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RE AD AMD CIRC UL AT] 
 
 PUBLlSHEn UNDER AUTHORITV OF THE NATIONAL kfiT, 
 JACKSON DEMOCRATIC ASSOCIATION COMMITTEET. 
 
 ■w- 
 
 CtEN. CASS AND THE QUINTUPLE TREATY, 
 
 We ask the attention of the American people to the 
 protest of General Cass against the quintuple treaty, 
 whilst the minister of our government at France. This 
 combination, entered into by the five principal powers of 
 Europe, under the specious plea of suppressing the slave- 
 trade, was designed by its authors to place the ships of 
 the United States and the commerce of the world under 
 the control of the naval power of Great Britain- 
 rendering our vessels liable to be detained from their 
 voyage, searched, and sent to a British court of adndiralty 
 for trial and adjudication. 
 
 With the keen sagacity of a consummate statesman, 
 General Cass foresaw the consequences to result from 
 this combination, and, like a great general upon afield 
 of battle, seizing the favorable moment— although acting 
 upon his own responsibility, and without the authority 
 of his goverument— crushed the measure in the bud ! 
 A triumph without a parallel in the history of diplomacy, 
 and a service to his country unequalled in its beneficial 
 results in the history of the government. 
 
 Were it the only act in his long life of brilliant public 
 service, this alone would place him among the benefac- 
 tors of his country, by the side of Washington, and 
 Jefferson, and Franklin. 
 
 Mr. Cass to Mr. Webster. * 
 
 Legation of the United States, 
 Paris, February 15, 1842. 
 Sir : I have not heretofore considered it necessary to 
 write you officially respecting the state of affairs here, 
 having relation to the question of the right of search de- 
 pending between the American and British governments. 
 But though no direct diplomatic action seemed advisable till 
 recently,'! did not the less observe the progress of events, 
 nor neglect, by proper conversations and explanations 
 with those who, from their position, iniiuenced them, to 
 convey a just notion of the subject, in its relation not on- 
 ly to 'the United States, but to all other maritime powers 
 who do not seek the supremacy of the seas. And I have 
 the satisfaction to believe that my exertions were not 
 ■wholly useless, either with respect to public opinion or 
 to public measures. I have kept you informed in my pri- 
 vate communications of the progress of affairs, as well as 
 of my own course of unofficial action ; and 1 have trans- 
 mitted also such of the French journals as seemed, in ad- 
 dition to the other information, best calculated to convey 
 to you a correct idea of the state of affairs here, and of 
 public feeling. 
 
 But I have just taken a step which renders necessary a 
 full and free report of the condition of things here, ar.d 
 of the reawtB wbitb have led me to aiojt t)ii3 measuxe. 
 My letter of the 13th instant to the Minietet of foreign 
 
 Affairs, a copy of which I enclose, will make known to" 
 you my general sentiments concerning the relation in 
 which we are placed with the French government by •:h'^. 
 signature of the quintuple treaty for the suppression -oi 
 the slave trade, and by the declarations of Lord Palrror- 
 ston and Lord Aberdeen concerning the measures whcK 
 they claim to be indispensable to its execution. I n.cd 
 add nothing upon this subject. 
 
 I hesitated, at first, respecting the true course to be 
 adopted. That it was proper to bring officially to the no- 
 tice of the French government the declaration of that c.t 
 Great Britain, that the conclusion of these treaties creaierj 
 an obligation and conferred a right to violate the tlaf, ot 
 the United States, I did not entertain a doubt. What • .as 
 true of the duty of one of the parties, was true ot the duly 
 of each of them. Either, therefore, the claim of G' eat 
 Britain was well founded, and in that event the gov^'vu- 
 ment of France was about to contract new 9bligat ■. ^ 
 which might bring it into collision with the United St - : ;; 
 —a result I was certain it did not contemplate ; o. tiie 
 claim was unjust, and in that event the treaty was about 
 to be made the pretext of a direct attack upon our rizhtb 
 and honor by one of the parties, assuming to be govt, ried 
 by the obligations it had contracted toward the other 
 associated powers: a state of things which gave ui a 
 ri2;ht to call upon them to disavow such pretensions, and 
 either to withdraw from an arrangement which wa;. be- 
 coming so menacing to us, or to declare by a solemn act 
 that it was not susceptible of such a construction , and 
 should not, with their consent.be employed for s .eh a 
 purpose. My first impression was, to present a fortnal 
 protest against the ratification of the treaty; but con i<iafe 
 )ng that I had no instructions to take so decided a Meas- 
 ure, and that it would be more respectful to the Foncli 
 government, of whose friendly dispo.sition to the I .uted 
 States I have had numerous evidences, and pro' Voly 
 quite as useful, to state generally the bearing ct the 
 whole matter upon the United States, without ck,:^:'i;i); 
 auv specific action, I finally determined to tak this 
 course, and the letter to Mr. Guizot is the conseque..ue. 
 
 I shall now proceed to make some remarks upc.'i this 
 general subject which may not be useless in th( con- 
 sideration which the government will necessarily }/• >'e to 
 it. For some years the English journals have with rauch 
 art turned the public attention of Europe from th.- fcreat 
 question of maritime right and of the freedom of th • a?, 
 involved in our discussions with Great Britain, coi ; cted 
 with the measures to be adopted for the suppressioi. ;■• ih'^. 
 slave trade, and directed it to that infamous trathc some- 
 times asserting and sometimes insinuating that ou ■■iuo- 
 sition to the co-operation their government propose.: ji-gi- 
 nated in the miserable motive of profit— the pro' t lo h ■ 
 derived from the most wretched of all commerce Bu:. 
 thanks to the progress of truth, our cause is no-- v--*^'n 
 understood upon the continent of Europe; and, a ; iv. su 
 sudden reactions where injustice has been unw : .iv^r, 
 done, the public sentiment here and elsewhere' is >. ttint' 
 Etrongly in our favor. The question has notagr.;: bee- 
 presented in either of the chambers; but the indciti' 
 in the jouinala, and in all societieo, are ti>o cl£.;j- ■ 
 uiiuncleretcod.* 
 
