste, are utterly disregarded, and men rashly
deal with such a subject as they would deal with a question of
common domestic economy. Well ii is for the south that this
whole matter belongs -to themselves. There it can only be left,

714 LIFE AND TIMES
and there the Constitution has left it. If there are any of us in
>the-non-slaveholding States so afflicted with a superabundant
philanthropy that we can not be easy without philanthropic action,
if we will but stand in our own doors, we can look around and
see objects enough for our charitable exertion, without expanding
and expending this sympathetic feeling where the cost to us is as
little as the advantage to others. It is a cheap way to be chari
table, looking at its results upon the peace of the country. We
have just been told, in a public meeting at Worcester, by a
modest- English missionary, who has come over here to enlighten
our ignorance, and stimulate our virtuous indignation, that the
'idea of abolition had taken root, and could no more be put
down than the waves of the broad Atlantic could be rolled back,
&c.' And this is precisely what the south fears, and what a
large portion of the south believes, and what increases the fearful
difficulty of their position, and of ours. They see in all these
movements an eternal attack upon the institutions of independent
States, and they foresee the time when the barriers of the Consti
tution will be broken down, and this object pursued till accom
plished or defeated by some terrible crisis. The south is commit
ting no aggression upon the north. They do not claim the right
to interfere in our domestic relations, and to mould them to their
own pleasure instead of ours. I firmly believe that a great major
ity of the southern people would be fully satisfied with the com
promise measures of the last session of Congress, if these are
faithfully adhered tb, and this perpetual warfare upon them and
their institutions terminated. They acknowledge the institutions
ofthe Constitution, and are willing to abide by them. Are we
willing to meet them in this patriotic duty ? I trust we are, fellow-
citizens ; I feel sure we are. But we have passed the season of
empty professions, and need action, vigorous, united, constitutional
action. We 'have approached the brink of destruction, and if we
do not speedily retrace our steps we shall be precipitated into the
abyss. These times and this question are above party. It is not
a difference of opinion respecting modes of administration which
divides us, but it involves the very existence of the confederation.
Wherever, or whenever, or however this question comes up, let us
forget that we are party politicians, and remember only that we
are Americans. Let us follow the example of the venerable
Kentucky statesman, doing battle for his* country towards the

* >

OF LEWIS CASS. 715
close of a long and illustrious life, With all the intellect and energy
of his youth, and forgetting his party associations in the higher
party of the Constitution. Let us discountenance all further
'agitation of this whole subject. Let us rest upon the compromise,
firmly and honestly. Let us satisfy the people of the south,that
the Constitution is a law which is high enough for patriotic Am
ericans, and that for us and our households, we will bold by our
obligations. If we do this, all will be well. If we do not, we
shall add another to the long list of nations, unworthy of the
blessings acquired for them by preceding generations, and inca
pable of maintaining them, but none as signally as we."
This speech was received with the highest marks of approbation
by a thronged and intelligent auditory; and the words of admo
nition which he thus feelingly uttered should be borne in mind by
every peace-loving and law-abiding man, no matter what may be,
or what may have been, his political faith.
On the third of March, 1851, his senatorial term again expired.
The people of Michigan, in anticipation of this event, elected
members to their legislature, in the fall of 1850, who were favor
able to his re-election. They were proud of their representative
in the Senate of the United States. Tbeir sentiments, on all the
prominent measures that occupied the public mind, bad been truly
¦represented, and they wished General Cass to continue in bis lofty
position. He, in truth, was quite indifferent about it. If he con
sulted his own personal inclination, he much preferred the quie
tude of retirement. He was urged, however, by distinguished
politicians, at home and abroad, to prolong his senatorial career.
Yielding to tbeir solicitations, he consented to do so; and the
result was, that the legislature of Michigan, on the first day of its
session in tbe winter of 1851, re-elected him senator for the term
of six years from the fourth of March following. This high trust
of his fellow-citizens, again thus renewed, he cheerfully accepted,
and is now discharging its duties with his accustomed ability, and
to the satisfaction of intelligent constituents.
During the time General Cass has been in the Senate, he has
often been invited to deliver addresses before literary societies,
agricultural associations, and other public bodies, in different parts
of the country; and frequently he has gratified the request of his
admirers. Always attentive to bis public duties, yet he has so
economized his time as to find an opportunity for these literary

716 LIFE AND TIMES
labors. A perusal of these efforts of an active mind would show
the reader how much of vigor and freshness it continues to impart
to them. Well versed in the literature and history of the present
and past ages, he adds to this, in all his writings, the observations
of a long experience in the affairs of mankind, and a more inti
mate knowledge than a stranger to him would suppose, of ajl the
practical arts and sciences in daily use among the avocations of
his fellow-citizens. These attainments be has acquired by con
stantly employing his time and thoughts,' either in study, reading,
or observation. He has not listlessly passed away his time.

07 lewis' CASS. 717

CHAPTER XLH.
General Cass again at his Post— Preparations for another Presidential Contest— General Cass a Candi-
date— His Friends— The Nominating Canvass— Baltimore Convention— The Result— The Cuban
, ^ , Question — The Views of General Cass. v
General Cass resumed his seat in the Senate on the first Mon
day of December, 1 851, under his renewed appointment. He was
promptly at his post at the commencement of the session. Such
may be said of him at every session. He answers at the first roll-
call, and' remains uniformly, without reference to weather or cli
mate, till the session is closed. It has been his remarkable good
fortune rarely to be detained at his rooms by illness. This unin
terrupted health is not, however, the work of chance. He takes
care of it. He is a man of correct deportment and regular habits.
The sensation of drunkenness he never experienced; and as for
gluttony or debauchery, no person has publicly laid these vices
at his door, or had cause for so doing. He is a plain man — unos
tentatious in appearance and habits, but an adherent to the ordi
nary rules of well-bred society.
When this session of Congress opened, it was apparent that no
very important measures would engage its attention. The admin
istration had none to bring forward that would excite the public
mind. The attention ofthe country was less upon Congress than
upon the politicians outside ofthe capital. Another Presidential
canvass was fast approaching, and the two leading political parties
were initiating movements preparatory to it. As usual among
the Democracy, the names of several eminent statesmen were
mentioned for the Presidential candidate in 1852.
District and State conventions were held in various localities,
and delegates appointed. The name of General Cass was on the
tongues of his old admirers, and district after district, State after
State declared for him, insomuch, that it became evident to the
unprejudiced that his friends would have a controlling influence
in the deliberations of the convention.
The public presses, of all preferences, conducted the canvass for

718 LIFE AND TIMES
the election of delegates with fairness. As the day for the assem
bling of the convention drew near, most, if not all, of the distin
guished men who were spoken of for the first office in the world,
were interrogated by Mr. Scott, of Richmond, Virginia, relative
to the slavery question. General Cass gave a candid and prompt
reply — precisely such a reply, we presume, as was expected by his
interrogator. It was a mere rehearsal, of course, of what he had
said a hundred times before, both publicly and privately. Having
had no motive for a concealment of his views, at any time since
he came before the public, it is not extravagant to insist that
everybody who had taken interest enough to inquire was fully
acquainted with them.
It has been customary, for many years, for leading men in the
several State delegations to compare notes in Washington, just
prior to the holding of the national nominating conventions. This
rery proper custom was observed in 1852, with this difference —
that they came there in larger numbers. The federal capital was
nnprecedentedly full of active and scheming delegates the last
week in May. They were there without respect to seniority, oppo
sition, or age, from all parts. That was not all. An immense
lobby came also. The city of Washington, for four days, at least,
was one vast caucus. As General Cass was evidently ahead in
this ra.ce for the nomination-, the friends of the weaker candidates
naturally were inclined to form combinations against him. His
friends, however, gallantly contested the point with good humor,
and tbe caucus adjourned to the neighboring city of Baltimore —
the friends ofthe several candidates vieing with each other in this
untiring and energetic contest.
The convention assembled at Market Hall on the first day of
June, and organized by the appointment of John W. Davis, of
Indiana, as president. Mr. Davis having previously served one
term as speaker of the House of Representatives, was possessed of
all the parliamentary experience that was necessary for the orderly
conduct of the convention. Among the members of the conven
tion were, several of the most distinguished men in the Democrat!©
party. The primary conventions had been, in this regard, pecu
liarly fortunate.
Several days were consumed in deciding upon contested seats.-
A variety of resolutions were offered for the consideration of the
convention, and all of which, so far as the slavery question was

OF LEWIS CASS. 719
concerned, invoked the delegates to regard the compromise meas
ures of 1850 as a finality. In the meantime, an intense excitement
prevailed on the question of nominees. In many States, several
delegates were appointed to represent the same district. There
were in attendance about five hundred persons to cast the two
hundred and ninety votes— the legitimate number of votes entitled
to be cast in tbe convention.
The balloting for a candidate for President commenced on tbe
third day of the session, and ran into the fifth day ere a result was
reached. Forty-nine times each State was called for its vote ;
each ballot of this unparalleled series, and the vote of each State,
was watched with the most eager curiosity, it is within the limits of
truth to say, by an audience of five thousand persons. General
Cass and one of his competitors in the convention of 1848, Mr.
Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, for a great number of ballots were
the highest, General Cass leading all. Then, for a series of bal
lots, Mr. Douglass, bf Illinois, crowded hard upon General Cass,
but did not come up even, and soon fell back, the General still
holding the lead with an excellent spirit. When tbe break oc
curred in Mr. Douglass' forces and his vote fell, Gpneral Cass rose
suddenly to over one hundred votes, having fallen a few moments
before to the low number — low for him — of twenty-five. This
sudden, change of front disconcerted the opposition; and as it was
toward the close of tbe day on Friday, a motion to adjourn until
the next morning, after one unsuccessful attempt, was carried.
Upon tbe assembling of, tbe delegates the next morning, the
convention again proceeded with the ballotings. The friends of
General Cass still clung with unyielding tenacity to their favorite,
and his vote reached a higher number than at any time before.
His leading competitor this morning — the fifth and last-day ofthe
session — was Governor Marcy, of New Tork. This distinguished
statesman outstripped all the other competitors of the General, he
having received, on one ballot, ninety-eight votes.
Thirty-four ballots bad been now taken, and the delegates in all
parts of the hall began to suggest an adjournment sine die, witi>
out making a nomination. They grew weary of their labors. It
was sufficiently manifest to every observer, that no name had yet
been brought forward strong enough to overthrow General Cass.
There was only one way to beat him, and that was to rescind the
two-third rule, and by a combination upon one of his distinguished

720 LIFE AND TIMES
competitors, produce a result by a majority vote. This plan, if
seriously meditated, was discovered to be impracticable, because
of the impossibility of union. As it was, without reference to
the question whether a union could be formed, the friends of Gen
eral Cass comprised more than one third of the convention. It
was evident, therefore, to all, that no person could get the requi
site two third number, unless they gave way.
Virginia had uniformly voted for Mr. Buchanan, until the
morning of the fifth day, when she cast her vote for Daniel S.
Dickinson, of New York. Mr. Dickinson immediately declined.
this honorable manifestation of regard, and the delegation from
this State retired from the hall of the convention for consultation.
Upon their return, upon the call ofthe thirty-fifth ballot, they cast
the vote ofthe State for Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire. It
created a profound sensation. It was a new name in that body;
he was favorably known to tbe members ; he was of the pure
-Democratic stock, and foremost among the first in his own State.
He had filled several important official positions in the councils of
his own State and of the nation ; he had served with gallantry on
the bloody fields of Mexico, at the head of his brigade, in tbe
prime of life, and was competent to discharge the duties of the
Presidency. i The convention proceeded more rapidly with several successive
banots, and on the forty-ninth he was declared the nominee, amid
the most tumultuous acclamation. The roar of the cannon pro
claimed the result to the people, and the lightning disseminated
the intelligence to the four quarters of the Union.
General Cass, throughout this severe and protracted trial, re
mained at his quarters in the city of Washington. He was
grateful for the constancy of his friends, and was aware of what
would be the result ofthe labors ofthe convention ere they reached
it ; he was content, and upon the adjournment of Congress advo
cated the Democratic ticket. He called upon his fellow-citizens to
give it an enthusiastic support ; and Michigan stood' shoulder to
shoulder with the Democracy of the nation ; her electoral vote
was given to Pierce and King.
The Cuba question had been prominent in the canvass, and it
had more or less to do in the election of the members of the nomi
nating convention. General Cass bad been pronounced an " old
fogy," in certain quarters, because of his. disinclination to embark

OF LEWIS CASS. 721
in the wild projects of a class of his fellow-citizens, called Filli-
bmters. They did not consider bim fast enough for their purposes.
He was in favor of tbe annexation of the queen island of the West
Indies to the United States, but not vi et armis ; he was against
the violation of the law or courtesy of nations ; he viewed with
disfavor any violation of treaties, solemnly made between his own
government and Spain ; he believed, and still believes, that this
lovely isle should not be torn, by American hands, from its parent
government. Spain must either part with it for a consideration,
or it will, in due course of time, of its own accord, drop into the
lap of the American Union.
The subject came before tbe Senate at tbe ensuing session of
Congress. There evidently was a growing restlessness among
some portions of the people.. Rumors of expeditions to take pos
session of the island, and establish a new government, succeeded
each other day after day ; the attention of our national legislature
was jealled to it, and it- became necessary for them to speak out,
and take their position before the world.
. General Cass would have been strangely inconsistent if he bad
declined tbe call. With his sentiments matured upon this subject,
• he was ready to do so. On the eighteenth of January, 1853, the
Senate proceeded to consider the joint resolutions declaratory of
the views of tbe United States respecting colonization on tbe
North American continent by European powers, and respecting
the Island of Cuba. The resolutions were worded as follows :
"Be it resolved, dec, That the United States do hereby declare
that ' the American continents, by the free and independent con.
dition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not
to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any Euro
pean power.' And while ' existing rights should be. respected,'
and will be by the United States, they owe it to their own ' safety
and interests' to, announce, as tbey now do, ' that no future Euro
pean colony or dominion shall, with their consent, be planted or
established on any part of the North American continent.' And
sjbauld the attempt be made, they thus deliberately declare that it
will be viewed as an act originating in motives regardless of tbeir
interests and their safety, and which will leave them free to adopt
such measures as an independent nation may -justly, adopt in
, defense of its rights and its honor. -
46

722 LIFE AND TIMES
"And be it further resolved, Tfiat while the United States dis
claim any designs upon the Island of Cuba inconsistent with the
laws of nations and their duties to Spain, they consider it due to
the vast importance ofthe subject, to make known, in this solemn
manner, that they should view all efforts on the part of any other
power to procure possession, whether peaceably or forcibly, of that
island, which, as a naval or riiilitary' position, must, under circum
stances easy to be foreseen, become dangerous to their southern
coast, to the Gulf of Mexico, and to the mouth of the Mississippi,
as unfriendly acts, directed against them, to be resisted by all the
means in their power."
The question pending was on tbe following amendment offered
by Mr. Hale :
"And be it further resolved, That while the United Sta(tes, in
like manner, disclaim any designs upon Canada, inconsistent with
the laws, of nations, and with- their duties to Great Britain, they
consider it due to the vast importance of the subject to make
known, in this most solemn manner, that they should view all
efforts on the part of any other power to procure possession, either
peaceably or forcibly, of that proyince, (which, as a naval or mil
itary position must, under circumstances easy to be foreseen,
become dangerous to their northern boundary, and to the lakes,)
as unfriendly acts directed against them, to be resisted by all the
means in their power."
General Cass, without reserve, expressed his viewB relative to
the project of reconverting the American continent info Euro
pean colonies, and likewise respecting the position it was our duty
to assume and maintain. With reference to the second resolution,
looking to the present and future of the Island of Cuba, he said :
"I desire the possession of Cuba, earnestly desire it, whenever
we can justly obtain it, and the sooner that time comes the better;
for then will be finally settled one of the most delicate questions
— the most delicate, perhaps, in our foreign policy, always liable
to embarrass us by grave conjectures, more easily to be foreseen
than to be guarded against. As to the means, though as I have
already said, I am prepared to advocate its purchase, even at the
most liberal price, still I should prefer its acquisition by the action
of the people of Cuba— -and a noble tribute it would be to our
institutions — in tbe exercise of their, power as an independent
nation, could they succeed, by any arrangement with Spain, in

