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 up our harps upon the willow, and resigned our national independence 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 of my friendship and esteem.

"ANDREW JACKSON."

It would be difficult for one to write a letter expressing sincerer or warmer friendship and respect. And it was the more gratifying to General Cass' feelings, because it so effectually annihilated 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 his 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, the 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.

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 Cass 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 "today," 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 present, 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

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 monument 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 Egean 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, and crucifixion, and ascension. But the 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 extend them. You can not pierce the barrier which shuts in the past and separates you from by-gone ages: but you have done better than that, you have pierced the barriers which isolated you and separated 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

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, intelligent, 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 approach 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."

Throughout the year 1843, the public mind became absorbed in the Presidential election, and the politicians of both the Whig and Democratic parties were active in preparing for the nominating conventions. The Whigs were, 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 of the President 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

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, there 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 presentation of his name to the people was the holding of a national convention. The partizans of the President were known as the Tyler 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 ascribable 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 unwelcome punishment could be inflicted upon the Whig party, than to elect the man whom they had beaten so 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. Among his friends were many able statesmen and adroit political tacticians: men of experience in management 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 indicating 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