 CiJTumetances hare placed ue in a posiiioa ■ 
 
<,^^y 
 
 
 feimly maintained, will be equally honorable to ourselves, 
 and useful to all other powers interested in the freedom 
 of the seas. Depend upon it, we have reached one of 
 those epochs in the proy;ress of a nation to which history 
 looks, back, if not as decisive of its destiny, at all events 
 an infiuencina: it. and as roiitrolling its character and its 
 '■onduct for a Ions series of years. England has advanced 
 H pretension which we can never submit to without dis- 
 honor. And. ill its enunciation, she has spared our jiride 
 aa little as our rights. On the 27th of August, 1341, she 
 avows the determination, and claims the right, to search 
 our ships; and this interpolation into the law of nations 
 iM advanced with a cool iiess which mi^ht well surprise 
 lis, if anything could surprise us, in the march of hu- 
 man ambition. 
 
 The pretension is not put forth as a debatable point, to 
 be discussed between the two governments, and to be set- 
 tled in a mutual spirit of amity. But Lord Palmerston 
 .iistinctly tells us, that the e.xemption of the vessels of the 
 Jnited States from search ;.s a doctrine to w/nckthe Brit- 
 sli government never can nor will subscribe. And he 
 adds, with a rare comity, indeed, that he hopes "the day 
 is not far distant when the government of the United 
 States will cease to confound two things which are in 
 i,heir nature entirely ditferetit — will look to things, and not 
 ■ words — and, becoming vviser from the lessons thus 
 ■aught, will sntFer the British cruisers to search their ves- 
 sels, at all times and in all places, and content themselves 
 with calling it a visit! For myself, I see no mutual con- 
 cession by which the parties may be brought together. 
 A contested territory may be divided, and a claim for pe- 
 cuniary injury may be reduced and satisfied, but we can- 
 not divide a great principle — one of the attributes of our 
 independence — nor reduce the sphere of its operation. 
 We can only demand its inviolability with its just con- 
 sequences. Under these circumstances, the first ques- 
 tion is, if we shall yield .' and that being answered in 
 the negative, (as I am satisfied it will be, by the uni- 
 versal feeling of the country,) the next is, will Eng- 
 land yield.' It is our safer cour.«e to believe that .she 
 will not; and looking to her line of policy, that too is our 
 most rational course. Wherever she has planted her foot, 
 whether on marsh, moor, or mountain, under the polar cir- 
 cles as under the troiuc?— I w'Ai not say never, that word 
 does not belong to the deeds of man— but rarely has she 
 voluntarily withdrawn it. Whenever she has asserted a 
 pretension, she has adhered to it through evil report and 
 through good report, in prosperity and in adversity, with 
 an iron will and with a firm hand, of which the history 
 of the world furnishes, perhaps, no equal example since 
 the proudest days of the Roman empire. In this con- 
 oistency of purpose, and in the e.xcess even of patriotism, 
 which "ministers to it, there is something noble and impos- 
 jag; and I am among the last to deny the beautiful traits 
 of the English character, or the benefits which England 
 ')&B rendered to the world by her e.xample and her efforts. 
 But she is not the less dangerous in her schemes of 
 ambition from these redeeming considerations; and the 
 time has come when we must look her de.signs in the 
 face, and determine to resist or to yield. War is a great 
 evil; but there are evils greater than war, and among 
 these is national degradation. This we have never yet 
 experienced, and I trust we never shall. If Lord Ash- 
 burton 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 
 subject of lasting gratification to our country ; and more 
 pa.'ticularly if, as I trust, before entering into any di.scus- 
 flicaSrJie is prepared to give such explanations as will 
 show that we have misunderstood the intentions of the 
 British government respecting this claim of a right to 
 ch.-^nge the law of nations, in order to accommodate it to 
 the^r treaty stipulations and its practical consequence— a 
 claim to enter and search our vessels at all times and in 
 al. ;)lace3. This preliminary proceeding would be wor- 
 jf the gravity of the circumstances, and equally hon- 
 le to both governments. It seems to me, it is due to 
 I allude to it in tlua connexion, bec^uie tha subject 
 ^cessarilypriifieniei-.Esli -.o the French (jcvemnienr. 
 
 and because I feel confident that they are not prepared to 
 
 support the pretensions of Great Britain. 
 
 We have already given one memorable example of 
 moderation to the world in the rejection of a unanimous 
 application from a neighboring people for admission into 
 our confederacy; and this, too, of a territory among the 
 most fertile and valuable upon the face of the earth, and 
 destined to become our rival in the production of some 
 of our richest staple articles. When accused of ambi- 
 tion, we may point to this proof of self-denial, and chal- 
 lenge an equal instance of its exercise. It is a fact worth 
 volumes ot professions of disinterestedness and of dis- 
 claimers of all desire of self-aggrandisement. 
 
 It is not to be disguised that tlie quintuiile treaty for the 
 suppression of the slave-trade was intended to act upon 
 the United States by its moral force. As to France 
 and England, their co-operation in the necessary meas- 
 ures for the abolition of that traffic was already secured 
 by the treaties of 1831 and 1833; and as to Prussia, Rus- 
 sia, and Austria, I suppose neither of them ever had, or 
 ever will have, a vessel engaged in that commerce. But 
 it was hoped, certainly by one of the pirtics, that this 
 great combination would either induce the United Stales 
 to follow their example and submit themselves to the 
 measures indicated, or ihat it would lead to the establish- 
 ment of some new principles of maritime law without 
 them. But the subject is now so well unders'.ood, that 
 we have little to fear from this great combination so long 
 sought and so highly applauded. Its moral force, as the 
 "Journal des Debats" justly observes, is gone. The dis- 
 cussion in the Chamber of Deputies, and the almost unan- 
 imous condemnation of the treaty, will have indicated to 
 you the true state of feeling here ; and you will not fail 
 to appreciate the importance of the emphatic declaration 
 of Mr. Guizot, during the debates, that the Americans 
 were right, and that France, in the same circumstances, 
 would do the same thing. The value of this testimonial 
 to the justice of our course, made by such a statesman in 
 the face of Europe, can hardly be overrated. 
 