OF LEWIS CASS. 723
procuring her recognition of that condition, or should they be able
and prepared to establish their right to a place in the family
of nations."
He examined the questions of right and expediency; and then
proceeded to develop his views on the most interesting topic of all,
connected with the subject matter of the resolutions. Said he:
" The Gulf of Mexico is the reservoir of that great river of the
North American continent, whose importance it is as difficult to
realize, as it is the value of the country, which must seek an outlet
to the ocean through its waters. That country is nearly equal to
all Europe in extent, embracing twenty-five degrees of latitude,
and thirty-five of longitude upon the great circles of the globe.
This vast basin extends from tbe summit of tbe Alleghany to the
summit of tbe Rocky Mountains, and its population now equals
eight millions. The man yet lives who was living when almost
the first tree fell before the woodman's stroke in this great domain;
and the man is now living who will live to see it contain one
hundred millions of people. Already the hardy western pioneer
has crossed the barrier of tbe Rocky Mountains, and the forest is
giving way before human industry upon the very shores tbat look
out upon China and Japan. The Mississippi is the great artery
of this region, which, drawing its supplies irom tbe fountains at
the north, pours them into the oceaX under a tropical sun, and
drains, in its own course, and in the course of its mighty tributa
ries—tributaries in name, but equate and rivals in fact— the most
magnificent empire which God, in his providence, has ever given
to man to reclaim and enjoy. I have myself descended that great
stream two thousand miles in a birch canoe, admiring the country
through which it passes in a state of nature, and lost in the con
templation of what tbat country is to be when subdued by human
industry. The statistics of such a region, in years to come, is a
subject too vast for calculation. Its extent, fertility, salubrity,
means of internal navigation, and tbe character of the people
who will inhabit it, baffle all efforts to estimate its productiveness,
the tribute which its industry will pay to the wants of the world,
and*he supplies which the comfort and habits of its people may
require. "During the palmy days of Napoleon, it is said that one of his
projects was to convert the Mediterranean into a French lake.
England has nearly done what defied the power and ambition of

724 LIFE AND TIMES
the great conqueror., She has almost .converted it into an Eng
lish lake, in time of war. Gibraltar commands its entrance,
Malta the channel between Sicily and Africa, and the Ionian
Islands the waters of the Levant. There were good reasons for
believing, a short time since, tbat England was seekingto obtain
a cession of tbe Island of Crete, tbe ancient kingdom of Minos,
which Would give her the port of Canea, that I found one of the
most magnificent harbors in tbe world, equally capacious and
secure. If England, in the pursuit of the same system, should
acquire similar commanding positions on the Gulf of Mexico,
that great reservoir would become a mare clausum, and no keel
would plow it, nor canvass whiten it, in time of war, but by her
permission. Now, sir, looking to the extent of our coast in that
direction; to the productions which must pass there to seek a
market; to the nature of our population, and to the effect upon
all thes^ which a permanent naval superiority would .produce —
where is the American who is rot prepared to adopt any measures
to avert such sa calamitous state of things? Who can fail to see
the nature of the predatory waviare which England would carry
on, in all times of hostilities, from her various positions which
would encircle theX^alf', from the Bahamas to Cuba and to Yuca
tan ? And who, also, can fail to see, tbf.t even in time of peace,
her many harbors woiiW become places of refuge for a certain
class of our population, anM^bat perpetual collisions would occur,
involving the peace of tbe twxcountries ?
" The Gulf of Mexico, sir, rbust be practically an American
lake, for tbe great purpose of secuiW not to exclude other nations
from its enjoyment, but to prevent any dominant power, with
foreign or remote interests, from controlling its navigation. It
becomes us to look our difficulties in the face. Nothing is gained
by blinking a great question. Prudent statesmen should survey
it, and, as far as may be, provide for it. We have, indeed, no
Mount Carmel, like tbat of Judea, nor prophet toascend it, and
to warn us against a coming storrii. But the home ofVvery citizen
is a Mount Carmel for us, whence we can survey the ajjproachino-
cloud, even when no bigger than a man's hand, which threatens
to overspread the political atmosphere, and to burst in danger
upon his country.
" So long as Cuba is held by its present possessors, neither we
nor the commercial world have anything to fear from the projects.

OF LEWIS CASS. 725
of England or of France ; for the latter country also has its
schemes of territorial and mercantile aggrandizement, as is appa
rent from the considerations I have already presented to the
Senate. Spain is not now in a condition, and in all human prob
ability never can be, seriously to annoy us, even if she had the
disposition, and we may well rely upon her want of power and
her want of will, and rest satisfied that her most precious depen
dency, the Queen ofthe Antilles, will not be hazarded by convert
ing it into a military and naval arsenal for interrupting and
seizing our commerce, and devastating our coasts. But let tbe
dominion be transferred to England or France, and where are we?
The mouth of our great river might be hermetically closed, and
the most disastrous injuries inflicted upon us. I need not pursue
these considerations farther, for he who is incredulous to their
force would not be driven from bis incredulity by any effort of
mine. " We have evidently reached one of those epochs in the career
of nations to which tbe historian of their decline and fall looks
back, in his searching investigation, into the causes of tbeir fate.
Our duties are plain, noble, indeed, and our position invites us tp
fulfill them, firmly and fearlessly. The progress and improvement
in all the great branches of human industry, and especially in
those which relate to the intercommunication of nations, and to
the benefit which each may derive from all by the interchange, as
Well of knowledge as of material products, have brought the
human family more closely into contact than at any former period,
and have opened interests, wbich, if not new, have become much
more powerful in their extent and operation, and which give some
degree of unity to the public feeling of the world. We can not
withdraw from this great association. We can not isolate our
selves from the common sentiment of the age, nor ought we, to d
so if we could. Our place is assigned to us by events almost be
yond our control, and as we fill it, worthily or unworthily, tbe
judgment of the future will pronounce us the inheritors ofthe spirit,
as we have been of the labors and sacrifices, of the men of the
Revolution, or craven descendants, false to their principles as to
our own honor. I am well aware, Mr. President, that such views
expose a man to a great deal of obloquy in this countiy. I have
experienced all that, in common with many others. But neither
the advent, nor the apprehension of it, has deterred me, at much

726 LIFE AND TIMES
earlier periods of life, and, certainly will not deter me now, when
that life is fast drawing to a close,, from the expression of an ear
nest hope, tbat the American name and fame will, be maintained
by the American people, with the brightness of true glory, undi
minished by the neglect of a single deed whicb national honor
may require we should do, or leave undone."
Since the delivery of this speech, from which these extracts are
taken, we believe no person has been puzzled to know what Gene
ral Cass' views are on the Cuba question. . It remains tobe seen
whether its future history reflects the truth of his position.

OF LEWIS CASS. 727

CHAPTER XLHI.
President Pierce — Ms Inaugural — The Nebraska-Kansas Bill— General Cass' Position, Views; and
Votes— Tho Attack of Colonel Benton— General Cass repelsit— His Speech — Extracts."
With the Presidential compaign of 1852, the bubbling elements
ofthe sensitive subject of slavery subsided, for the Baltimore
Convention having treated the compromise measures of 1850 as
a finality, tbe subject was ignored. The steadfast friends of the
Union, through good and through evil report, breathed freer and
deeper. They reposed in the happy consciousness, that the most
mighty nation on the face of the globe could now go forward in
her glorious mission of republicanism, uneriibarrassedby domestic
feuds and' intestine broils, and untrammeled by the interference
of distant governments.
' President Pierce, in his celebrated inaugural address, on the
fourth of March, 1853, distinctly and emphatically avowed his pol
icy to be, to carry out, in good faith, the publicly announced senti
ments of tbe convention that brought him before tbe people. So far
as eye could penetrate, this annunciation found a lodgement in the
hearts of a large and influential majority of his countrymen. Nor
was this approval confined to any particular States or division of
States. It permeated the Whole — tbe north and the south, the
east and the' west.
The angry and agitating discussions which resounded in the
federal halls of legislation, and' echoed from crowded cities and
lonely cabins — from the hills of New England, the prairies of
the west, and the savannahs of the south— from ocean and lake-
all had died aWay, furnishing another beautiful tribute to the,
priceless value of free institutions. Prosperity and good feeling
—quiet and fraternity among the States — were restored ; and the
honest-minded patriot looked forward to many long years qf
tranquillity. Anxiety and alarm had passed away, and peace
reigned'within the walls of the American republic.

728 LIFE AND TIMES
But old, and, in too many instances, true, is the maxim that a
certain stillness always precedes the tempest. The thirty-third
Congress came together in December, 1853. The usual standing
committees had hardly been announced in tbe Senate, ere bills for
the organization ofthe Territories of Nebraska and Kansas were no
ticed by Mr. Douglass, of Illinois — looking to the repeal of the Mis
souri compromise bill of 1820 — and thereby again opening all the
disputed points connected with the subjeet of congressional action
upon slavery in the territory ofthe United States. This was the toc
sin of alarm, and quick did its ominous sounds reverberate all over
the country. For thirty years had it reposed under the segis of
the parallel latitude of ,3(3° 30': above that, human bondage-was
never to go. The proposition now, was to demolish this barrier
to the swelling torrent of slavery, and . let it have free scope.
Good, men and true paused in wonder: the quiet were aroused
from their lethargy: the sentinels who always stood guard on the
battlements of human freedom, frantic with rage, gave the alarm;
and the anti-slavery cohorts of all the northern^ United States
again took the field, clad in the panoply of eternal opposition to
the further extension of the peculiar institution of their southern
brethren. But yesterday, tbe whole hemisphere was without a
cloud for the most far-sighted vision to rest upon : to-day, the
horizon betokened a terrific tempest. Alas for the vanity of all
human expectations! and here was a most apposite and unlooked-
for demonstration.
Since the violent storm of 1850, General Cass had ventured to
indulge the belief, that this everlasting topic of internal contro
versy had been put to restr and that, in his day, at least, it would
not again disturb the repose of his country. Many days, how
ever, had not elapsed after these new propositions had been brought
forward, before the scales dropped from his eyes, and he beheld,
at one glance, tbe length and breadth. of what was to come. He
was in favor of the organization of governments for the Territories
under consideration, but he deprecated the repeal of the time-
honored line drawn between slavery and freedom, under the
solemn compact by which Missouri took her position, as a sove
reign member of the confederacy, in 1820: and so he told the
Senate on the twentieth of February, 1854.
" With the honorable senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Everett]
I frankly avow tbat I was filled with doubt and alarm during the

OF LEWIS GASS. 729
troubles and contests which were terminated by the compromise
measures of 1850, and he who was unmoved, had more apathy or
apprehension than I had. But though the ominous cry of ' Woe,
woe to Jerusalem!' is once more heard, I do not believe tbat the
country is in any danger, not the least; but still I do not denythat
these frequent, almost periodical, renewals and revivals of this
threatening subject, must necessarily .produce irritation and ex
citement, tending to array one section of the country against an
other, and thus we weaken those ties of confidence and affection
so, essential to tbe permanence and tranquillity of this -mighty
confederacy. Events, connected with our territorial aggrandize
ment, seemed, as their necessary consequence, to lead to the former
agitation ; but the present one has burst upon us without warning,
and, as I think,1 from causes which might have been avoided.
" Mr. President, I have not withheld the expression of my regret
elsewhere; nor shall I withhold it here, that this question of. the
repeal of the Missouri compromise, which opens all the disputed
points connected with the subject of congressional action upon
slavery in tbe territory, of the United States, has been brought
before us. I do not think the practical advantages to result from
the measure will outweigh tbe injury wbich the ill-feeling, fated
to accompany the discussion of this subject through the country,
Js sure to produce. And I was confirmed in this impression
by what was said bythe senator from Tennessee, [Mr. Jones,] by
the senator fron Kentucky, [Mr. Dixon,] and by tbe senator from
North Carolina, [Mr. BadgerJ and also by the remarks which fell
from the senator from Virginia, [Mr. Hunter,] and in wbicb I
fully concur, that the south will never derive any benefit from
this measure, so far as respects the extension of slavery; for, legis
late as we may, no human power can ever establish it in the
regions defined by these bills.
"And such were the sentiments of two eminent patriots, to
whose exertions we are greatly indebted for the satisfactory ter
mination of the difficulties of 1850, and who have since\passed from
theirlabors — we may humbly .hope, to tbeir rewards. It is ex
cluded by a law, to borrow the words of one of them^ in which
|he other fully acquiesced, superior to that which admits it else
where,— the law of nature, of physical geography, the law of the
formation of the- earth. That law settles forever, with a strength

730 LIFE AND TIMES
beyond all terms of human enactment, that slavery can not exist
there. " Thus believing, I should have been better content had the
whole subject been left as it was in the bills when first introduced
by the senator from Illinois, without any provision regarding the
Missouri' compromise. I am aware it was reported that I intended
to propose the repeal df that measure ; but it was an error. My
intentions were wholly misunderstood.' I had no design whatever
to take such a step, and - thus resuscitate from its quietude a deed
of conciliation which bad done its work, and had done it well,
and which was hallowed by patriotism, by success, and by its
association with great riames now transferred to history. It be
longed to a past generation ; and in the midst of a political tem
pest, which appalled the wisest arid the firmest in the land; it had
said to tbe waves of agitation, Peace, be still! and they became
still. It would have been better, 'in my opinion, not to disturb
its slumber, as all useful and practical objects could have been
attained without it. But the question is here without my agency,
and I am called upon to take my part in its adjustment. I shall
do so frankly and fearlessly."
The bills, after debate, were referred back to the appropriate
committee, and again reported with an amendment to meet the
views of General Cass. That amendment declared that the people,
whether in the Territories or in the States to be formed from
them, were free to regulate their domestic institutions in their own
way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States. With
this arrangement of the details of the bill, as now proposed, he
announced, that if called upon, he should vote for it. He was
aware that the bill, in its final shape, would be unpalatable alike
to many northern and southern men, but for different reasons, —
the southerner, because of his fear that in the settlement of the
Territories free men would obtain the ascendency; and the north-
ener, because of his ' repugnance to a squabble for the control.
But General Cass, without fear or favor, had years before- settled
for himself the principles tbat must govern his official conduct,
whenever this subject came up for action. And those principles,
so far as the Territories were concerned, was the application of
the doctrines of popular sovereignty: He never had intruded the
subject of slavery upon the attention of Congress. He, in no
instance, has brought it forward. His action and votes have,{

OF LEWIS CASS. 731
invariably, been consequent upon the acts of others. If he could
have his own way, he would, not disturb the compromises of
1787, of 1820, or of 1850; but, adhering to them in good faith,
let freedom and slavery work out their own destiny on this
continent. On this occasion be endeavored to show the Senate that neither
extreme had occasion to complain. . With reference to southern
complaint, he remarked :
" It is not a little extraordinary that, after all tbe complaints
we have heard upon this snbject, Congress has notmssed a single
law excluding any man or property from the Mexican acquisitions;
not one. New Mexico and Utah, remain just as open to the ad
mission of slavery at this hour as they were the hour, they passed
'into the possession of the United States; and its exclusion*
from California is the act ofthe people, assembled in convention
to form their own constitution, and not the act of the general
government. "Mr. Rhett, indeed, in a remarkable speech in this body, re
markable for an American citizen in an American legislature,
undertook, by a peculiar process, to bold this government respon
sible for tbe measure-' — making' it one sin the more in bis long
catalogue of offenses.
" Syllogistically his argument runs thus:'
"Tou have no right to pass the Wilmot proviso.
" Tou admitted California into the Union.
" California inserted the Wilmot proviso into her constitution. ¦
"Therefore you passed the Wilmot proviso.
"Such are the premises and the conclusions charged by Mr.
Rhett upon another senator, as the doctrine of the latter, but as
sumed by the former as his own, when he said: 'Sir, the senator
was right.' ,
" Sir,ithe senators were wrong, both of them wrong, if Mr. Rhett
understood, as I doubt, the proposition intended to be advanced by
the member referred to. I have put the argument in the syllogis
tic form, omitting its details, tbat the process may be the more
apparent, and the conclusion' the more satisfactory, or unsatisfac
tory, as it is approved or disapproved; a compound syllogism, I
think, they called this form in the schools. But all the subtleties
of verbal metaphysics, from the days of Aristotle downwards/
With tbeir major and minor terms, their copulas and predicates'.

732 LIFE AND TIMES
and all tbe other machinery by which words usurp the place of
ideas, could not establish the truth of such a conclusion, nor per?
suade the American people, that because a State excludes or
admits slavery by its, constitution, Congress is responsible for that
act when it provides for the admission of such State into the
Union. I repeat, not an act of the. general government has
touched this claim of right in the slightest degree; and if ever
an American might by law take slaves to any of the regipn ac
quired from Mexico, he may do it yet, so far as regards the
operation of congressional legislation. It is a judicial question,
which may at any time be brought before the.judicial department
of our .government.
" And this brings me to the consideration of the true ground of
these complaints, and how far they have any real foundation.
" The south is excluded. from the Territories, robbed of ihem, plun
dered of ihem,' and they are appropriated to the north!
" Now, iB this so, Mr. President , What prevents a southern man
from going to any of those regions under the same circumstances
as a northern man,, if h'e chooses? I know of nothing. Physically
one can go as well as the otber, for, in the language of a great
dramatic poet, both have ' eyes, hands, organs, dimensions, sor
rows, affections, passions, fed with the same food, hurt with the
same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same
means, warmed and cooled bythe same winter and summer.'
" " If there is no-physical incapacity, neither is there a legal one
in the way of emigrants from the north or from tbe south. All
are equally free to go at their pleasure. The statute book is
without a single prohibition upon the subject.
"Where, then, is this unjust exclusion,, this act of atrocious rob
bery on the part of the general government. It certainly is not
an act of commission, for Congress has not legislated on the sub
ject at all. It must be robbery by omission, a new sin in the
decalogue. The existing laws of the country render the condi
tion of slavery an illegal one, and it was contended that the act
of annexation, and the constitutional equality which is its imme
diate and necessary consequence, abrogated this provision, and
that a slaveholder was as free to hold his peculiar property there
as are the inhabitants themselves to hold any other species of
property. Well, this is obviously a right which, if it exist, can
not be taken away, and which may, at any time, be enforced

OF LEWIS CASS. 733
before the judicial tribunals. It has not even been touched by
congressional action, and it is a mere perversion Of terms to talk
of robbery, where the right and the remedy, whatever these may
be, are in just as much force as ever, so far as regards congres
sional legislation. It is a robbery without a robber j an aggression
without an aggressor, an injury with none to commit it, and none
to benefit by it.
" I repeat, then, what prevents a southern man from going to
any of these Mexican acquisitions ? Tbe only incapacity alledged,
is the inability to hold slaves there. And this inability, if it
exist, results from tbe law of the place, and, in point of fact, is
inconsistent with the assumption of a constitutional right, and
would fall before it, could it be established. But, leaving to others
to reconcile this contradiction, I have to remark that this difficulty
may resolve itself into two objections ; first, that slavery is so
necessary to burnan comfort, to comfortable existence, indeed,
that our southern 'brethren can not live where it is not estab
lished, and that to exclude it, is to exclude them from any portion
of the earth, however otherwise desirable. Now, sir, I can admit
no sueh position. I have too high an opinion of the people- ofthe
south to believe tbat they can not accommodate themselves to any
social system of which slavery does not form an essential part.
This is a very different question from its established existence in
a community of which we are members. There we may uphold
it from the conviction that immediate ruin would follow its ex
tinction in any manner yet offered to public consideration. Upon
this subject I should feel just as the south feels, were I a resident
there, and should hold in abhorrence every external effort to inter
fere with this momentous question. But far otherwise is the
proposition, tbat to live in a non-slaveholding community is a
sacrifice which amounts to an interdiction against entering into it,
abutter exclusion from its advantages. Why, sir, people from
slaveholding States practically contradict such an assumption
every day, by migrating to other States where slavery does not
exist, as they are continually doing ; and I presume no one will
deny that human comfort and the blessings of civilized life are
to be found in many communities, at home and abroad, frorii
which slavery has been excluded, or where it never existed. It
is worse than idle to advance such a proposition. It is rebuked
>v the experience of the world.

734 LIFE AND TIMES
"The second objection wbich I propose to consider, connected
with this alledged seizure of the public domain, is, that a southern
man can not go there because he can not take his property with
him, and is thus excluded by peculiar considerations from his
share of the common territory.
" So far as this branch of the subject connects itself with slaves,
regarded merely as property, it is certainly true that the necessity
of leaving and of disposing of them may put the owners to in
convenience — to loss, indeed^a state of things incident to all
emigration tp distant regions ; for there are many species of that
property, which constitues the common stock of society, that can
not be taken there- Some, because they are prohibited bythe
laws of nature, as houses and farms; others because they are pro
hibited by the laws of man, as slaves, incorporated companies,
monopolies, and many interdicted articles ; and others, again, be
cause tbey are prohibited by statistical laws, which regulate the
transportation of property, and virtually confine much of it within
certain limits which it can not overcome, in consequence of the
expense attending distant removal; and among these latter arti
cles are cattle, and much -of the property which is everywhere
to be found. The ^remedy in all these cases is the same, and is
equally applicable to all classes of proprietors, whether living in
Massachusetts, or New Tork, or South Carolina, and that is to
convert all these various kinds of property into the universal rep
resentative of value, money, and to take that to these new regions,
where it will command whatever may He necessary to comfort Or
to prosperous enterprise. In all these instances the practical
result is the same, and the same is the condition of equality.
A' I listened with great interest to the eloquent remarks of the
senator from North Carolina, [Mr. Badger,] upon this whole sul>
ject, and especially to thbse in wbich he depicted,, with equal force
and feeling, the painful circumstances connected with the disrup
tion of those ties of habit and affection which bind every just
master to his slaves, and particularly to those domestic slaves
most intimately associated, with his family. This is so, sir, be~
yond doubt,. and it is among the harsh. trials which make part of
tbe shifting scenes of life in which we are all engaged; The north
ern emigrant has his full share of these sacrifices; for rarely,
indeed, does he fail to ; leave behind him some of the dearest ob
jects of his affections, too often with little hope of rejoining them

OF LEWIS CASS. 735
on this side of the grave. These scenes of sorrow belong to that
life of change which almost makes part of tbe American charac
ter}, but, painful as they are, they can not enter into the deter
mination of legal or constitutional rights which appeal to right
principles, and not to the kindlier emotions of the heart. <
"It follows that all the citizens of the United States have equal
claims to go to the national domain, under equal circumstances,
each responsible to the laws, and each entitled to take whatever
the laws permit. Otherwise, as strange ¦ a confusion would exist
in the legal systems of the ' Territories ' as existed in the language
of the world when the primitive race was scattered upon the
plains of Shinar, and when one man could not understand another's
speech. The. tenure and the incidents of property would not be
regulated by the laws of the country where it would be enjoyed,
but by the laws of tbe country whence it came.
" Such a principle would strike at independent and necessary
legislation, at many police laws, at sanitary laws, and at laws for
the protection of public and private morals. Ardent spirits,
deadly, poisons,, implements of gaming, as well as various articles,
doubtful foreign bank bills, among others, injurious to a prosper
ous condition of a new society, would be placed, beyond the reach
of legislative interdiction, whatever might be the wants or the
wishes of the country upon tbe subject- For the constitutional
right by which it is claimed that these species of property may be
taken by the owners to the 'Territories' ofthe United States, can
not be controlled, if it exist by the local legislatures; for tbat
might lead, and in. many cases would lead, to the destruction of
its value. If apprentices were, made property, and their term of
service should be extended by any member of the confederation
tothe age of sixty years, or to the'full term of life, or if peonage
, shall be introduced, or white slavery be established by indenture,
or in any other form, these new kinds of servitude would be
placed beyond the reach of the territorial laws, and would intro
duce themselves wherever the public domain exists. And can
the peonage of New Mexico be carried by right to Minnesota?
or,: had California retained it, would tbe laws regulating it have
extended themselves immediately over all the Territories ? And
certainly the case put .by the senator from Massachusetts tests and
illustrates this claim ; for if polygamy should be established by
' law as it is' by usage in Utah, and should make part of its consti-

736 LIFE AND TIMES
tution, these contemners of the words of .God and of the feelings
of man, might transfer themselves with their harems to any ofthe
Territories, and there live in open contempt of law and religion."
, With reference to the northerner, and' the moral sentiment of
tbe people, upon the relations of master, and slave in the northern
States, he remarked:
" The status of slavery has existed from the earliest ages of the
world; and regretted, as it is and must be by the moralist, it, is a
great practical political question which, every established commu
nity where it is recognized must adjust for itself. The Revolution
found it in most of the States, and there it was at the adoption of
the Constitution, and in many of them it yet reinains, making part
ofthe .rights and guarantees of tiie confederation. To touch it by
the general government, would be to shake to its corner-stone our
whole political edifice. Like other human institutions, it has
neither all the advantages its friends claim for it, nor all the evils
its enemies deplore. Believing it a misfortune for any country,
I regret its establishment; but looking upon it as an existing con^
dition, I am free to confess, that though it may come to an end,
and I hope it may peacefully and justly, I see no way in which
this can be effected but by leaving it to those most interested in
it, #nd to the process they may find it, best to adopt. Any exter?
nal interference would only aggravate the evils and the, dangers,
and this our experience has already shown. As to the frightful
pictures which have been drawn of cruelty on one side, and suffer
ing and wretchedness on the other, they are gross exaggerations,
by whatever modern Gulliver fabricated, whether men or strong-
•minded women, originating in ignorance or malevolence, and
ministering to the worst of passions, botb at home and abroad. I
know something of the condition of the slaves, and I believe, in
general, tbey are treated with all the humanity which can reason
ably be expected in their situation; with a humanity»honorable to
the proprietors as a class, and, to say the least of it, quite as well
as they would be in the northern States, had this institution not
been abolished there, and far better than by many whose philan
thropy is shown by the railing and reproachful words they utter,
and not by tbe relief they contribute to objects of misery, And I
know something ofthe condition ofthe poverty-stricken population
of Europe, and of a large portion of the inhabitants, who lie down
in sorrow and get up in care, and who pass their lives in, want,

OF LEWIS CASS. 737
many of them in a state of destitution utterly unknown in this
country; and I have seen far more misery in the proudest capitals
of Europe than I ever saw in our own favored land among white
or black, bond or free. A recent remark in the London Times
better illustrates this frightful condition of human want than the
most labored description :
" ' In London, the center and core of British wealth and phara-
saical exclusiveness, one hundred thousand human beings get up
every morning without knowing where they are to find a meal,
except from a passing job or crime.'
"One would think that here was field enough- for tbe exertion
of any reasonable quantity of philanthropy, and that, until these
awful scenes of human suffering were removed, it would exhibit a
much more commendable spirit to labor there for life first, and
then for reformation, rather than to be sending political mission
aries, under the guise of a universal love of mankind, to this
country, kindly to excite one portion of the Union against another,
and thus lead to the dissolution of the confederacy, and to the
destruction -of our power and prosperity. What a deplorable con
summation that would be to these philanthropic Englishmen !
Certainly, objects of commisseration are everywhere to be found,
even in the most prosperous communities. Misfortunes, whether
' produced by ourselves or by the chances of life, are inseparable
from human society. And there is no man who can not look
around him and find objects enough upon which to exhaust his
benevolence, whether its contributions are confined to puling sen
timentality or extended to substantial offerings for tbe relief of
distress. I have no patience with that costive charity which neg
lects the misery of its neighborhood because that demands the
aid of the purse, and seeks subjects for noisy philanthropy far
beyond its reach, because words are not wealth, and professions
are cheaper than cash.
"If I might presume to give an opinion upon the subject, I will
say, that our southern bi-ethren sometimes manifest too much sen
sitiveness at these ebullitions of ill-directed feelings, frequently
sincere, but too often assumed for personal or political objects.
A factitious importance is thus given to them which they would
never attain, if left to their natural fate. And another and yet
greater error connected with this whole subject consists in the
demands, altogether too exacting, made upon the public men of
47

738 LIFE AND TIMES
the non-slaveholding States, many of which I have seen, and some
of which I have felt. No stronger proof of this •predisposition can
be given than the refusal, on the part of southern members of this
body, to permit the insertion in the fugitive slave law of a pro
vision allowing the right of trial by jury to the person claimed in
the county whence it might be alledged he had escaped, on his
restoration there, should he then demand it.
" I never could comprehend the motives for the rejection of this
proposition, so just in itself, and which would have given great
satisfaction to the north, and have prevented much ofthe hostility
to tbe law. It would have been entirely compatible with the Con
stitution, for the delivery to the master would have been but a
commitment, to be consummated and become final by the verdict
of the jury when demanded. I was in favor of the general princi
ples of the lawi and was among the earliest to urge the justice of
its passage, and the injury done to the south by the delay. The
refusal to accept this proposition seemed to interpose unnecessary
barriers in the way of -the investigation of questions of human
liberty; for certainly the objections which might reasonably have
been urged against tbe submission of these cases to a northern
jury, and which induced me to oppose the provision,, bad no ap
plication to a southern jury, which can have no prejudices to
overcome in the examination of the rights of the parties. But not
an inch of ground was yielded; and I determined not to give my
assent to the law. It. was a bed of Procrustes, and as I bad no
wish to be shortened or lengthened by a rigid adaptation to it, I
found it no place for me. Had the northern senators been firm
upon the point, this tribute to a great principle, interwoven with
the American heart and institutions, would have been secured."
He further told the Senate, for the benefit of statesmen repre
senting the slaveholders:
" It requires but little exertion to swim with the current, while
he who opposes it must put forth all his strength, and even then
may become its victim. Popular feeling is a power bard to resist,
and the reproach of being a dough-face belongs to him who pan
ders to it, and not to him who strives to maintain the constitu
tional rights of all, even in opposition to his own community,
which holds in its hands his political life and death. This is pre
cisely the condition which no southern man bas ever had to
encounter in connection with this grave subject, and it is precisely

OF LEWIS CASS. 739
the condition which he can not comprehend, or Will not do justice
to,' when the course of a northern man is in question. It is not
enough, with too many of the southern politicians, that public
men from the free States maintain, firmly and unflinchingly, the
rights of the slaveholding portion of the Union, and stand ready
to meet the consequences, however disastrous to themselves, rather
than participate in their violation ; this, I say, is not enough :
sometimes, indeed,, it is nothing, unless every opinion ofthe south
upon the general question is adopted, and unreserved allegiance
professed to the declaration, that slavery, is the best condition
OF HUMAN SOCIETY."
And then, that the people of tbe free States may know that he
has no views upon this subject to be concealed from the whole,
public, he further said to the Senate — separating the defense of
constitutional rights from the defense of slavery:
" Slavery is, in my opinion, as I have said more than once be
fore in the Senate, and, I-have no doubt, unacceptably to many, a
great evil, social and political, but it is an existing one, from which
I see no escape, and for which the south is not responsible to tbe
north, nor to any other tribunal but to His, who made both bond and
free ; and while, either in public or private life, I have strength
to express my views, not out of peculiar regard to any section of
the country, but in obedience to the dictates of my own conscience,
I shall never cease to uphold the right of the south to determine
every question in relation to this species of property for themselves,
and the duty of the whole Union to carry into effect the constitu
tional provision in good faith, and with kind feelings. I do not
know any northern man who is disposed to go beyond this; nor is
there any southern man who should desire it."
An effort was evidently being made to produce an impression
that all those who supported the Nebraska-Kansas bill were, in
the cant phrase of the day, pro-slavery men; and that tbeir advo
cacy of it was conclusive evidence of their alienation from the
principles of freedom, and of their devotion to those of slavery.
General Cass chose to put himself right upon this point, and,
while maintaining tbe just power of otber portions of the Union,
to deal with this question for themselves and as they pleased, to
express his belief that slavery was a misfortune for any country.
He Chose to have it distinctly understood that it was not tbe insti
tution itself he was defending, but the political rights of other