 Our true policy is to discourage all great combinations 
 having for their object the regulation of maritime princi- 
 ples and police. European confederations for the regula- 
 tion of European questions, do net come within the si)heie 
 of our policy, as they touch neither our rights nor our 
 interests. But when these powers extend their care and 
 their jurisdiction over the ocean, I think the time has 
 arrived for us to make ourselves heard. No nation is 
 more interested than we are in the freedom of commerce, 
 and we do not advance a single pretension which can 
 give just cause of umbrage to any other country. If, in- 
 deed, a general congress of nations could be assembled 
 where all might he represented, the weak as well as the 
 strong, then we might fairly take our place there, and 
 recognise its decisions as obligatory. But this is a meas- 
 ure so doubtful in itself, as well as in its consequences, 
 that it is our interest, as it is the interest of all people 
 who do not conceal any projects of aggrandisement in a 
 professed desire to meliorate the maritime code of na- 
 tions, to adhere to that code as they find it. This adhe- 
 rence to the established state of things, is certainly not 
 inconsistent with any arrangement which two nations 
 may be disposed to make for a single purpose, and for a 
 limited time, to which they may be impelled by con.sidera- 
 tions of general benevolence. Certainly, if Great Britain 
 and the United States choose to restrain their c'tizens 
 from any traffic condemned by moral considerations, and 
 to regulate their joint action upon the subject, they may 
 do so without subjecting themselves to any imputation.s 
 of interested or ambitious motives. Each must judge for 
 itself whether such a combined movement is in accord- 
 ance with its policy, or with the nature of its institutions 
 Both may agree to keep squadrons upon the coarit of Af- 
 rica to suppress the slave trade, and upon the coast of 
 China to suppress the opium trade— brancht'? of com- 
 merce destructive of human life and happiness; the lat- 
 ter of which has the. advantage of being prohibited by 
 tiie government of China, and the disadvantage (if we 
 cin gredji but a email part of the staiemeatd of that jov- 
 ernment) af being far m««6 injarioas in i^" ";":,t":lwu'^r- 
 .^•cluanve va:.-.-. .--^n power ahonUJjar 
 
the former. But these mutual agreements, dictated by 
 the most charitable njotives, would act merely upon the 
 citizens of the respective countries, executing them with- 
 out overawint; others by their imposing form, and with- 
 out leadins? to the establishment of any new principle of 
 maritime iaw. 
 
 Norhina; can explain to us more clearly the danger of 
 these great combinations, if it does not reveal the object 
 of one or niore of the parties in their establishment, than 
 the principle, so frankly developed by Lord Aberdeen, 
 that this " happy concurrence" creates new duties and ob- 
 ligations, before whose jmt'ce and necessity the law of 
 nations gives way, and to which the interests and inde- 
 pendence of nations are sacrificed. I was therefore much 
 pleased io read, in the message of the President of the 
 United States to Congress at the commencement of the 
 present session, his emphatic declaration that the United 
 . States would not submit to any such pretension. The 
 ,;?s powers of Europe, strong or weak, must understand, if 
 '^ necessary, that our country, in taking her place in the 
 <3^ family of nations, took it with the same rights as the 
 ^greatest of them, and there will maintain it, unmoved by 
 c.;;any confederation which may be formed, and wholly 
 
 ^without the sphere of its operations. 
 ,0-. Theqnintuple treaty has not yet been ratified by France, 
 ' nor will it be, I think, without some essential alterations. 
 It is understood that the English government are much 
 dissatisfied at this determination. The Queen's speech, 
 however, at the opening of the session, and Sir Robert 
 Peel's remarks last week in answer to a question of Lord 
 Palmerston, seem to take for granted the French ratifica- 
 tion. But certainly, when the British premier made those 
 remarks, he knew the discussion in the Chamber of Dep- 
 uties and the state of public opinion here, and he ought 
 to have known that a constitutional ministry would hesi- 
 tate before they would incur the responsibihty of such an 
 act. 
 
 I observe that Lord Palmerston, in the remarks prefa- 
 tory to liis question, dwells upon the disinterestedness of 
 his country and of the other parties to this treaty. This 
 is the old topic of eulogy for England, as its reverse is 
 intended to be of reproach for us. But its day has gone 
 by. Europe fully understands the subject ; and in pub- 
 lic as in private life, it is not the most disinterested who 
 are always avowing the purity of their intentions. One 
 would think there were objects of misery enough at 
 home to occupy the attention of any English statesman, 
 without that excess of philanthropy which would tilt a 
 spear at every nation, and light up the flames of a gene- 
 ral war, in order to accomplish its own charitable views, 
 in its own exclusive way, almost at the end of the world. 
 It brings forcibly to recollection one of the vagaries of 
 Rous.seau, that there are people who love those who are 
 placed at the extremities of the earth, in order to excuse 
 themselves for not loving their own neighbors. 
 
 In all that precedes, I beli'eve there is not a word 
 whitfh, if need be, would not be re-echoed by every 
 American citizen in Paris. We are here in the midst of 
 stirring circumstances, and can form a safe judgment of 
 the dangers which menace us. If England pu.shes her 
 purpo.se"^ into action, we shall have a severe struggle to 
 encounter; and the sooner and the more vigorously we 
 jirepare for it, the better. If she does not, we shall gain 
 by our exhibition of firmness, and the very state of prep- 
 arations may lead her to recede. But permit me to press 
 upon you the neces.sity of instant and extensive arrange- 
 ments for otfensive and defensive war. All other ques- 
 tions — personal, local, and political — should give way 
 before tliis paramount duty. England has fearful means 
 of aggression. No man can yet tell the effect which 
 the use of steam is to produce upon great warlike 
 operations, and, with her accustomed sagacity, she has 
 accumulated a large force of steam- vessels. A hos- 
 tile squadron miglit at any time carry to the United 
 States the first news of war. And it would not be a war 
 like the last one, conducted in many eases by incompe- 
 tent officers and feebly pros^ecuted; but she would put 
 weVe addl-es9?anlrength, and .«b<. would be felt and 
 - t»- T '•annot but 
 
 hope that the excellent suggestions of the Secretaries of 
 War and of the Navy respecting national defence may 
 find general support. 
 
 You may naturally think that this is not a very diplo- 
 matic despatch. It is not so, certainly, so far as diplo- 
 macy cons'sts in mystery either of thought or expres- 
 sion. 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 language was 
 given to conceal thoughts. If necessary, I must claim 
 your indulgence for my candor, in consideration of my 
 motives. I see the difScult position of my country, and 
 most anxious am 1 that it should he seen and appreciated 
 at home. That done, I have no fear for the result. If 
 the sentiments I have expressed are not those of the gov- 
 ernment and people of my country, then I have lived a 
 stirring life, and mixed with my countrymen in every situ- 
 ation, "without having learned the American character. 
 
 You will perceive that, in my letter to M. Guizot, I have 
 taken upon myself the responsibility of my interposi- 
 tion. Your course is perfectly free to avow or dis- 
 avow my conduct. The President will decide as 
 the public interest requires. I do not shut my eyes 
 to the gravity of the circumstances in which I 
 am placed. In the unforeseen emergency which 
 presents itself, I have pursued the course that appeared 
 to me to be dictated by the honor and interest of our 
 country, and I have the satisfaction to believe that my 
 measures will not be wholly without beneficial results. 
 It is now for the government to judge what is its own 
 duty, and to determine whether my conduct shall be ap- 
 proved or disapproved. 
 
 1 am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 LEW. CASS. 
 
 Honorable Danikl Webster, 
 
 Secretary of State, Washington. 
 
 Legation of the United States, 
 
 Paris, February 13, 1842. 
 • Sir : The recent signature of a treaty, having for its 
 object the suppression of the African slave trade, by five 
 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 I 
 
 no right to inquire into the circumstances which have ^ 
 
 led to it, nor into the measures it proposes to adopt, ex- 
 cept so far as they have reason to believe that their rights 
 may be involved in the course of its execution. Theii 
 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 juosecutine' 
 it. They have been invited by the government of Grea. 
 Britain to become a party to the treaty, which should 
 regulate the action of the combined governments upon 
 the subject. But, for reasons satisfactory to themselves 
 and I believe satisfactory to the world, they have de 
 clined this united action, and have clx)sen to pursue their 
 own measures, and to act upon their own citizens only, 
 without subjecting these to any kind of foreign jurisdic 
 tion. 
 
 In a communication from Lord Palmeiston, her I 
 nic Majesty's principal Secretary of State for Foreii 
 fairs, to Mr. Stevenson, the American minister at 
 don, dated 27th August, 1841, Lord Palmerston ck 
 right for the British cruisers, and avows the intentior 
 government to exercise it, to search American yes 
 sea, in time of peace, with a view to ascertain theiirn:. ■• . ■ S 
 
 character. He adds, that "this examination of pa), 
 merchantmen suspected oi being engaged in the 
 trade, even though they hoist a United States flag 
 proceeding which it is absolutely necessary that !.>. " . 
 cruisers employed in the suppres.'^ioii of the slave '. >■ . 
 should continue to practice," &c.. Sic. 
 
 In a communication from the successor of Lo.rd 
 deen to Mr. Stevenston, dated October 13, 1841 
 views and determination announced in the firat are c;-;. 
 
firmed ; and Lord Ahprdeen thus states the ground upon 
 which rests this prt'tension to search American vessels in 
 time of peace: "But the undersigned must observe that 
 the present happy concurrence of the states of Christen- 
 dom 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 gov- 
 ernment." That is to say, the right of entering and ex- 
 amining American vessels to ascertain their nationality. 
 
 It is no part of my duty to offer any comments upon this 
 pretension, nor upon the reasons advanced in support of 
 ]t. And if it were, I should find the duty far better per- 
 formed for me, than I could perform it for myself, in the 
 annual message of the [President of the] United States 
 to Congress of December 7, 1S41. In that document will 
 be found the views of the American government upon 
 this subject; and it is there emphatically declared that 
 •'however desirous the United States may be for the sup- 
 pression of the slave-trade, they cannot consent to in- 
 terpolations 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. VVe 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 government, that its treaties with other nations 
 cannot be executed without the establishment and en- 
 forcement of new principles of maritime police, to be 
 aj)plied without our consent, we must employ language 
 neither of equivocal import, nor susceptible of miscon- 
 struction." 
 
 You will perceive, sir, by these extracts, that the Brit- 
 ish government has advanced a pretension which it as- 
 serts to be indispensable to the execution of its treaties 
 for the suppression of the slave trade, 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 existin'5 obligations, has relation to the iso- 
 late<i treaties for the abolition of this tratiic, 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 obhgations. Of course, measures which were not 
 only "justifiable, but indispensable" for the execution of 
 the latter, will find equal justice and necessity in the obli- 
 gations of the former. 
 
 With this previous declaration made by one of the par- 
 ties to this quintuple treaty, concerning its operations, the 
 American government cannot shut their eyes to their true 
 position. The moral effect which such a union of live 
 gieat 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 just cause of complaint. 
 But the subject assumes another aspect when they are 
 told by one of the 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 pHrties 
 to this treaty, have any wish to compel the United Stales 
 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 Cfiamber of Deputies, of any intentions of this na- 
 ture. But were it otherwise, and were it possible they 
 might be deceived in this confident e.xi)ectation, that 
 would not alter in one tittle their course ot action. Their 
 duty would be the same, and the same would be their 
 dtitermination to fulfil it. They would prepare them- 
 selves with apprehension, indeed, but without dismay— 
 v/ith regret, but with firmness, for one of those dngpefate 
 
 struggles which have sometimes occurred in the history 
 of the world, but where a just cause and the favor of 
 Providence have given strength to comparative weak- 
 ness, and enabled it to break down the pride of power. 
 