740 LIFE AND TIMES
sections ofthe country, under the Constitution. Ithas been alledged
that he added, in the speech above quoted, that slavery was a
moral evil. He did not say so. Under the circumstances in which
it exists in the southern States, he did not think so. Such an
assertion would have been inconsistent with his main position —
that the present inhabitants of those States were not responsible
for the introduction of slavery.
Indeed,, regarding slavery as a social and political evil, and a
misfortune for any country, was no new view with him. In 1842,
at Paris, when exposing the consequences and injustice of the
quintuple treaty, he said: "We are no slaveholder; we never have
been; we never shall be. We deprecate its existence in principle,
and pray for its abolition everywhere, where that can be effected
justly, peaceably, and wisely." In the Nicholson letter, in 1847,
he repeats: "We may well regret the existence of slavery in the
southern States, and wish they had been free from its introduction."
But he was not alone in these views. The Fathers of the Re
public were his company. General Washington said that " it was
among his first wishes to see some plan adopted by which slavery
may be abolished by law." Mr. Jefferson remarks: " I can say,
with truth, that there is not a man on earth who would sacrifice
more than I would to relieve us from this heavy reproach (of
slavery) in any practicable way. The cession of that kind of
property (for it is misnamed,) is a bagatelle, which would not cost
me a single thought, if, in that way, a general emancipation and
expatriation could be effected gradually; and, with due sacrifice,
I think it might be. But as it is, we have the wolf by the ears,
and we can neither hold him nor safely let him go. Justice in
one case, and self-preservation in the other!"
General Cass heard Mr. Madison observe in conversation, that
slavery was a great misfortune for Virginia ; and such was the
well-known opinion of Mr. Monroe, Chief Justice Marshall, Pat
rick Henry, and George Mason.
The bill for the organization of the Territories of Nebraska and
Kansas finally passed the Senate; and on the night of its passage,
General Cass embraced the occasion to congratulate that body
upon the triumph of squatter sovereignty; meaning by that term,
not political independence, but inalienable rights, in constitutional
subordination to the general government — the right of the people
to regulate their local and domestic affairs in /their own way. He

OF LEWIS CASS. ' . 741
had just- cause for this congratulation. The adverse doctrine of
total submission had been previously received with great favor in
large portions of the Union. He had labored long and zealously
for the recognition of political freedom, and had been exposed to
misrepresentation and denunciation. When, therefore, a bill had
received the sanction of the Senate which conferred a greater meas
ure of freedom upon these Territories than had ever before been
granted to such local communities; reducing the absolute veto of
the government to a qualified one, and thus enabling them to pass
any law they might require; yielding up all the supervisory au
thority by Congress over their legislation, which is expressly
extended to all subjects not prohibited by the Constitution or the
organic law, and the prohibitions of the latter are but few, and are
principally confined to the measure of organization; allowing them
to elect almost all their officers, with many other provisions favor
able to liberty, he felt that a great advance had been made in the
progress of free principles; and, especially, by the abandonment
of the pretension,' that the right of legislation rested upon the ten
ure of the land; for, in all the vast regions comprehended in those
bills, there was not a single acre of land owned by a white man.
All this was a source of gratification, and he declared it, as he had
a right to do; but, in so doing, it -seems he encountered bitter
reproaches, bitterly expressed. Why, it is, indeed, hard to con
jecture, unless it is a mortal offense to speak with pleasure of a
general acquiescence in a great measure, founded in the very
nature of our institutions.
The doctrine of non-intervention, or, in other words, tbe right
of -self government, so far as it is not controlled by- the Constitu
tion, met with severe animadversion in the otber wing ofthe capitol,
and, especially, from Colonel Benton, of Missouri, who then occu
pied a seat in the House of Representatives, after having served
thirty years in the Senate. General Cass was not willing to pass
this attack unnoticed, inasmuch as he considered it harsh, and, in
truth, wanton. He availed himself of the first favorable opportu
nity to notice it from his place in the Senate. It was on the
twenty-fifth of May, following the passage of the bill. His remarks
were replete with irony and sarcasm. We quote a part:
"Now sir, I know no one who claims sovereignty for theTerriT
tories. It would be a condition utterly inconsistent, as this honor
able member said, with their relation to the United States. Lest,

742 LIFE AND TIMES
in our ignorance, we might not understand the meaning of this
rare and recondite word, and not with the unworthy view of mak
ing a display of learning, we are kindly told that inconsistent
signifies inability to stand together. Etymologically, he says, it
is derived from con and sisto, and thus the sovereignty of the
United States, and the sovereignty of the Territories, can not stand
together. These words, con and sisto, are Latin, and the Latins
were Romans. I communicate this for the benefit of the Senate.
It is a very curious and important fact, which escaped the pene
tration of Niebuhr and of all his co-laborers in the field of historical
research. But the country will see there is one whose penetration
it could not escape, meaning myself. It takes a Columbus to dis
cover a world. And the Romans were the Americans of Italy.
They had a Senate as we have, and he who served thirty years in
it, served six lustrums, and he who serves thirty years in our
Senate, serves five terms, and this wonderful identity of institu
tions accounts for the strong resemblance between these two great
people, and, especially, for their equal love of annexation.
" The same authority tells us that this is all hotch-potch; 'for
the Territories are the children of the States — they are minors
under twenty-one years of age., and it is the business of the States,
through their delegations in Congress, to take care of these minors
until they are of age — until they are ripe for State government —
then to give them that government, and admit them to an equality
with their fathers.' 'That is the law and the sense of the case,'
&c. Had I been told this by any other than an infallible author
ity, I should have said it was the nonsense of the case. Even as
it is, I can not help having some misgivings. A critic, with, less
respect than I profess to feel for such a guide, might say all this
is idle and false analogy. It is made the foundation of despotic
rule under a written Constitution, and a government of granted
and limited powers. Instead of resorting to that Constitution to
test tbe validity of acts of Congress, we are to seek the authority
in some fancied resemblance in physical objects; and, because a
mare lays an egg, therefore a government may hatch what power
it pleases out of it. American citizens in the Territories — many
of them in the highest position and estimation before tbeir emi
gration — as soon as they reach these districts, lose all their intelli
gence and experience, and become minors, utterly unfit to exercise
any of the powers of self-government. All their political interests

OF LEWIS CASS. 743
are committed to a legislature thousands of miles off,.whose mem
bers are ignorant of their condition, and irresponsible to them.,
My highly respected friend from Wisconsin, [Mr. Dodge,] who
has passed a life of honor and of usefulness upon the frontier,
knows— no one knows better — the value of the population which
presses forward to settle a new country. He knows it is no weak
nor wicked class from the older regions, but vigorous, enterpris
ing, intelligent men, (I know it, for I have seen it during a half a
century,) to whose spirit and. wonderful energy our country is
indebted for the proudest triumph of human industry over the
obstacles of nature which is recorded in tbe long annals of our
race, since the first pioneer, of settlement went forth from tbe
garden he had forfeited. He who thinks disparagingly of tbe
advance guard of civilization, knows nothing of tbe Daniel Boones
and their compeers, who have left their monuments in the great
work fhey accomplished, and in tbe deeds that achieved it. And
such men are to be deprived of the first rights of freedom, because
Territories are political minors !
" I perceive,- sir, that I have been in error all my life upon this
subject. I had thought that territorial governments were institu
ted for a very different purpose from that of teaching the inhabi
tants knowledge enough to manage their own concerns. ' Why I
thought so, I will now explain.
O' When this form of temporary government was first introduced,
it was under the confederation, and at that time each State had
one vote in Congress, and it would have been signal political
inequality and injustice to admit a Territory into the Union, what
ever population it possessed, however small, and thus enable it to
exercise one fourteenth part of the power of the republic. To pre
vent this, it was provided that sixty thousand inhabitants should
be necessary to admission ; and that whenever one of these com
munities might have that number, it should make part of the
confederation. And the same principle was continued under the
Constitution. I thought this was a mere question of numbers, not
oi ripeness, of minority, of age, or of wisdom. Some of these
children have been much more precocious than otbers. The non
age of Alabama was two years only, the duration of her temporary
government, and then she was ripe for admission, and was admit
ted into the Union ; while ,her sisters, Arkansas and Michigan,
less gifted, according to this, theory of political power, remained

744 LIFE AND TIMES
in a state of pupilage, the former thirty-three, and the latter
thirty-two years. So much for analogy in the investigation of
great constitutional questions.
" It seems that Mark Antony well remembered the very day
when Csesar put on his new coal; — that very coat which he wore
when twenty-three holes were made in it, or in him. Well, an
other memory is as powerful as that of the Triumvir. Tbat other ,
memory knows the day when this monstrosity was first presented.
It must be a truly patriarchal one, for the monster made his ap
pearance in tbe English colonies a century ago, and was well
described, in our Declaration of Independence, and claimed among
tbe most valuable possessions of man.
" A very happy illustration of our duty is furnished by a clas
sical reference to Edmund Burke, who, we are told, was the author
of a treatise called the Sublime and Beautiful, another ofthe dis
coveries which have marked the progress of this investigation.
Well, it is. said that Mr. Barke, in the exuberance of his imagina
tion, and, no doubt, in a moment, as well of excited feeling as of
desperate resolution, actually exclaimed in tbe House of Commons,
'I do not care three jumps of a louse for Lord North.' Louse, sir,
is Pediculus, in Latin. Therefore, in the future variorum editions'
of this speech, for there will be many-of them, this memorable
ejaculation will probably read, I do not oaee three jumps of a
Pedicuxits foe Lord North.
" So we are called upon, with patriotic indignation, not to care
three jumps of the same interesting little animal for the Secreta
ries ofthe Departments — the President's clerks, as we are reminded
John Randolph said they were — and, I suppose, to care for nothing
else, but to go right onward -in the, exercise of despotic power.
" By-the-by, sir, is this quotation marked with the usual scru
pulous accuracy of the speaker? Should not the word jump be
changed to skip, which latter seems more appropriate to the sal
tation of the parasitical squatter on the human occiput than the
heavier cognomen ? I venture to predict that this question will
take its place among the most interesting critical researches of
after times.
"I am certain that John Randolph and Nathaniel Macon,
frequently referred to by him, whose reference is honor, as
bright lights in the palmy days — palmy nights, I suppose — of

OF LEWIS 'CASS. 745
republicanism, would denounce a sentiment tbat easts ridicule on
rights dear to every man, savage or civilized.
" We are told, that, when this doctrine was first introduced into
the Senate, it was received as ' nonsense, as the essence of nonsense,
m the quintessence qf nonsense, as thefivd times distilled essmc&of
political nonsehsicality.'
" Well, sir, this is very probable; and those of us who support
the doctrine, need not feel the slightest mortification because it
was received with ridicule. The laughing state is a kind of chry
salis condition, through which most great truths and discoveries
1 have to pass. There are very few important enunciations of this
nature which have not provoked merriment, from the earliest case
©n record down to the latest and tbe greatest — the actual discov
ery and declaration by the member from Missouri to an admiring
world, that ' Void is vacant, empty, nothing oe it ! ' Wonderful
age this for the advancement of the human intellect !
"Dr. Johnson, who was hired by the British administration, -
wrote an anti-Nebraska pamphlet of that day, entitled,' ' Taxation
no Tyranny.' He laughed at this principle of self-government,
ridiculing the idea that the, Congress of Westminster was not fitter
to govern colonies across the" ocean than the people themselves,
just as the idea is now laughed at, that the Congress of Washing
ton is not fitter to govern Territories across the mountains and
deserts, than the ignorant inhabitants who have squat down there.
" But, sir, this question has .passed through its laughing state.
Nobody laughs at it now. Some dread it, some dislike it, some
disbelieve it, but all approach it with perfect gravity, and, judging
from the temper manifested by the speaker to whom I have
alluded, and the vituperative epithets, not scattered through, but
abounding in, his remarks, I am sure he must have been in any
thing but a laughing mood; and I do not believe that a single
risible muscle was called into action during the whole period of
this prodigious mental effort.
" But, 6ir, there are other fatal argumentative objections to this
bill, which I have selected from the same display of genius, and
which I shall proceed to submit to the solemn consideration of the
Senate. ."The bill is a 'silent, halting, creeping, limping, squinting
motion, conceived in the dark,, and midwifed in a committee
room,' &c. '

746 LIFE AND TIMES
" ' It is crooked, insidious, and pusillanimous.' ' It is a farrago,-
an olla-podrida.' ' It is a juggle, worthy of the trick of one egg.
under three hats,' &c. 'It is buttered on both sides,' &c. 'Why
kill the dead ? Why trip up the heels of the man already flat on
bis back on the ground ?' 'It is a farrago of nullities, incongrui
ties, and inconsistencies.' ' It is untrue, contradictory, suicidal,
and preposterous.' ' It is a shilly-shally, willy-won'ty, don'ty-
can'ty, style of legislation.' ' It is not manly. It is not womanly.
No shilly-shally in a woman.'
" This is a noble tribute to the noble sex. It is a beautiful
sentiment, beautifully conceived, and happily expressed. It is the
essence, the quintessence, the five times distilled essence oi truth and
of poetry. What a brilliant imagination has' been sacrificed to
the dry pursuits of six lustrums !
" ' It is made up Of paraphrases, circumlocutions, ambidexterity,
and ambiguity.' 'It is just jumping out of the frying pan into
• the fire.' ' It is a, see-saw, bill — it is stuffed with monstrosities —
hobbled with contradictions — Badgered with a proviso.' The hon
orable senator from North Carolina, who has pursued a noble and
patriotic course during all this agitating controversy, may well be
proud of such characteristic censure.
" ' There is a stump speech injected in the belly^of the bill.'
" If this new stump speech does not eject its injected predecessor,
and cause it to be rejected, then there is no emetic that will do the
work in all the materia medica. Such a stomach must be proof
against the whole power of physic and physicians. These are
conclusive arguments against this bill ; and if it passes in the face
of them, it will be the triumph of folly and wickedness over logic
and patriotism and constitutional law.
"And, worst of all, and beyond all, it is ' amphibological. Tes,
sir, amphibological.' "Amphibology ' is a monster of such frightful mien,
As to be hated needs but to be seen.'
" I may, be pardoned the violation of prosody, in consideration
of the gravity and practical value of the sentiment. We have
also another vindication of the truth of history, and are told that
General Jackson rejected a bill, and, returned it with a message
to the Senate, refusing to sign it for amphibology. This vindica
tion is as erroneous as was a former one. General Jackson did

OF LEWIS CASS. 747
not reject the bill alluded to, relating to the public funds. But as
it was tbe last night of his term of service, be retained it without
action; and he afterwards gave his reasons for so doing in the
Globe. He said the bill was ' complex ' and ' uncertain,' 'liable
to diversity of, interpretation,' and tbat he 'had not time to give
the subject deliberate consideration ' — not one hard word here.
"As to amphibology, it is not to be found in the document, nor
do I believe the General ever heard of the term ; and I think if it
had met his eye, he would have been as much puzzled as I was
to discover its meaning. It sent me to tbe dictionary— no, to the
Lexicographical Thesaurus — and there I found an old acquaintance
bedizzened in such finery that my power of recognition had been
completely put to fault; and, after all, I ascertained that amphi
hological means doubtful. There, is no doubt of that. Learning,
sir, is a great element of, power and fame ; and so potent is it in
its operation, that a very little of it, discreetly managed, goes a
great way."