 But I have already said the United States do not fear 
 that any such united attempt will be made upon their in- 
 dependence. What, however, they may reasonably fear, 
 and what they do fear, is, that in the execution of this trea- 
 ty measures will be taken which they must resist. How 
 far the acts of one of the parties putting its construction 
 upon its own duties, and upon the obligations of its co- 
 contractors, may involve these in any unlooked-for con- 
 sequences, either by the adoption of similar measures or 
 by their rejection, I do not presume to judge. Certain it 
 is, however, that if the fact and the principle advanced by 
 Lord Aberdeen are correct, that these treaties for tho ab- 
 olition of the slave-trade cannot be executed without 
 forcibly boarding American ships at sea in time of peace, 
 and that the obligations created by them confer not only 
 the riglitthus to violate the American flag, but make this 
 measure a duty, then it is also the duty ef France to pur- 
 sue 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 persists in this 
 attack upon their independence. Should she not, it does 
 not become me to investigate the nature of her position 
 with respect to one of her associates, whose opinion re- 
 specting their relative duties would be so widely differ- 
 ent 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 Unitet^ States, 
 bat 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 re- 
 specting the principles which guard it, and from a com- 
 munity in danger should it ever be menaced by the ambi- 
 tion of any maritime power. 
 
 It appears to me, sir, that in asking the attention of his 
 Majesty's government to the subject of the quintuple 
 treaty, with a view to its reconsideration, I am request- 
 ing nothing on the part of the United States inconsistent 
 with the duties of France to other powers. If, during 
 the course of the discussions upon this treaty, preparatory 
 to the arrangement of its provisions, England had assert- 
 ed to the other parties, the pretension she now asserts to 
 the United States, as a necessary consequence of its ob- 
 ligations, I cannot be wrong in presuming that Fiance 
 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 circumstances may well justify the 
 French government in interposing such a remedy as it 
 may think is demanded by the grave interests involved 
 in this question. 
 
 As to the treaties of 1831 and 1S33, between France 
 and Great Britain, for the suppression of the slave trade, 
 I do not consider it my duty to advert to their stipula- 
 tions. Their obligations upon the contracting parties, 
 whatever these may be, aie 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 threatened by the construction which 
 one of the parties has given to these instruments. 
 
 I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of the 
 message of the President of the United States to Con- 
 gress, in Deeember last, and of the annual documents 
 which accompanied it. Amon^ the latter will be found 
 the correspondence between the British Secretaries of 
 State and Mr. Stevenson upon the subject herein referred 
 to. Froni these, you will learn the respective views of 
 the American and British governments. 
 . It is proper for me to add, that this communication had 
 been made without any instructions from the Uniied 
 States. I have considered this case as one in wiich an 
 Amprican re^Tfl^entanve to a foreign power shnn Id art 
 
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 responsi- 
 bihty will be mine. As soon as I can receive despatches 
 from the United States in answer to my communications, 
 1 shall be enabled to declare to you either that my con- 
 duct has been approved by the President, or that my mis- 
 sion is terminated. 
 
 I avail mysei), &c., LEWIS CASS. 
 
 His Excellency Mr. Guizot, 
 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs. 
 
 Mr. Cass to Mr. Webster. 
 
 Legation of the United States, 
 Paris, April 30, 1842. 
 Sir: The Quintuple treaty, purporting to be for the 
 suppression ot the slave-trade, has not yet been ratified 
 by France; and the manifestations of public opinion 
 against it are so numerous and decisive, that it seems to 
 be too clearly the part of true wisdom to yield to them, 
 to render it probable that that measure will ever be 
 adopted. 
 
 Mr. Guizot has not answered my letter of the 13th 
 February, and I have now no expectation he will do so, 
 till the course of our government upon the subject is 
 known here. I have yet received nothing from you upon 
 the subject, but I am expecting every day your instruc- 
 tions. If the President .should disapprove the step I 
 have taken, I could no longer remain here, with honor to 
 myself, or with advantage to our country. 
 I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 LEWIS CASS. 
 Hon. Daniel Webster, 
 
 Secretary of State, Washington. 
 
 Mr. Webster to Mr. Cass. 
 
 Department of State, 
 
 Washington, April 5, 1842. 
 
 Sir: By the arrival of the steampacket at Boston, on 
 the 27th day of last month, I had the honor to receive 
 your several despatches down to the 26th of February. 
 That vessel had been so long delayed on her passage to 
 America, that, after the receipt here of the communica- 
 tions brought by her, there was not time to prepare an- 
 swers in season to reach Boston before the time fixed for 
 her departure on her return. The most I was able to do 
 was to write a short note to Mr. Everett, to signify that 
 the mail from London had come safe to hand. 
 
 The President has been closely attentive to recent oc- 
 currences in Europe, connected with the treaty of the 
 five powers, of which we received a copy soon after its 
 signature in December. He has witnessed, with especial 
 interest, the sentiments to which that treaty appears to 
 have given rise in France, as manifested by the debates 
 in the Chambers, and the publication of the Parisian 
 pre.ss;and he is now officially informed of the course 
 which you felt it to be your duty to take, by the receipt 
 of a copy of the letter addressed by you to Mr. Guizot 
 on the 13th of February. 
 
 When the President entered upon the duties of his 
 present office, in April of last year, a correspondence, as 
 you know, had been long pending, and was stiH pending, 
 in London, between the minister of the United States and 
 her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign 
 Affairs, respecting certain seizures and detentions of 
 American vessels on the coast of Africa, by armed Brit- 
 ish cruisers, and generally respecting the visitation and 
 search of American vessels by such cruisers in those 
 seas. A general approbation of Mr. Stevenson's notes 
 to the British minister in regard to this subject was 
 soon after communicated to that gentleman, by the Presi- 
 dent's order, from this department. The state of things 
 in England in the early part of last summer did not ap- 
 pear to favor a very active continuance or prosecution of 
 this correspondence; and as Mr. Stevenson had already 
 received permission to return home, no new instructions 
 wpre addressed to him. 
 
 Circumstances occurred, as you are aware, which de- 
 layed Mr. Everett's arrival at "the post assigned to him as 
 minister to London ; and, in the mean time, in the latter 
 part of August, the correspondence between Lord Pal- 
 merston and Mr. Stevenson was, somewhat unexpected- 
 ly, resumed afresh, not only on the subject of the African 
 seizures, but on other subjects. 
 
 Mr. Everett arrived in London only in the latter part of 
 November, and, in fact, wa? not presented to the Queen 
 until the 16th day of December. While we were wait- 
 ing to hear of his appearance at his post, the session of 
 Congress was fast approaching; and, under these circum- 
 stances, the President felt it to be his duty to announce, 
 publicly and solemnly, the principles by which the gov- 
 ernment would be conducted in regard to the visitation 
 and search of ships at sea. As one of the most consider- 
 able, commercial, and maritime States of the world, as 
 interested in whatever may in any degree endanger or 
 threaten the common independence of nations upon the 
 seas, it was fit that this government should avow the sen- 
 timents which it has heretofore always maintained, and 
 from which it cannot, under any circumstances, depart. 
 You are quite too well acquainted with the language of 
 the message, on which your letter is bottomed, to need its 
 recital here. It expresses what we consider the true 
 American doctrine, and that which will, therefore, govern 
 us in all future negotiations on the subject. 
 
 While instructions for Mr. Everett were in the course 
 of preparation, signifying to him in what manner it might 
 be practicable to preserve the peace of the country, con- 
 sistently with the principles of the mes.sage, and yet so 
 as to enable the government to fulfil all its duties, and 
 meet its own wishes, and the wishes of the people of 
 the United States, in regard to the suppression of ■»he 
 African slave-trade, it was annouiice.d that the Eiiiish 
 government had appointed Lord Ashburton as ?• .cial 
 minister to this country, fully authorized to treat vi and 
 definitively settle all matters in difference between the 
 two countries. Of course no instructions were forwarded 
 to Mr. Everett respecting any of those matters. You 
 perceive, then, that up to the present moment v--? rest 
 upon the sentiments of the message. Beyond th^ fair 
 scope and purport of that document, we are not com- 
 mitted on the one hand nor on the other. We reserve 
 to ourselves the undiminished right to receive or to ofi'ev 
 propo.iitions on the delicate subjects embraced ui the 
 treaty of the five powers, to negotiate thereupon, s v, e 
 may be advised; never departing from our principle=..but 
 desirous, while we carefully maintain all our rij^iits to 
 the fullest extent, of fulfilling our duties also, as on> of 
 the maritime states of the world. 
 
 The President considers your letter to Mr. Gu:/.ot to 
 have been founded, as it purports, upon the xr-' -age 
 delivered by him at the opening of the present ses ,on of 
 Congress; as intending to give assurance to the • n>jh 
 government that the principles of that mes.sage vfL ■■.... on 
 adhered to ; and that the government of the United ^.:;.tes 
 would regret to see other nations, especially Frar e, an 
 old ally of the United States, and a distinguished ch. ;.,.'ion 
 of the liberty of the seas, agree to any arranu-' .ent 
 between other States, which might, in its infl' ■. nces, 
 produce effects unfavorable to this country; and to which 
 arrangement, therefore, this country itself mighUiut be 
 able to accede. 
 
 The President directs me to say that he approve^ your 
 letter, and warmly commends the motives which ai 'raatcd 
 you in presenting it. The whole subject is now hffore 
 us here, or will be shortly, as Lord Ashburton arrived 
 last evening; and without intending to intimate, at pres- 
 ent, what modes of settling this point of difference vvith 
 England will be proposed, you may receive two proposi- 
 tions as certain : 
 
 1st. That, in the absence of treaty stipulations, the 
 United States will maintain the immunity of merchant 
 vessels on the sea, to the fullest extent which the law of 
 nations authorizes, 
 
 2d That, if the government of the United Stat .. 
 mated by a sincere desire to put an end to the -...;: 
 slave trade, shall be induced to enter into treaty . ' 
 
6 
 
 tions, for that pmpn?p, with any foreioii power, those 
 stipulations will be such as shall be strictlj' limited to 
 their true and single object, such as shall not be embar- 
 rassing to innocent commerce, and such especially, as 
 shall neither imply any inequality, nor can tend in any 
 way to establish such inequality, in their practical opera- 
 tions. 
 
 You are requested to communicate these sentiments to 
 M. Guizot, at the same time that you sisrnify to him the 
 President'sapprobation of your letter; and are requested to 
 add an expressionof the sincere pleasure which it gives 
 the FresideKtto see the constant sensibility of the French 
 government to the maintenance of the great princi- 
 ples of national equality upon the ocean. Truly sympa- 
 thising with that government ia abhorrence of the 
 African slave-trade, he appreciates the hii^h motives and 
 the comprehensive views of the true, permanent intere?;t 
 of mankind, which induces it to act with great caution 
 in giving its sanction to a measure susceptible of interpre- 
 tations, or of modes of execution, which might be in 
 opposition to the independence of nations and the free- 
 dom of the seas. 
 
 I am, &c., 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 Lewis Cass, Esq., &c., &c., &c. 
 
 Mr. Cass to Mr. Webster. 
 
 Legation of the United States, 
 Paris, May 17, 1842. 
 Sir; I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your despatch of the 5th April, and am happy to find that 
 >he course which I considered it necessary to take in re- 
 'ation to the ratification by France of the quintuple treaty 
 ■'or the suppression of the slave-trade has met the appro- 
 bation of the President. 
 
 Immediately on the receipt of your letter, I sought an ■ 
 'nterview with Mr. Guizot ; and, after some conversa- 
 iqn with him, I placed the letter in his hands. I thought 
 this mod^of procedure far better than to trust myself to 
 :nake a verbal statement, to be afterward put in the form 
 •.>f an official coinmunication to him. As you instructed 
 ine tn make known the sentiments of the President upon 
 'he wnole matter, I was siire I could not perform this 
 ■;isk a.= well as I found it performed for me ; a.nd this 
 viev: A-as not checked by any considerations arising out 
 t f til' iiature of the despatch. There was nothing in it 
 ><''hic;t might not be seen by all the world. 
 