748 LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTER XLIV.
General Cass' Aversion to everything British — The Second War — The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty — The
Homestead Bill — The Employment of Indians — The Anglo-French Declaration — Slavery Again —
Legislative Instruction — The Senator's Keply — Know-Nothingism — Age of General Cass — His
Habits — Residence — ' Death of Mrs. Cass — General Cass' Private Affairs — His Property — His Views
of the Past and Future— The Termination.
General Cass has always evinced an aversion to everything that
savored of British. This trait in his disposition is not surprising,
when we recall to mind that almost the first words he was taught
in infancy to utter, were, " no taxation without representation."
Hostility to tyranny was born in him. He would not if he could,
and he could not if he would, eradicate it. As he grew to man
hood and extended the field of his reading, he ever and anon met
with transatlantic periodicals and publications teeming with stric
tures upon republicanism. In too many instances be knew that
these animadversions were unjust. They strengthened his native
prejudices against the government of England, its laws, and its
institutions. He admired the genius of ,many of her statesmen,
poets and scholars, for neither earth nor sky can fetter this. But
as he investigated, the more convinced he became of the colossal
ambition of the Crown. The farthest islet in the most distant
seas escaped not the argus-eyed cabinet of London. Its secret
agents, its confidential ambassadors, traversed the globe.
In the second war of the United States with Great Britain,
General Cass felt the hand of British supremacy among the wilds
of his own qountry. He experienced it in a tenfold greater de
gree at the court of St. Cloud. He saw it paralyzing American
diplomacy in the treaty of Washington. He could not mistake
it. Along the eastern coast of South America, British domination
was quietly but surely penetrating the Western Continent. Pres
ident-Monroe put his foot down against foreign intermeddling.
Several of bis successors had renewed the protestation. Isolated
members of Congress, and the people, had echoed and re-echoed

OF LEWIS CASS, 749
this sentiment. And yet Congress had never given its authori
tative assertion in the shape of a resolution or by bill — tbe only
way to make its way effectual.
In July, 1850, the British government, through its minister,
Mr. Bulwer, and the United States, by its Secretary of State, Mr.
Clayton, made a treaty, known as tbe Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, by
which the high contracting parties precludedthemselves mutually
from occupying, or fortifying, or colonizing, or assuming, or
exercising jurisdiction over Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Mosquito
Coast, or any part of Central America. General Cass, in common
with otber statesmen, was astonished that the American Secretary
should have suffered himself to be thus over-reached by the arts
of British diplomacy. True, England had stipulation paper
that she would not take possession of Central America, but not
until the United States had also solemnly plighted the faith of the
government to an observance of the same on their part. In otber
words, if tbe republic of the United States would circumscribe
the boundaries of republicanism, in all this western world, and
give tbe British lion a carte blanche to pounce upon the proud
bird of Jove, as it winged its way towards the southern skies,
then, in such case, tbe British government would most graciously
condescend to withdraw its protectorate over the continent.
But this was not the worst feature of the matter. Three years
had not elapsed after tbe conclusion of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty,
before the wily cabinet of London, in fact, infringed upon the
spirit if not the -letter of its provisions. The establishment of a
new British colony in Central America, known as the " Colony of
the Bay Islands," was publicly proclaimed. This intelligence was
'Startling to senators who had voted for the ratification of the
treaty upon the assumption that it was a ,point gained, if this
shred of diplomacy only weakened the foothold of British power
among the half-civilized countries to the south of Mexico. Hence,
the Senate at once adopted a resolution calling upon the execu
tive for information upon this subject, and, at the same time,
asking what measures had been taken tu prevent the violation of
the treaty of July 5th, 1850. The Department of State replied
that the executive had no information to communicate in relation
to the subject ofthe resolution, but accompanying this reply were
various documents, which had not been before made public, being
the correspondence between the distinguished negotiators of that

750 LIFE AND TIMES
treaty, disclosing a state Of facts unlooked for by the Senate.
From this correspondence, it appeared that when tbe treaty was
ratified by the Senate, tbat ratification was given to the instru
ment itself, without any limitation or explanation to control the
descriptive terms employed in it. But when it was sent to Eng
land for the sanction of the British government, that sanction was
made conditional — restrictive — by a declaration, not denying
that British Honduras made part of Central America, but
announcing that the British government did not understand the
engagements of that convention to apply to that settlement and
its dependencies. Indeed, the instrument of exchange distinctly
stated that " Her Majesty's ratification of the said convention is
exchanged, under tbe explicit declaration above mentioned." 'Vet
the treaty was proclaimed by the American government as bind
ing, without any declaration annexed to it, making known the
restrictive construction given to it by one of the parties, and
acceded to, in whole or in part, by the executive officer of the
other. This subject was before the Senate, for consideration, on the
eleventh of January, 1854. General Cass took part in the dis
cussion. , The vote of the Democratic party in the Senate upon
the ratification of this treaty, was divided — some opposing, and
some supporting it. During the deliberations upon the treaty, a
number of the Democratic members confidently predicted that
the arrangement would prove abortive, and that our government
would fail in the effort to remove British power and influence
from Central America. Says General Cass :
" My friend from Indiana, who sits beside me, [Mr. Bright,] was
among the most decided in his hostility to the treaty; and, as I
said upon a former occasion, whether his prediction was the result
of instinct or of judgment, I know not, but certainly time has put
the seal of truth upon bis sinister forebodings ; and he may now
say to us, in the words of that comfortable old saw, I told you so.
" I zealously advocated the treaty. I had more than one con
versation with the senator from Delaware respecting it, during
the progress of the negotiation. He did me the honor to consult
me, as well as other senators, of both parties ; and I earnestly
recommended him to go on and consummate the work, expressing
my doubts, however, of the accomplishment of his expectations,
but assuring him that if he succeeded, he would render a signal

OF LEWIS CASS. 751 ,
service to his country. And why did I estimate so highly the
(-projected arrangement ? Because it contemplated the removal of
British power and influence from Central America — true Central
America, as I thought— and I considered that measure, both in
its present and future aspects, a great political object, most desir
able to be peacefully obtained. Those of us who profess allegiance
to the Monroe doctrine, and who advocated the- ratification of this
treaty, were accused of inconsistency there ; and the accusation
has been -repeated sincewith a good deal of earnestness, and not
a little sarcasm ; and also of sacrificing a great political principle
to a mere temporary expedient.
- " Mr President, so far as this question of ratification is involved,
with the lights before us, I had no doubts then, and I have no
regrets now, respecting the -course which the Senate sanctioned.
It is not a little curious, that some of those who urged this objec
tion with the most pertinacity, although they also profess adhe
sion to this cardinal principle of American policy, yet never find
a resolution for its authoritative assertion by Congress the only
effectual means of its establishment, in such a shape, as to secure
its co-operation. Nor do they lend their aid to put it in a form
to suit their own views,' and thus to command their votes. They
confine their action to severe criticism and to decided opposition.
Now, sir, I' have no desire to sacrifice a great national advantage
to a mere barren dogma, rendered such- by our dissensions. Em
body this principle of European non-intervention in American
•affairs, in a solemn congressional act, and I, for one, will adhere
to and support it, come what may. But while we dispute and
hesitate, events move on ; and, for the want of proper decision,
we are obliged to accommodate ourselves, the best way we can,
to their course and consequences. -I desire the exclusion of Euro
pean power and influence from all portions of the western conti
nent not actually held as colonies by some European government;
and I believe the true principles of public law, applied to the
position of the American States, fully justify this pretension. As
to existing colonies, they will follow peaceably, and in good time.
Well, sir, the friends of this great, measure have in vain, for many
years, sought its accomplishment. It will come, it is destined to
come, as surely as any event in the future. The country, even
now, is prepared for it, desires it, demands it ; but the hesitation
is here, in these halls of legislation, where there ought to be prompt

752 LIFE AND TIMES
and decisive action. Notwithstanding the prognostication of the
senator from Delaware, the wish, I fear, was father to the thought,'
that its history is closed. It is but just begun, sir; and in our
glorious future, this emancipation of the western hemisphere from
the thraldom and intrigues of the eastern, is yet to constitute one
of our proudest claims to the respect of mankind.
" For myself, sir, if I can not get the Monroe doctrine, I will get
the next best thing I can. I will seek to procure, by conventional
arrangements, the exclusion of European influence from this hem
isphere, step by step, if necessary ; and in seeking to effect this
object, there are peculiar reasons which render it highly desirable
to free all Central America from impending transatlantic intrigues.
The position of that region with relation to the contemplated inter-
oceanic communication which is to unite our eastern and western
possessions, and the divided condition of its States, rivals, and
easily swayed or controlled by foreign influence, gave great im
portance to the effort to place them beyond any external action
adverse to our interest ; and as it was certain that we could not
attain this object by any other course we might adopt, I felt
myself fully justified in endeavoring to attain it by a conventional
arrangement with tbe power whose interference might be most
injurious to our interest. If the failure has been an utter one, as
recent disclosures announce, the fault is not with those who voted
for the ratification of the treaty upon the faith of its expressed
engagements.- Tbat these were the views I entertained and
expressed at the time respecting the exclusion of British influ
ence, I have already stated, and that statement has been confirmed
by a number pf the senators, some of whom are yet among us."
From this extract, tbe reader will perceive that General Cass
did not regret that he voted for the ratification of the treaty ; but
lie did regret that he had misapprehended the intention of the
British government. His great desire was to get some sort of
congressional recognition of the American doctrine promulgated
by President Monroe, and affirmed by his Democratic successors.
But the supplemental negotiation after the official action of the
Senate, he condemned as unauthorized, unprecedented, and dis-,
sraceful in its results- to our national honor.
Since the negotiation of the treaty, the legislature of Delaware
had returned Mr. Clayton to the Senate. And, in the unavoid
able absence of General Cass at the executive session in March,

OF LEWIS CASS. 753
1853, at which time Mr. Clayton took his seat, that distinguished
'gentleman >had taken occasion to comment upon some remarks
made by General Cass upon this subject during the, previous
winter. To set himself right before the world, General Cass con
sidered it bis duty, in his speech ofthe eleventh of January, 1854,
to notice these comments of the American negotiator, and now one
of his compeers in the Senate ; and in continuation, he proceeded
to say: '
"So far as ^respects my personal views, the declaration of the
senator from Wisconsin [Mr. Walker] is so true and explicit, that
I must trouble the Senate to hear it. 'If the senator will allow
me,' said the' honorable member, addressing me while I was
speaking, 'I think I can give nearly they words he made use of
He spoke in very complimentary terms of the then Secretary of
State for the position he had taken, and he remarked that it was
the first time in the history of Great Britain that she had given
up territory without a struggle. I recollect that distinctly, and I
presume others do.'
"Now, sir, I suppose no man within these walls, or without
them, will call in question my right to, investigate this whole
matter, and to place myself upon true grounds before the country;
mi if the senator from Delaware has any just cause of complaint,
it must be because I failed, by uncourteous oj uncalled-for remarks,
oriiu some other manner, to do properly what I was thus called
upon to do. Is this so? And allow me, in the first place, to say,
that the honorable senator, in bis remarks at the special session,
did but justice to the personal relations subsisting between himself
and me, and I assent cheerfully to all he said upon that subject.
The friendly intercourse between us had been uninterrupted; and
there were circumstances to which he rightly alluded wbich had
tended to strengthen this mutual feeling. I had — I could have— r-
neither motive nor design unjustly to assail him ; and I say here
to bim, and to the Senate, that I have carefully reviewed' all that
feltfrom me upon that occasion, and, I do not find one uncourteous
epithet,, nor a personally harsh expression. Whatever he may
consider unpleasant is necessarily inthesubjectitself, and not in
the language employed; and I submit that a fair examination of
Ma .course- in this matter could give him' no just cause of offense,
especially as I was not a volunteer in the work, but was driven to
it by self-respect, and in self-defense ; and I shall proceed to my
48

754 UFE AND TIMES
present task in the same spirit, and with kindly feelings to fhe
senator from Delaware, but still with a determination to examine
the whole subject fairly but fully, and to show the erroneous
impressions under which I was assailed.
"Now, sir, what is the complaint" of the senator? In what am
I bis accuser, as he terms me? His first charge is, that I stated
that he ' recognized the British title in Honduras, commonly called
the Balize;' and that I charged him 'with having admitted by his
letter that Central America was not Central America at all, and
that the treaty did not apply to any territory where Great Britain
had any sort of claim.'
"Mr. President, the honorable senator has committed great
errors in this statement. How and why, he alone can explain".
He can find in no remarks actually made by me upon that occasion,
a single word, "not one, which charged him with having reeognized
the British title to Honduras, or with having admitted that the
treaty did not apply to any territory where Great Britain bad any
sort of claim. The senator says, that all ihe reports of my remarks
which appeared on that and the succeeding day, will show that these
charges were made by me. This is rather a loose reference upon
which to found such an accusation. But let tbat pass. I do not
know what version of my remarks he may have met with; but
this I do know, that in the Congressional Globe, in the Union, and
in the National Intelligencer, where they are correctly reported,
not a syllable is to be found in support of this statement; and no
person, in or out of the Senate, should make such an assertion
without turning to one, at least, of the journals containing author
ized reports of our proceedings. I do not know what other papers
or letter writers may have made me say. I am not responsible
for their errors, nor had the senator from Delaware a right, upon
any partial authority, to say ' that all the reports of my remarks'
concurred upon this subject. Why, sir, independent of the moral
offense which such a misrepresentation would have carried with
it, an assertion like that, wholly unsupported by the facts?' and
contradicted by the documents before us, would have been an act
of folly which, I trust, I am little likely to commit.
"As to the statement that I charged him with ' having admitted
by his letter that Central America was not Central America at
all,' I have, in the first place, to observe, that he has not referred
accurately to my remarks. What I stated was, Mr. Clayton says,

OF LEWIS CASS. 755
'that the negotiators on the part of the governments understood the
matter alike; tbat is, tbat neither of them understood Central
America to be Central America at all, but that both of them
understood that upon the face of the treaty, though Central Amer
ica was included, yet the British claims were thereon excluded.'
In the next place, it is obvious that the only assertion I make in
the above extract is, tbat the negotiators understood the matter
alike ; and that no man will deny, for Mr. Clayton has said it
himself. The rest is a matter of inference, and I do not despair
of convincing the senator from Delaware, and, certainly, I trust to
show to the Senate, that the expression is quite within the sphere
of proper argumentation. My process of justification will be very
brief. The provisions of the treaty extended to all parts of Central
America, and by that designation I understand the geographical
region of country to which it is applied, including all Honduras,
as well where the British have obtained possession as where they
have not. I am not going into the truth or error of this opinion
at this time. The subject has been sufficiently discussed in this
body, and to renew the debate would be a profitless consumption
of time. I have heard nothing which has shaken my original
' convictions ; and tbe more the matter has been examined, the
more persuaded have I been that to exclude British Honduras, as
England holds it, from Central America, is a mere arbitrary act
of excision — reducing, without justification, the limits of that well-
known portion of our continent. I shall content myself with refer
ences to an authority or two, and then leave the question to others.
"Well, sir, thus looking at the stipulations of the treaty, and
finding that, by an act of the British government, acceded to by
ours, the British settlement of Honduras, with its dependencies,
was excepted from its operation, I said, and had a right to
say, with my views, that this course of the Secretary of State
admitted that Central America was not Central America at all.
This was not the assertion of a fact that he had formally made
this admission, but a deduction from the premises— logical or
illogical, it matters not for my present purpose— that bis acquies
cence in the demands of the British minister had so changed the
country covered by the treaty that Central America was no longer
Central America. And this is so obvious from the tenor of my
remarks, which referred to all the necessary facts, that any mis--
conception must have been a very careless one. I repeat, sir,

756 LIFE AND TIMES
that the charge was the conclusion I drew from the official acts
and 'declarations of .the honorable member. , , .. ¦
,, " And now, sir, to the references which I have just promised!
They will be tothe British government and to the senator from
Delaware, in his capacity of Secretary of State, and I. suppose that
these 'authorities will, at any rate, carry weight with them in a
controversy involving the interests of the^qne, and,, where its
opinion was adverse to its interests, the official proceedings', of
the other. . ,
" This treaty, after having been ratified by the Senate upon its
language, and not upon the understanding oi the negotiators, was
sent to England: for the sanction of the government; and there,
'circumstances show, that apprehension was excited lest the Hon
duras settlement should be embraced within thei limits of the
region over which, it extended. To prevent this, it was' returned
with a quasi ratification, or rather a declaration, that the settle
ment at Honduras, and its dependencies, were not subject to the
'engagements', of the treaty; and this declaration was received
and reciprocated' by the Secretary of State by a similar act,, which
the senator from Delaware calls a ' counter declaration;' but why,
I confess my inability to discover, for it does not counteract the
demand ofthe British minister, but assents to it by conceding
that the ' engagements' of the treaty do not apply to' British Hon
duras and its dependencies., The terms of this concession I shall
refer to directly, so that the senator from Delaware may have the
benefit of his own words to establish his own views. I will merely
say here that , I have little belief in the practical effect of his
limitations... , ,
" Now,, sir, what was the duty of the executive, when a treaty was
thus returned with a declaration intended to control its operation
by considerations exterior to the stipulations? Why, to sendrit
again to the Senate, a constituent branch of the treatyrmaking
power, for its consideration and action, and not undertake to re
strict its application by the understanding of the negotiators, at
the expense of the language of , the convention, though one of
these happened to be the Secretary of State,-^-for this union of
functions was but an accident,' and what was done upon that
occasion may be done upon any other, and the understanding
of these agents of negotiation may become more important than
the text of tbe instrument itself. And what reason was given by