 Ml . vJuizot was touched by the frankness of the pro- 
 ceeding, and testified his gratification after the jicrusal of 
 fiie letter. He then asked for a copy of it, which I did 
 ■<■ -p .'tate to promise him ; and since then I have sent 
 . . have thus, in my opinion, in the best mode in my 
 carried into efTect your instructions. 
 A'- Juizot said nothing on the subject of an answer. 
 It tl.i -eaty is not ratified, as I have now the confident 
 '=Tfpo ' . .ion that it will not be, it is possible he may con- 
 ' "i :at the occasion for an answer has passed by. 
 .■ sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 LEW. CASS. 
 1 in. Daniel Webster, 
 ^ecretary of State, Washington. 
 
 Mr. Cass to Mr. Webster. 
 
 Legation of the United States, 
 
 Paris, May 2G, 1842. 
 
 !'. Since nriy despatch of the 17th instant, the ques- 
 
 the ratincation of the quintuple treaty has been 
 
 d in the Chamber of Peers and in the Chamber of 
 
 •! ; and the sentiments expressed v^^ere unanimous- 
 
 :st the measure. It is now well understood that 
 
 ;ect is at rest in France, and that no ministry will 
 
 ; to recommend ratification. Etforts will no doubt 
 
 !.; made, and I think eventually with success, for 
 
 :' ogation of tlie treaties ot 1S31 and 1S33. 
 
 -c- ("question of the builget is a subject which, by the 
 
 ; ot the French Chambers, allows great latitude of 
 
 Prion. Connected vvi'h this matter, the commercial 
 
 ...M between prance and the United Slates have just 
 
 been warmly debated. I send you the Rlnniteur, \vh\c\\ 
 contains an account of the proceedings. It is well worth 
 your examination, and I think ought to be translated and 
 published for the information of the country. It is lam- 
 entable to find such erroneous notions prevailing in such a 
 high place, respecting the true character of the trade be- 
 tween France and the United States. You will sfe that the 
 speakers complain of two grievances : first, of the navi- 
 gation, and, second, of the duties proposed to be levied 
 on foreign productions imported into the United States. 
 As to the former, it is, as you' know, upon a footing of 
 perfect equality ; and as to the latter, if it were (as it is 
 not) a just subject of interference for a foreign govern- 
 ment, France is one of the last countries which has any 
 just right to complain. 
 
 Her prohibitive system, commenced so long ago as 
 Cobett, has been continued, with little relaxation, to this 
 day. You cannot fail to be struck by the views advanced 
 by most of the speakers, and the gravity v^'ith which 
 they urge reprisals against the United States. But I as- 
 sure you that these sentiments are general in France; 
 and such are the exclusive views taken of these subjects 
 by the press, that it is ho])eless to expect to change public 
 opinion. We have nothing to do but to pursue our own 
 measures firmly, leaving to other governments to meet 
 them as they think proper. 
 
 As soon as I read the debate in the Monifeiir, I called 
 upon Mr. Guizot to converse with him upon the subject. 
 I found him very reasonable, though not fully acquainted 
 with the details of the matter. He says, however, that 
 he is looking into it, and that nothing will be hastily 
 done. It is my decided opinion that there is no efficient 
 remedy for the" present state of things, but by a commer- 
 cial treaty which shall regulate our intercourse with 
 France. I recommend that measures with that view be 
 taken without delay ; and I think the negotiations can be 
 better carried on at Washington than here. If full pow- 
 ers and general instructions are given to the French min- 
 ister there, you may calculate with a reasonable proba- 
 bility upon a successful termination of your effi)rts. He 
 would understand the true state of things better than 
 they are or can be understood here. The government 
 has too many important subjects on hand to be able to 
 devote the proper time for the acquisition of all the neces- 
 sary facts which belong to this subject. 
 
 I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 LEW. CASS. 
 
 Hon. Daniel Webster, 
 Secretary of State, Washington. 
 
 3Ir. Cass to Mr. Webster. 
 
 Legation of the United States, 
 Paris, May 31, 1842. 
 Sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith the copy 
 of a letter which I have received from the Minister o"f 
 Foreign Aflt'airs in answer to my letter to him of 13th 
 February, concerning the quintuple treaty. 
 
 I have merely said, in acknowledging the receipt of this 
 letter, that 1 should transmit it to my government for its 
 information. 
 I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 LEWIS CASS 
 Hon. Daniel Webster, 
 
 Secretary of State, Washington. 
 
 [Translation.] 
 
 Paris, May 2fi, 1842. 
 General : I had received some time .since the letter 
 which you did me the honor to write to me on the 13th 
 of February, on the subject of the treaty signed on the 
 20th of December between the plenipotentiaries of France, 
 Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia, with the view 
 of arriving at a more etfectual suppression of the negro 
 slave trade. In expressing to me therein your desire that 
 the King's government should not ratify this treaty, you 
 said to me that you were about to inform your govern- 
 ment of a step which you had thought it your duty to 
 take, without authority, on your own responsibility; and 
 
that, as soon as you should have learned of its approval 
 or disavowal, you would hasten to apprize me. 
 
 I have jupt received, with your letter of the 3d of this 
 month, a copy of that which Mr. Webster has written to 
 you, to announce to yon the apjiroval civen by the Pres- 
 ident to your despatch of the I'Jth of February; and ihi.s 
 despatch, having thus acquired an official character, 
 which up to (his time it wanted, I think I ought not longer 
 to defer an answer, which before would have seemed to 
 me premature. 
 
 You expressed to me, sir, an anxiety lest the treaty of 
 the 20th of December should constitute, on the part of 
 the contracting parties, an enga2;ement to create a new 
 principle of international law, which should subject the 
 vessels, even of those nations which had not participated 
 in the arrangement, to a right of search {visite) as estab- 
 lished by its stipulations. 
 
 The treaty ^n question not having been ratified by the 
 King's government, and consequently not existing at this 
 time, as far as France is concerned, I might abstain from 
 entering into any explanation on the subject. But the 
 friendly relations established between France and the 
 United States make it my duty to anticipate, by free and 
 comi)lete explanations, all misunderstanding; and, more- 
 over, we have always been actuated in this matter by 
 motives too correct and honest not to seize with eagerness 
 an occasion to make theui manifest. 
 
 It does not belong to me to discuss the value of the in- 
 ferences in regard to the private views of the cabinet at 
 London, whicli you draw from certain passages in the 
 despatches written by Lord Palmerston and by Lord A.ber- 
 deen to Mr. Stevenson ; but I shall not hesitate to say 
 what is the idea of the King's government on the grave 
 question which vou raise. 
 
 The treaty of' the 20th of December, 1S41, whatever 
 may be its destmy, is founded on no principles different 
 from those of the conventions of 1831 and 1833. 
 
 The stipulations of these conventions bound France 
 and England alone. The treaty of December 20 extends 
 them to Austria, Prussia, and to Russia, making in them 
 some changes more or less important, but which do not 
 alter their nature. To be able to deduce from them the 
 very extraordinary intention of imposing on other States 
 an obligation to submit to them, it is necessary that this 
 intention, which is in nowise indicated by the treaty of 
 the 20th December, should result from the previous con- 
 ventions. Never have we so understood them — never 
 could we so understand them. 
 
 I hesitate the less, sir, in giving here a formal and, in 
 my opinion, altogether superfluous assurance, that the 
 King's government, on its part, places entire confidence 
 in the firm resolution, so often proclaimed by the Federal 
 government, of concurring most sincerely in the efforts 
 for the final abolition of the slave trade. 
 
 Mr. VVebster's despatch, which you have done me the 
 honor to comm.unicate to me, is of a nature still further 
 to increase this confidence. It seems to nidicate, in fact, 
 that the cabinet of Washington perceives the possibility 
 of concluding with those States which have adhered to 
 the reciprocal right of search for the suppression of slave 
 trade, some arrangements calculated to attain the end 
 which they have proposed to themselves. 
 
 We should attach so much the more value to this con- 
 currence as, at the same time that it would hasten the 
 entire annihilation of the trade, its effect, by placing all 
 governments in the satne situation with regard to the 
 
 measures adopted for this purpose, would be to affor- \^.! 
 maritime rights and the commercial activity of all na -iv-. 
 guarantees of security difficult to obtain in themic' .i 
 the complications and the causes of collision wh-rh 
 would necessarily result from an opposition or a diversity 
 of systems. 
 
 However this may be, shall this hope prove vain, ^b i'' 
 the United States persist in their isolation, we trust * ■■ 
 they will regard it as a sacred duty to prevent this i 
 tion from affording to an infamous traffic too many o] 
 tunities of impunity. 
 
 Accept, general, the assurance of the high considera- 
 tion with which I have the honor to be your very hum- 
 ble servant, GUIZO .' 
 
 Geneml Cass, Envoy Extraordinary, &c. 
 
 On Gen. Cass's return home, the citizens of Bo en 
 comprising some of the most prominent and distingu: ^uld 
 of both parties, tendered him a public dinner as an ^A'i 
 dence of their approbation of his public conduct while 
 our minister abroad. The following is the letter of invi- 
 tation addressed to him : 
 
 Boston, December 7, 18-!2. 
 
 Sir: The undersigned, citizens of New England, would 
 congraiulate your exL-ellency on your safe return to vo'i. 
 native conn'ry, after your faithful services and rva- 
 GETic pKOCEtsDiNGS at an imp'ftant. crisis in your diitinguisk- 
 ed mission; and respectluUy reiiii>«t thit you will j^ivs 
 them and their rellowcitizeiis an opportunity of exi^css- 
 inii personally the hij?h respect which your public cakekk. 
 AND private virtues have uniformly inspired. 
 
 Reiurning, asyou do, with the approbation of that gfn- 
 erons people who were first, and for a lonj? time, the >^Iy 
 friends oi our fathers, we would prefer that the me- png 
 should be at such time as would suit your convenienc.:?, in 
 Faneuil Hall— the spot associated most nearly witt the 
 dansjers in which both nations participated, and the "lace 
 in which, of all others, Americans would desire to well ome 
 
 HER DESERVING SONS. 
 
 We are, with sentiments of the highest considerauon, 
 your excellency's most obedient servants, 
 Samuel T. Armstrong, S. Austin, jr, 
 
 David Henshaw, • F. Haven, 
 
 Robert G. Shaw, John B. Jones, 
 
 Bradford Summer, Nathaniel Greene, 
 
 Abbott Lawrence, Samuel F. Coolidge, 
 
 N. Appleton, A. E. Belknap, 
 
 Charles S. Green, Isaac Livermore, 
 
 Thomas Motley, George Park man, 
 
 William Sturgis, Samuel Dana, 
 
 Josiah Quincy, jr., John Dawson, 
 
 Joseph Tilden, Robert Hooper, 
 
 Daniel P. Parker, Charles Henshaw, 
 
 Peter O. Thacher, Thaddeus Nichols, 
 
 Josiah Bradlee, Geo B. Thacher, 
 
 Thomas B. Wells, David Sears. 
 
 To his excellency Lewis C.iss. 
 
 Here we find, among the most distinguished democ.ats 
 and whigs of Boston, several whig m.embers of ConRress 
 from Massachusetts, the name of Abbott Lawrencf-d 
 whig candidate for the vice presidency, and who re- 
 ceived from the whig convention 109 votes as a cj^' 'Ji- 
 date for that office. These gentlemen, it will be i.-iu, 
 welcomed Gen. Cass as a deserving son, for whose •;;':- 
 lie career ami private virtues they have a high res^ ci , 
 and they bear testimony to his faithful services and -n- 
 ergetic proceedings at an important crisis in his dir r^ 
 guished mission— alluding to his efforts against the -■. 
 mous quintuple treaty. 
 
W46 
 
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