OF LEWIS CASS. 757
the Secretary of State for this omission of a plain duty? He tells
Sir Henry Bulwer that the difficulty arises 'from the' use in our
convention of tbe term ' Central America.' To be sure it does;
and I am only surprised that the practiced and powerful intellect
of the senator from Delaware did not perceive that by this
acknowledgment he actually gives up the point in controversy,
indubitably and indisputably." We did not intend to include
your possessidhs, for this is the purport of the concession, but we
• u'sed, the term Central America, which embraces them, and now
we must remove the ' difficulty by substituting for. the plain lan
guage of the convention the 'understanding' of the negotiators,
thus excepting from its stipulations regions over which they
extend. If this is not the true point of the 'difficulty,' and the
'understanding,' then there is none; for, if Honduras and its de
pendencies are not in Central America, there is no difficulty,
and no ground for a demand on one side, nor a concession on the
other. <'I can' not find, after a careful examination, that this question
of the true position of Honduras, with relation to Central Amer-
Sca; is at all met by the Secretary of State. > The British Minister
felaims its exclusion from the operation of the treaty because his
government' ' does not understand the engagements of that con
vention to apply to her Majesty's settlement at Honduras or to its
dependencies.' And this declaration is met'by the avowal on the
part of the Secretary of State, 'that it was neither understood by
them (the British government) nor by either of us, (tbe negotia
tors,) to include tbe British settlement in Honduras (commonly
called British Honduras, as distinct from the'State of Honduras,)
nor the small islands in the neighborhood of that settlement,
which may be known as its dependencies. To this settlement and
tbeSei'slartds, the treaty we negotiated was not intended by either
of us to apply.' And there terminates, of course, all difference,
so far as the negotiators were concerned.
" England obtains what she wants by the acceptance of her
conditional ratification, and by the acknowledgment with which
it was received by our executive; for though there is no want of
cautious restrictive epithets — special pleadings, perhaps-— in this
assent, yet it will be found that they will produce no effect upon
the claim of England. One clear limitation, defining what we
gave up, wortld have, been true policy and true sincerity. We

758 LIFE AND TIMES
gave up British Honduras, in express terms, and certainly that
contains by far the most important portions of the possessions of
England, extending, as she claims, to the Sackatoo river, if not to
the Golfo-Dolce. The only limit is to the ' dependencies,' mean
ing, I suppose, the islands, and restricting the claim to the small
islands in the neighborhood of the settlement, and which may be
known as dependencies. What are small islands, and what is the
neighborhood of a settlement, claimed to extend more than two
hundred miles, and what may be known as dependencies, present •
as fruitful subjects for controversy as the diplomatist, who mo6t
rej'oices in his trade, could desire. Honduras is excluded from the
treaty, so far as appears by fhe papers, solely on the ground that
the negotiators did not intend to include it; not at all on the
ground that it was not covered by the convention. And, after
thus assenting to the demands of the British minister, the Secre
tary of State proceeds to explain why the term Central America
was used in the treaty, and the reason turns out to be, that it was
' adopted because Viscount Palmerston had assented to it, and
used it as the proper term.' I am sorry that no better reason
could be assigned for the use of this descriptive epithet than a
wish to accommodate the British Minister for Foreign Affairs. I
presume every senator who voted for the treaty supposed tbat the
term ' Central America ' was employed to designate a given re
gion of country, with well-known limits, and that it was not a
mere vague expression, used in compliment to a foreign sugges •
tion. The Secretary adds, tbat 'we naturally supposed, on this
account, it would be satisfactory to your government.', The reason
for this remark is not at all obvious. The British minister had
made no complaint of the terms ,used in. the treaty. Nothing
like it. The words Central America are not to be found in his
note. He merely claims the exemption he demands on the ground
of the mutual understanding, and on that ground he obtains it.
" But what follows is still loss susceptible of satisfactory expla
nation. ' But if your government now intend,' says the Secre
tary of State, ' to delay the exchange of ratifications until we shall
have fixed the precise limits of Central America, we must defer
further action until we have further information on both sides, to
which, at present, we have no means of resort, and which it is
pertain we could not obtain before the term fixed for exchanging
the ratifications would expire.' All this, sir, is very unaccountable.

OF LEWIS CASS.. 759
The British government asked no delay of the exchange of ratifi
cations. They had then actually ratified the treaty, and the authen
ticated instrument was in possession of the Secretary of State.
Apd what is still more extraordinary, he announces in this very
letter that he accepts the declaration which accompanied the act
of ratification, and makes it absolute by his own eoncessionof the
¦fact stated, and proceeds to sign the letter,, and to deliver it to Sir
Henry Bulwer, and, ' without further or other action,, to exchange
the ratifications of the treaty.' Why talk of the postponement of
ratifications in order to fix the limits of Central America, at tbe
yery moment when he was exchanging ratifications with the other
^arty ? And why talk of fixing these limits after he had admitted
what the British claimed — the exclusion of their colony from the
provisions of the treaty ? It was shutting the stable-door after the
horse had escaped. They had gained their object, and to them a
specific boundary was comparatively unimportant. And why not
>fix, these limits during the progress of the negotiations? That
might have been done, and ought to have been done, if there
were any real doubt as to the true extent of tbe region covered
by the treaty, instead of leaving it to the understanding of tbe
negotiators. " In this letter to Sir Henry Bulwer, he is told, by the Secretary
of State, that no alteration could be made in the treaty without the
^sanction of the Senate; but he does not understand that any
authority has been given to the Minister by his government to
propose any alteration. Why this remark, Mr. President ? The
Secretary very well knew what the British government wanted.
He yields to their demands in this very letter. He knew they
wanted the exclusion of Honduras from the ' engagements ' of, the
treaty, and they* ratified it upon the express condition that such
was to be the effect of their action. The process by which our
compliance with this demand was to be given, was a question for
us, and not for them — a question of internal administration with
which they had nothing to do, and about which they probably
cared as little. Why the Secretary started a constitutional point
respecting the divided functions of our government in a corres
pondence with a foreign minister, at the moment he assents to his
'mmlkation, is what I am unable to conjecture. I presume Sir
Henry Bulwer, after completing the exchange of ratifications,

760 LIFE AND TIMES
was perfectly willing to permit us to settle the question in our
own way.
" But, sir, there was an alteration, and a serious one, made in
this treaty, by the rider annexed to it, quite as effectual for the
purposes, of England as if it had been inserted in its stipulations.
That instrument embraced Central America, and the ratification
of the Senate covered that region. If a question arose respecting
its extent; what right had the Secretary of State to settle it by his
own act, and to except from the engagements of the treaty an
extensive and important section of the country? By the accept
ance of the conditional ratification, and by acquiescence in it, the
Executive added this restrictive clause to the treaty as effectually,
so far as the claims of England are concerned, as if it had made
part of its provisions, in this formal manner: provided,-that tiie
engagements of this convention shall not apply- to the British set
tlement at Honduras, nor to its dependencies. There is no denying
or explaining away this inevitable consequence of Executive'
interference." .
General Cass' extended his remarks upon the pretension of
England j and justly took strong ground in opposition to it. He
believed it to be improper for tbe government of the United States
to do any act recognizing any purchase of any part of Central
America by individuals or companies, without the consent of the
States interested in this matter. How far England might be dis
posed to favor individual schemes of aggrandizement, it was not
for him to say : but it was better for us to preserve our honor and
consistency, than to co-operate in any enterprise, at the expense
of national and established rights.
At this same session of Congress, the Homestead bill was con
sidered. This measure was designed for the benefit of the hardy
and enterprising pioneer, securing advantages to him and his
family of the utmost importance. The bill was violently opposed
by Mr. Benjamin, a senator from Louisiana, and others. General
Cass would have been false to the experience of the past, and
belied the constant professions of his life, if he had not approved
it. He was for the measure on the score of principle, of right,
and of expediency. He met and refuted the objections arrayed
1 against its passage, and gave forcible reasons for its favorable
consideration by Congress. Of these, we give the summary,

OF LEWIS CASS. 761
expressed by himself to the Senate, in too lucid Jfeftigflage to be
mistaken or misunderstood : 9 ,J- .?
..¦" Now, sir, what are the reasons in favor,of this measure, prom
ising advantages to result from its' adoption ?
"In the first place, a vast domain, a world, destined by nature
fbrtbeisupport of man, will be brought within the power of man
to1 support himself. It has been calculated — I have not examined
the data — that if the present system continues, tbe whole region
which we call ours will net be settled for centuries to come, for a
term, indeed, equal to the lives ofthe ancient patriarchs. During
that period much of this vast domain is to remain uncultivated
and unimproved ; a home only forthe Indian and for the animals,
Ms co-tenants of the forest, whom God has given to him for his
support. The injunction of the scripture, 'to replenish the earth
and subdue it,' is delayed; denied, in fact, by a christian people.
And let me ask why? Why are these extensive districts to be
shut out from the use of man? The reason, sir, is not a- very
dignified one, but nevertheless it is too true to be contradicted.
Ehis interdiction is enforced in order that you may make seven
hundred per cent, out of your investment. That is the truth in
plain English. The land cost you sixteen and a half cents per
acre, and you will hold on to it with a tenacious grasp till it will
yield you $1 25 per acre. This is not a motive worthy of such a
Country as this, nor of the example which' we ought to offer to tbe
other independent1 states of the world. What do" the elementary
writers tell us on the subject of uncultivated, unappropriated
regions? They maintain that a civilized people may take posses^
sion of such countries, notwithstanding they are held by barbarous
tribes. And this doctrine is defended for the reason that the earth
was given for cultivation, and for tbe support of man, and that
tribes occupying any portion of it, and not applying it to its legit
imate purpose^' may be rightfully confined within narrow limits,
and the residue of the country taken, and themselves brought
under the jurisdiction ofthe stranger: This principle has been
adopted and practically enforced, with the consent of all civilized
nations, ever since tbe discovery of the continent. Were this
fund necessary, that consideration would justify a longer adhere
ence to this system of occlusion than could otherwise be defended.
But we are rich, rich beyond the dreams of avarice, and I think

762 LIFE AND TIMES
it is time we should shut our eyes upon the seven hundred per
cent, and look to our duty as a christian people.,
"But, in the second place, taere is another benefit wbicb will
result from this project, and which has already been ably and
eloquently touched by the senator from Illinois, [Mr. Shields.] I
shall add but a few words to his remarks. There are portions of
our country where' men are crowded together, as they are unfor
tunately crowded in many parts of Europe. The effect of this
condensation already begins to be visible; but its evils and its
dangers will go on increasing, till they find a remedy, or make
one. There is manv a man with strong physical and intellectual
powers, who looks to his, own position,, .and realizing the dark
prospects around him, considers society as an enemy by whom he
is ill us^d, and agaiast whom he fights, a.id is ever ready to fight.
| It, is a great deal better to open a way for such a man into the
\ woods, and thus tu:n his warfare from society against the trees.
Tou will ele»ate bim in the scale of humanity. Tou will furnish
him with hopes to stimulate him, and with motives for exertion.
From an enemy to your institutions he wi1! become a fast friend.
A new future w'M be spread before him. He will have free scope
for the exercise of all bis energies, without the power or the motive
to do injury.
[ " But, again, -six', as a t'-ird reason in favor of this measure ; by
^ this augmentation upon your frontier, you will have a hardy,
\ vigorous population, able and ready to defend the country in
\ times of diScu^ty — a voluntary army worth all tbe conscriptions
[of Europe. They will be attached to the government and the
leonntry by all the motives that can animate freemen.
"And, in the fouvih place, this act, if carried into effect, will
increase the wealth and resources of the country almost indefi
nitely. These new settlers will soon become producers. They
will be also consumers, with increased means, and thus production
and consumption will reciprocally act upon each other. The
effect of this augmentation will be felt through the country;- and
if you look upon the measure merely as a statistical question,
touching, dollars and cents, you will find strong motives for pro
moting this L>nd of emigration.
" In tbe fifth place, ali experience shows tbat the class of smaller
landholders are among the safest and most natural defenders of
the country, and especially are they so where institutions are as

OF LEWIS CASS. 763
free and equal as ours. Men living upon their own farms are not )
subject to those agitations, which, from time to t|&e, distract and
divide our densely settled communities. ^No prudent man can \
look upon these forever-recurring movements without being satis
fied that our agricultural population is one of our great elements
of safety, and that tbe more it is increased, the more secure will
onr institutions become.
But, in the 6ixtb place, I desire this measure for its effect upon
the world, and especially upon republican institutions throughout
the world. I think it will furnish the noblest example ever held
put by any otber country under Heaven. The great, business of
governments, as we all know, has heretofore been to -tax the
people; to wring from- them as much of their earnings as possible;
to take from the mouth of labor, as Mr. Jefferson well expressed
it, the bread it has earned. Here is an immense domain belong
ing to the United States, and which cost almost nothing, and the
true value of which has been created by the labors and exertions
of individual citizens. Now it is proposed to permit its occupa
tion by allowing every man to select a tract for his residence.
And I repeat, sir, that by so doing, we shall present a beautiful
and encouraging spectacle to every lover of freedom throngh the
world." -,
In January, 1855, tbe Army Appropriation bill .being under
consideration in the Senate, a motion was made by Mr. Shields, a
senator from Illinois and chairman of the Military Committee of
the Senate, to insert a pro7ision for raising an additional military
force to include five hundred Indians.
To this last named proposition, General Cass was uncompro
misingly opposed. He objected to it. because it was opposed to
the moral sentiment of the nation, and in conflict with the whole
ppliey of the government. He deemed it' unnecessary, because
he thought tbat a nation of twenty-five millions of people had
power enough in its own citizens to protect itself, without calling
upon Indians to fight its battles.
It was urged in behalf of the proposition, that the Indians were
the most skillful guides and successful hunters. To this/General
Cass replied, that he had seen and acted with good Indian guides
and hunters, but, after all, fhere.was a class of. active and enter
prising men upon our frontiers — the pioneers of civilization — who'
were far, better fitted than any Indians fo accompany our troops

764 LIFE AND TIMES
as scouts, spies, guides-; and hunters. They possessed more intel
ligence than tne Indians, tbe^y- were more subject to control,
physically more .powerful, and as well acquainted with prairie
and forest life.
It was argued' that the increased force was demanded by the
administration, and Democratic senators were called upon to give
it their support. To this, General Cass observed in effect, that he
chose to examine for himself all the measures of an administra
tion, be it friend or foe, and to support such as he approved, and
no other. He did not subscribe to tbe doctrine that fealty to
party outweighed fealty to the Constitution. He believed that he
was a pretty good party man, but he would bind himself in no
such iron shackles. When tbe great points of doctrine and policy;
which have separated the parties of the country since the organi
zation of the government, were brought into question, a faithful
partizan would come to the rescue. It was no part of the doctrine
of the Democratic creed, that Congress was merely to register
the edicts of the President. Besides, he wanted no unnecessary
increase of our military force — not because he feared it, but
because be did not desire to see extended any of the institutions
of the country unnecessarily. There was a constant pressure of
circumstances to do so, which requires the jealous effort of Con
gress to counteract^— embracing not only' the military organization,
but reaching all the divisions of power. He was willing that an
additional force should be raised, to be disbanded atthe expiration
of five years, but, in no case, to employ the Indians. And the
proposition to include Indians did not receive the sanction of the
Senate. ' ,
Alarmed at the authoritative declaration of the British and
French governments, tbat they had come to an understanding*
upon all questions of policy throughout the globe, General Cass, on
the 20th of February, 1855, brought the subject before the Senate.
He took : this step, because he thought that the attention of the
government and country should be directed to this authoritative
avowal of a course of policy, which, if carried out, he believed
deeply affected our interests and our honor. And as a senator,
although under the Constitution representing in part a single
State in'the councils of the nation, he has always deemed it ,an
imperative duty to keep in his -memory the rights and interests of
all the States. Such he considers the duty of every senator and

OF LEWIS CASS. 765
of every ,member of the House of Representatives. And well will
it be, and the greater will be tho chances of preserving the Federal
Union, if his example is followed.;
Distrustful of the designs of Napoleon the Third, in the com
plications of the Cuban question, he urged the necessity and
propriety of maintaining a greater protective force upon tbe
highways of nations. Our navy should be increased, and fleets
stationed in proper cruising grounds in every sea.
"Certainly," said be, "it is an extraordinary fact tbat, in the
whole Antilles, so near us, and where our vessels are daily passing
with their rich freights and their numerous passengers, we have not
even so much as an anchorage for our vessels. Sixteen, of those
islands belong to Great Britain, three to France; two, to Holland,
two to Spain, three to Denmark, and one to Sweden, while one is
independent and divided into two governments. I suppose if we
should attempt to procure even a coal depot among these islands,
forming the door through which the commerce of tbe vast, country
drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries, as also that of West
Florida, Alabama, and Texas passes, we should receive an imperial
and royal rescript, saying, Touch notj taste not, handle not ; raise
not your flag in these regions under pain of our displeasure. Be^
sides, our communication with our possessions on the Pacific can
only be preserved by the free use of these seas. If the hour has
apt already arrived, it is certainly hastening, when imperative
duty will compel us to say, in more distinct terms than we haye
, yet employed, to the would-be regulators of the ' balance of power?
in this hemisphere, that we understand our interest in the Gulf of
Mexico and in the Caribbean" sea, and that, With God's blessing,
we shall maintain it in all time to come.
"As to Cuba, the avowed policy of intervention has lost none
of its offensive character by this union. On the contrary, it has
added physical strength to the opposition against us ; it bas added
also a more resolute purpose, and more confidence to avow it.
During the presidency of Louis Napoleon, on the 5th of December,
, 1851, the French Chief Magistrate informed the Duke of Valencia
tbat he bad dispatched three ships-of war for the protection of the
island of Cuba, and that the English government had done the
same, ' for the purpose of preventing a repetition of attempts which
might bring up serious complications between America and. the
states of Europe.' And we learn from the current reports of the

766 LIFE AND TIMES
day, that a similar measure has been adopted, and that French
and English armed ships have recently been ordered on the same
service. I suppose, sir,»the sound, public opinion of this country
supports, with almost entire unanimity, the views of Mr. Fillmore,
as made known by Mr. Everett in his able letter to the French
minister, dated December 1st, 1852,-that 'be (the President) would
consider the acquisition of Cuba by force, except in a just war ,
with Spain, (should such an event, so greatly to be deprecated; "
take place,) as a disgrace to the civilization of the age.' Such a
case of rapacity will, I trust, never stain our annals^ But the
history of France and England teaches no lesson of national for
bearance, and gives no peculiar right to their governments * to
preach homilies upon the duty of rigidly preserving their existing
territorial limits to the other independent communities of the
world. If we were to regulate our conduct by their examples
rather than by their precepts, and interpose ourselves between
them and tbe accomplishment of their projects of aggrandizement,
forming combinations with other powers for this purpose, we
should haye occasion for action froin the rising to the setting of
the sun, in mighty continents as well as in the smallest isles that
strew the ocean."
But in this same month of February, it was within the line of
his destiny thaf he should again be called upon to speak dn the
subject of slavery, — 'not upon the merits of the question, nor
upon any bill, nor with reference to any new movement. And
what, reader, do you think it was? Why, in the extraordinary
fluctuations of luck, a majority of tbe members who happened to
be elected to the legislature of the Peninsular State, for a wonder,
wished him to procure the passage of a law through Congress
prohibiting the introduction or existence of slavery in the Terri
tories of the United States, and especially in those highly desirable
Territories of Kansas and Nebraska. Nor was this all they
wished him to do. They instructed him to vote for the repeal of
the fugitive slave law, as they thought it contained provisions of
doubtful constitutionality, and which were repugnant to the moral
sense of the people of the free States. It was not mentioned' that
Michigan was one of those free States ; but that Michigan is a
free State, might have been stated with truth, coupled with the
additional remark, that in defense of- the same he had often
periled his life, long before many of them were born.

OF LEWIS CASS. 767
?.These very modest requests, neither General Cass nor his
respected colleague, Mr. Stuart, could conscientiously comply with.
It was not expressly stated, to be sure, that they must resign their
Mgh trusts if they failed to put forth their exertions in these par
ticulars, but such was the accepted meaning of the resolutions,
and this the Michigan senators could not conscientiously do, for
they had other interests to look after, of the highest importance to
the people who had sent them to Washington. As General Cass
had now for over half a century, in varied public positions, never
failed to discbarge his official duties, under all emergencies and
upon all occasions, he thought it was inadmissible for him, at this
late day in his public career, to turn his back upOn a constituency
that had evinced for him such unwavering and ardent attachment.
He considered it bis duty to stand by them and their rights to tbe
last. He did so. And that there might be no- mistake as to the
course he intended to pursue, he thus addressed them, from his
place in the Senate, after referring to the fact that he had been
once instructed to vote for the Wilmot proviso; and the instruction
lUipealed before his vote was called, and that he on that occasion
^recognized the right of instruction and the duty of the represen
tative to obey, with certain limitations :
| "And thus has the subject rested undisturbed till within a few
' days, the delegation of Michigan in Congress having been left to
follow the dictates of tbeir conscience and judgment in relation to
this whole matter. Quite recently, however, a change has taken
place. The Democratic party in the State has lost its ascendency,
and a new party, with different views, and I may add, in many
, tfespects, with discordant ones, having obtained possession of tbe
legislative power, the resolutions which have just been read are
the result of its action, and call upon me, as well as upon the
Other members of tbe delegation, to vote for depriving American
citizens in the Territories of the power to regulate one of the most
^important of their domestic concerns— that of the relation between
master and servant, and for the repeal of the existing fugitive
slave act, passed to give effect to a solemn guarantee of the Con
stitution. As I peremptorily decline to do either, and intend to
retain my place, it is necessary, in my own vindication before the
people of the State, whom I desire respectfully to address from
the seat which I here occupy by their favor and kindness, that I
should now do what I was not required tp do on the former occa-

768 LIFE AND TIMES
sion, to 'ascertain the limitations' upon the right of instruction,
or, to speak, perhaps, with more precision, ' the extent' of tbe duty
of obelience, so far as concerns my present position. And I have
to- say, sir,, that the circumstances in which the power to pass
these resolutions originated constitute one of the very cases which
occurred to me at the time those words of caution were spoken,
as restricting the obedience of the representative. The practical
question, briefly stated, is this : Has a political party, whenever
it accedes to power, by whatever combinations, the right to pass
resolutions which its opponents in legislative trusts are bound to
obey, or, if prevented from obeying,by their conscience and con
sistency, to resign their position ?
t " The consequences of such a rule of action are too obvious to
need detailed "examination, and too serious to be incurred without
.pressing necessity.. Into this body it would introduce changes,
radically affecting its organization, and incompatible with the
objects of its institution as the representative branch of the sove
reignty of the States, It would lose every characteristic of perma
nence, its members going out, year by yeai, as, political fluctuations
might transfer power from one party to another; for, at all times,
would it be easy to select questions for this process of removal
winch no honest man, of an opposite party, could support. .Spme
of these are constitutional, and others, scarcely inferior to them in/
importance, involving points of policy forming the very landmark^
of the debatable ground where pur struggles have always hereto?
fore taken place. That this power would be used, abused, indeed? ,
for this purpose, no man will deny. The excitements of the pasl;
warn us as to what the future would bring with it; and that, the
disadvantage would be the share of th,e Democracy is certain, for
it is well understood that, in the creed of our opponents, instruc
tions carry with them neither the duty to obey nor the obligation
to resign. The two Whig senators who have r occupied seats in
this body from Michigan, one of them my immediate predecessor,
and the other my colleague during a portion of my first term of
service — honorable and distinguished, citizens^-both disavowed^,
the obligation of instructions, and botb refused, at least in one
instance, to obey tbe expressed will of the legislature, conveyed, to, .
them by its resolutions ; and I believe their views were in con
formity with the opinions of their party in the State.
"I am not called upon to discuss the general doctrine. All I

OF LEWIS CASS. 769
seek is to explain why I acknowledged the obligations of the for
mer instructions and deny those of the present; and when I deny
the power of the existing majority of the legislature of Michigan,
composed, as it is, of political opponents whose efficient bond of
union is antagonism to tbe Democracy, to instruct me out of office,
I feel that my object is accomplished. I presume there was not
a member of the general assembly, whose will is embodied in that
document, who did not know that no human consideration would
induce me to support the measures which find such favor in their
eyes. So far as respects myself, it was the vacation of the office
that was hoped for."
As a rider— this word conveys the meaning — the General took
the trouble to advise tbe people of his views on the invisible topic
of Enow Nothingism, which we append to the above :
"Mr. President, strange doctrines are abroad, and strange or
ganizations are employed to promulgate and enforce them. Our
political history contains no such chapter, in the progress of our
country, as that which is ' now opening. The grave questions of
eoBstitutionality and policy, which have been so long the battle-
cry of parties, are contemptuously rejected, and intolerance, relig
ious and political,, finds zealous, and, it. may be, they will prove
successful, advocates in this middle of the nineteenth century,
boasting, with much self-complacency, of its intelligence, and in
this free country, founded upon emigration, and grown prosperous
and powerful by toleration. It is a system of proscription which
would exclude the first general who fell at the head of an organized
American army — and nobly and gallantly did he fall, while fight
ing for our infant liberties, under the walls of Quebec — from all
political confidence, because be happened to be born on the wrong
side of the Atlantic; and would exclude, also, the last surviving
signer ofthe Declaration of Independence from any similar token
of regard, because he was a Catholic, were these eminent leaders in
our revolutionary cause now living to witness this appeal to local
and sectarian prejudices. But Montgomery and Carroll went to
their graves with the weight of no such ingratitude upon their
f ihearts. Two great parties, equally attached to the principle of our
government, but differing upon many questions of administration,
and alternately borne to power and driven from it, and, whether in
place or out of it, watching each other with jealous scrutiny, pre
sent a wise and fortunate arrangement for the preservation of
49

770 LIFE AND TIMES
freedom, and for guarding against the abuse of authority. Such
has , been our condition, and well and wisety has its work been
done. What more does this lately awakened zeal propose? As',
a country, we are in possession of everything the heart of man
can desirer— power, intelligence, prosperity, happiness, abundance,
, freedom, equality, the religion of God and the respect of man —
jail tbe elements, indeed, wliich give value to social life, or security
for the duration of political blessings. We want no new parties,
no new platforms, no new organizations, and the sooner these
dangerous efforts are abandoned, the better will it be for us and
those who are to follow us in this heritage of freedom.
"During the process of constructing a party upon this nar
row basis of exclusion, humbly affecting to know nothing while
proudly aspiring to direct everything, and, especially, of construct
ing one with principles of organization, not only secret in their
operation, but seeking unity of action, not in individual conviction
and responsibility, but in tbe surrender of the will of each to the
demands of those who gain the direction of the associations —
during this process the public mind must be in a state of feverish
excitement unfriendly to calm deliberation ; and majorities, ac-!
quired by combinations arising out of this state of things, do not
act under the 'fair and proper circumstances' which I declared in
1850 to be indispensable , to the obligatory force of legislative
instructions." On the twenty-sixth of February, 1855, General Cass had the
pleasure of presenting to Congress in the name of the family of
¦ the laj;e General Robert Armstrong, the sword of General Jack
son. " I hold in my band," said General Cass, " tbe sword of
General Jackson, which he wore in all his expeditions while in
tbe service of the country, and which was his faithful companion
in his last and crowning victory when New Orleans was saved
from the grasp ofa rapacious and powerful enemy, and our nation
from the disgrace and disaster which defeat would have brought
in its train. When the hand of death was upon him, General
Jackson presented this sword to his friend, the late General Arm
strong, as a testimonial of his high appreciation of the services,
worth, and courage of that most estimable citizen and distin
guished soldier, whose desperate valor on one occasion stayed the
tide of Indian success and saved the army from destruction. The
family of the lamented depository, now that death has released

OF LEWIS CASS. 771
him from the guardianship of this treasure of patriotism, are de
sirous it should be surrendered to the custody of the national
legislature, believing that to be the proper disposition of a memo
rial which, in all times tp come, will be a cherished one for the
American people."
And most fit was this final disposition of an invaluable
souvenir. Beside the sword of Washington, and the cane of
Franklin, another legacy of departed greatness, another weapon
from the armory of patriotism, comes to claim its place in the
sanctuary assigned to its predecessor, and to share with it the
veneration of tbe country in whose defense it was wielded.
We have already observed that General Cass does not look with
favor upon the political party known by the name of Know Noth
ing;, and the pnblic announcement of bis views upon this topic
in his place in the Senate on the fifth of February, 1855, ought to
have foreclosed all cavil with respect to them. Otherwise, how
ever, is the fact. A national convention of the order at Phila
delphia, in the spring of 1855, took grounds in its platform in
favor of popular sovereignty in territorial legislation and goverti'
ment. Indeed, the convention recognized the correctness of the
doctrine enunciated in tbe Nicholson letter ; and more for this
/ 7
reason than because of any pretense that the General approved of
the political organization represented' in tbat convention, the
rumor soon became current that his sympathies, nevertheless,
were in that direction. He paid no attention to it, however, until
a letter appeared in the public prints, written by General Houston,
of Texas, in which the statement was broadly made that General
€ass approved of the platform of the American order, clearly
intending to convey the impression that he favored that political
party. Nothing was further from the truth. And more to put
his own political record right, now near its end, than because of
any particular interest which he might fancy the public to take in
his priyate sentiments on this subject^ especially as they had been
feferred to from such a distinguished source, he reiterated his
l«tiatured views through the columns of the Detroit Free Press, in
4ihe following letter:
.. ;, , "Deiboit,. Aug. 22d, 1855.
$To the Editor of the Detroit Free Press :
jjl- « Sib  The public journals contain a letter dated July 24th, writ-
'tei by General Houston, which has just met my eye, and in which

772 LIFE AND TIMES
he says he perceives by the papers of the day, that ' General
Cass has approved tbe platform of the American order, as pro
claimed to the world by the convention at Philadelphia.' I had
observed the statements to which General Houston alludes, and
had let them pass unnoticed, for it would be a hopeless task to
endeavor to correct all the misapprehensions and misrepresenta
tions to which it is my lot, as well as that of all other public men,
to be exposed in these days of party strife ; and, indeed, I could
not suppose that such assertions would deceive any one who had
heard or had read my remarks in tbe Senate of the United States,
on tHe fifth of February last, upon the presentation of the resolu
tions of the legislature of Michigan, instructing the senators of
that State to vote for an act of Congress prohibiting the introduc
tion of slavery into the Territories, of the United States. Upon
that occasion, while declining to comply with those instructions,
I took the opportunity to express my sentiments in relation to the
new political movement which sought to acquire and exercise
power by secret combinations, bound together by the sanctions of
an, path, which, it is said, made it the, duty of its members to sur
render their individual convictions to the expressed will of a
majority of their associates. I then observed: ' Strange doctrines
are abroad, and strange organizations are employed to promul
gate and enforce them. , Our political history contains np such
chapter in tbe progress of our country, as that which is now open
ing. The questions of constitutionality and policy, which have
been so long the battle-cry of parties, are contemptuously rejected,
and intolerance, religious and political, finds zealous, and it may
be they will prove successful, advocates in this middle of the
nineteenth century, boasting with much self-complacency of its
intelligence, and in this free country, founded upon immigration
and grown prosperous and powerful by toleration. . . . .
 We want no new parties, no new platforms, no new
organizations, and the sooner these dangerous efforts are aban
doned, the better will it be for us and for those who are to follow
us in this heritage of freedom.'
" I might well suppose, after the expression of these views upon
the floor ofthe Senate, and under circumstances of peculiar respon
sibility, that any further action on my part would be unnecessary
to prove my consistency, as a disciple of the school of Washing
ton, and Jefferson, and Madison, and Jackson, in the rejection of

OF LEWIS CASS. 773
a dangerous innovation, inconsistent With all the principles those
patriots taught, and which, in effect, aims to transfer the great
political duty of an American citizen from the light of day, where
it should be exercised in this land of freedom, to secret conclaves,
as unfriendly to calm investigation, as to wise and patriotic
decision. But the extract from the letter of General Houston has
shown me that these reports have received more Credit than I had
believed, and this consideration has induced me thus publicly to
notice and to contradict them. My opipions, indeed, upon any
subject are but of little consequence except to myself, but, if they
are worth referring to, they are worrit7 the trouble of making the
reference a true 'one.
"I have no Sympathy with this plan of political organization —
none whatever; neither with tne means it employs, nor the objects
it seeks to attain. Its secrpsy, its oath-bound obligations, its con
trol of the ballot-box, its system of proscription, striking both at
political rights and rehgious duties, and its inevitable tendency
to array one portion of the community against another, and to
carry deadly feudp-'lnto every corner of the land, of which we have
just had a terrible proof, written in characters of blood, and are
doomed to have many more if this movement goes On, for this is
but the firsl; instalment of death, and how many others are to
follow, and to what extent, and when the last is to be paid, and
after wnat lamentable vicissitudes, is known only to Him who fore
sees events and can control them, — these characteristics mark it
as the most dangerous scheme wbich has ever been introduced
into our country to regulate its public action or its social condition.
If is the Orangeism of a republic, scarcely better in principle than
its monarchical prototype— of a republic whose freedom and
equality justify as little as they invite the introduction of a
ihachinery whose operation is concealed from public observation^
but whose consequences are as clear as they are alarming.
s "General Houston gives credence to the report that I approve
' the platform of the American order, as proclaimed to the world
by the convention at Philadelphia.' I am aware that changes
*tave been made, both in the name and in some of the principles
of this new organization ; but these cbanges do not remove my
Abjections to it. Its spirit of exclusion and intolerance remains,
and with it, its evils and its dangers. It is a book to which I can
Hot be* reconciled, whatever edition, whether the new one or the

774 LIFE AND TIMES
old one, is offered to me. There is, indeed, one principle laid down
in that convention which meets my concurrence, and that is, the
declaration thaj-.', Congress ought not to legislate upon the subject
of slavery within the territory of the United States.' I regret,
however, that the bpdy which has thus pronounced against the
exercise of the power did not also pronounce against its existence,
but carefully pi etermitted — to use its own words — the expres
sion of any opinion upon that point. Still, I approve its action
upon the subject, so far as it goes. It is a step in tbe right di
rection, and I should rejoice to see it followed by every polit
ical party in our country. It is a step, too, towards the security
of political rights — this opposition to the legislation of Con
gress over tbe internal affairs of the people of the Territories,
and, among others, over tie relation of master and servant,
or that of husband and wife, or parent and child ; for these
matters of domestic policy are subjects which should be left to
the territorial communities, and to divest them pf the power to
regulate them, is an act of unmitigated despotism. The negation
of all power of interference by Congress in tie internal govern
ment pf the Territories is the true constitutional doctrine, and the
only safe and practicable one, and I am rejoiced that, after years
of opposition — of obloquy, indeed— it is fast establishing itself
upon impregnable grounds.
"The misapprehension which has prevailed upon this grave
subject is among the most extraordinary political events of my
time. One would naturally suppose that in this country, the
dogma of internal government by an irresponsible legislature over
a distant community, unrepresented in the ruling body, would find
but little favor, and that the power to establish and put in opera
tion a government might well be defended, while the power to
control all the concerns of human life would be left without an
advocate. The difference is broad and practical, and should be
the dearer to us, as it was the very consideration urged by our
Revolutionary fathers in their contest with the mother country,
which began by argument, but ended by arms. It was asserted •
as early as 1774, when the Continental Congress declared that the
English colonists ' are entitled to free and exclusive power of
legislation in their several provincial legislatures, where their
right of representation can alone be preserved, in all cases of tax
ation and internal polity, &c.' In that great struggle, the patriots

OF LEWIS CASS. 775
who conducted it conceded to the British Parliament the authority
to organize colonial governments, but denied tbeir right to touch
the internal polity oi the people. And for the support of that
great principle, denied and derided as it is now, tfiey Went to war.
" I observe that a highly respectable and intelligent gentleman,
Governor Hunt, of New Tork, in a letter just published, speaks Of
the Nebraska bill as ' based on tbe absurd theory of territorial
sovereignty.' I never beard a man support that measure or
approve it for such a reason. Governor Hunt has mistaken thes
sneers of its enemies for tbe views of its friends. The Nebraska
bill rests upon no such theory — upon no theory at all, but upon the
stable foundation of the federal Constitution, and of the natural
rights of man.
"I know of no one who claims sovereignty for the Territories.
All concede their dependence upon tbe United States. But
within this relation, there are mutual rights and duties, and the
questions — what power may Congress lawfully exercise, and are
the people of the Territories divested of all rights— must be de
termined, not by politico-metaphysical considerations, arising out
of the attribute of sovereignty, but by the Constitution of thei
United States, — to the law, and to the testimony. By that Con
stitution, the general government is a government, not only of
granted, but of limited powers, and Congress can exercise no
authority which is not given by the great charter that brought it
into existence. Let any man put his finger upon the clause of
that instrument which confers this power of , internal interference,
and I will abandon the principle, long as it has, been cherished
by me. ,
* .. .. .. at a. u.

#

" I have never known the time when the Democratic party was
called upon by higher considerations to adhere, faithfully and
zealously, to their organization and their .principles,, than they
are at this day. Our confederation is passing through the most
severe trial that it has yet undergone. Unceasing efforts are
Ipaking to excite hostile and sectional feelings, against which we
'were prophetically warned by the Father of his Country, and if
Pthese are successful, the days of this Constitution are numbered.
" The continued assaults upon the south, upon its character, its
constitutional rights, and its institutions, and the systematic per
severance and the bitter spirit with which these are pursued,

776 LIFE AND TIMES
while they warn the Democratic party of the danger^ should also
incite it to united and vigorous action. They warn it, too, that
the time bas come when all other difierenoes which may have
divided it should give way to the duty of , defending the Constitu
tion, and when that great party, coeval with the government,
should be united as one man for the accomplishment of the work
to which it is now called, and before it is too late. It is the
American party, for it has neither sectional prejudices nor sec
tional preferences, and its care and its efforts extend wherever the
Constitution of its country extends, with equal regard to the rights
and interests of all. I believe the fate of this great republic is
now in its hands, and so believing, I earnestly hope that its action
will be firm, prompt, and united, yielding not one hair'6 breadth
of its time honored principles, and resisting to the last the danger
ous efforts with which we are menaced; and, if so, the victory of
the Constitution, I doubt not, will be achieved.
" I am, sir, respectfully, " Tour ob't ser't, "Lewis Cass." .
Another presidential canvass is fast approaching, and many
persons in various sections of tbe republic still cling with heart
felt tenacity to General Cass, as the needed pilot to guide the ship
of state over the tempestuous seas which the future political
horizon indicates must befall it. But he seconds no such move
ment. His age warns him that he has done his duty to his
country, and beckons him to relinquish the turmoil of public life
for the quietude of a retired and happy home.
He has received many letters soliciting the use of his name in
the primary assemblages of the people, with the view of formally
presenting it to the national nominating convention. To all these
requests, he makes but one reply, and that is contained in the
following correspondence, too explicit to require any further
comment: I
"Philadelphia, Nov. 5th, 1855. &¦*-
"Hon. Lewis Cass — Sir: — As tbe time is fast approaching
when it will be necessary for the Democratic party to select dele
gates to make their nominations for President and Vice-Presi
dent, and inasmuch as we, the undersigned, feel great interest in

OF LEWIS CASS. 777
selecting the proper candidate for President, and believing you to
be the most competent and most available candidate, and one
that the people would take pride in electing if nominated, we
therefore most respectfully ask you for an answer, in reply to our
note, saying if you will confer a favor on your friends and fellow-
citizens.
" Ankbew J. Webster, " And others."
"Deteoit, Nov. 23d, 1855.
," Gentlemen — I have received your letter asking me if I am a
candidate for the office of President of the United States, and ex
pressing the gratification it would give you to support me for that
high station.
" While thanking you for this manifestation of your kindness
and confidence, of which I shall always preserve a grateful recol
lection, I reply that I am not a candidate for the Presidency, nor
do I desire that my name should be presented in connection with
it to the consideration of the Democratic party ofthe Union.
" I am, gentlemen, " With great regard, ¦
" Truly yours, "Lewis Cass.
"Andrew J. Webster, Esq., and others, Philadelphia."
General Cass is now verging upon seventy-three years of age.
Fifty years of his life have been passed in public position, and
during three-fourths of that long period, as the reader of these
pages has perceived, he has filled a large space in the political
affairs of the world. Possessed naturally of a robust constitution,
his physical energies have enabled him to endure the fatigues
incident to activity and labor, and have enabled him to bear up
under the most exhausting intellectual effort.
His habits are simple, his manners and disposition democratic;
his style of living plain, but substantial ; and his residence not
L ostentatious, but elegant. Averse to idleness and dissipation, he
is merry with his companions and strong in bis friendship. He
is remarkable for bis affability to young persons ; and surrounded
: hy them at his own table, he can be as hilarious, and happy as the
* gayest of th'em. Fond of bis study, and pleased with his own
reflections in retirement, he is not a recluse, but on all occasions

778 LIFE AND TIMES
his, admirers, friends, and fellow-citizens; are welcome to his large
and hospitable mansion, on the corner of Fort and Cass streets,
in the prosperous and beautiful city of Detroit. General Cass is
a member of the ancient fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons.
He has repeatedly held the office of Grand Master. He believes
the institution eminently useful in its quiet and gentle offerings
of heartfelt philanthropy. Co-extensive with civilization, the
order, in his judgment, is capable of doing great good to its mem
bers all over the globe. He has seen the sign of recognition, and
felt the grip of friendship among the savages. He never regretted
tbat he became a member. The aged — the sick — the unfortunate
— all find refreshment in the south, and reward in tbe west.
In bis daily walk he forgets not a companion of many years.
She who was the partner of his inmost thoughts from early man
hood — Mrs. Elizabeth Cass — deceased March 5th, 1853, at her
residence in Detroit. She had long been an invalid, and was
ready to obey the summohs of her Divine Master in Heaven.
She was a lady pf exemplary piety — of sweet and confiding dis
position — of the "most unobtrusive deportment. None knew her
but to love ber, none spoke of her but to praise her. Her virtues
are embalmed in the remembrance of her most affectionate
surviypr. General Cass passes his congressional vacations for the most
part at home. Occasionally, he accepts an invitation to deliver
an address. His invitations to do so are numerous. To a judi
ciously selected library, , be makes constant additicns from the
numerous publications of the day. He delights to pass an hour
or so, for recreation, most every day, in the perusal of romances,
such as those of Scott, Cooper and Irving, and the like. In the
enjoyment of excellent health, bis mental powers still remain
vigorous and active. Born during tbe war of independence, he
is among the few, very few, surviving links which connect the
men of the revolution with the present generation. Often, in early
youth, did he converse with a venerable relative then at the
extremity of a long life, who was a cotempOrary of Peregrine
White —the first child born to the pilgrims after their arrival in
America. He is among the few, very few, survivors who evert
saw — much less conversed with — Washington., What an appal-^
ling image of the progress and destiny of this matchless federative
empire, do these simple facts present ! But one life passed away

OF LEWIS CASS. 779
between the first and latest born of one of its greatest communi
ties — between its infancy and maturity — between tbe oldest born
of one great portion of the new race destined to occupy this hem
isphere, and the twenty-five millions of people who are now
fulfilling that mighty mission, commenced in weakness but con
summated in power !
His private affairs are so arranged as to require but little of his
personal attention. His property bas grown with the country
where he resides, and bas now attained to a large estate. With
no projects of ambition, pecuniary or political, to perplex or annoy
him, in his venerable, age he feels that the lines have fallen to
him in pleasant places, and tbat he has a goodly heritage.
He has, in the course of an eventful life, passed through many
trying scenes. He has been a leading actor, with undisguised
position and affirmative acts, in the great political questions of the
age. ' His opinions and views are fully and unequivocally before
the world. By them he bas been willing to live ; and by them,
in God's own good time, be is content to die. His great desire —
so far as the hopes of earth are concerned — is that the blessings
of a republican government may be enjoyed by his descendants
to the most remote generation.
He has as little personal interest in all these questions as any
man, be the other whom be may. Having passed the term of
human existence assigned to man by the Psalmist — three score
years and ten — he is warned that his hold upon life is frail and fleet
ing. Among the very few men now living — perhaps the only one
— appointed to important civil offices by Mr. Jefferson, he prizes
this testimonial ofthe confidence of that great man and pure states
man as one of the most precious memorials left to him. He feels
that, for half a century, he has adhered to the political doctrines
of tbe Father of Democracy, and done nothing to forfeit his confi
dence, were he yet living.
During a long and active public career, he has received far
more important proofs of the favor of his country than he ever
expected; and to her service he has always carried the desire to
^ do his duty. And now, when his aspirations for political distinc-
* tion are among the things that have been, if he can make no other
return for all this kindness, he will make the return of fidelity, by
an undeviating adhesion to those principles which have so long
been the rule of his public conduct.

780 LIFE AND TIMES
With no griefs to assuage — no resentments to gratify — no pur
poses to attain but tbe great purposes of tbe Democratic party,
closely interwoven, as it is, with the most prosperous government
that tbe light of day ever shown upon — his heart is filled with
gratitude for what he has received, and not with regret because
he has not received more. Animated by these sentiments, he will
hold on to his party and its doctrines until his hold is broken by
that final change which, sooner or later, comes to all.
The example of his public career will, in future time, be referred
to as an instructive lesson of wisdom ; the principles wbich have
guided him are but the rules upon which he conducted the ad
ministration of all his duties as a citizen, expanded and applied
to a more enlarged, sphere of action. The purity and simplicity
of his life have made a lasting impression on the minds of his
countrymen, and contributed most essentially to elevate the stand
ard of political morality among the public men of his time.'
Sometimes the shadows of by-gone days pass over him, and he
awakes as from a dream, asking himself, Is this great country,
north of the Ohio and west of the lakes, teeming with life, liberty,
and prosperity — is this the country he entered fifty years ago, shut
out from the light of heaven by tbe primitive forests that covered
it? Is this tbe country which then contained one Territory and
now six States of the Union ; whose population then numbered a
few thousands, and now five millions of people? and the great
rivers, unsurpassed upon the face of the globe — mighty arteries,
ready for all the varied intercourse of civilization ; mountains,
rich in their mineral products, and emboweling the wealth of the
earth; prairies and plains, still stretching onward, as boundless in
their extent as in their fertility; and, over all, a climate mild,
equable, and admirably adapted to the human constitution ; — are
these the rivers he navigated, the mountains he climbed, the
prairies and plains he traversed, when the silence of the land was
unbroken by tbe cheerful hum of human industry, and its solitude
uninterrupted but by the wandering Indian and the animals that
administered to his wants — when a world of primitive gigantic
vegetation extended its sway across the country, and on to the
distant shores of the Pacific, where the flag of our fathers and our
own now waves in the breeze that is wafted from the far off con
tinent of Asia ! And the flourishing towns and populous cities —
the seats of civilization and of commerce — could he there have

OF LEWIS OA£S. 781
often slept under wide-spreading trees, throwing their broad
branches over a virgin soil ? And the railroad, does it follow the
war-path, where be followed the Indian? And the church bell,
which now summons a christian community to prayer and praise,
how brief to him seems the interval since the loneliness was broken
by the war-drum and the war-song ! Truly, a better genius than
him of Aladdin's lamp — the genius of industry and enterprise —
is doing that mighty work whose ultimate issue it is not given to
human sagacity to foretell. The events of ages elsewhere here
seem to be compressed within the ordinary life of man: With no
past — born but yesterday — we have grown to-day. We have no
monuments far back in the haze of time — glorious in their ruins —
telling tbe story of former magnificence in the very solitude that
tells the stpry of present decay.
Of Lewis Cass' earthly career yet to come, we can not better
bring this work to a termination than by repeating his words to
the Senatej a few days prior to its last adjournment:
" For myself, sir, if Providence permit, I shall remain in the
position I occupy during tbe residue of my term of service, unless,
indeed, the Democracy of Michigan, should require me to do what
my convictions of duty would prohibit me from doing ; in which
event I should retire, without hesitation, to private life, where,
indeed, I am sufficiently warned, by the years that have passed
over me, I must soon retire, come what may. But, as my life
draws towards, its close, age, as it advances, instead of enfeebling,
adds strength to my love of country, and continues to console me
with bright hopes of her future power and stability."

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