Iowa capitol reporter. [volume] (Iowa City, Iowa) 1841-1855, 1848-06-14


boy, you are sick and tired, am well and strong
mount my horse and ride.'' The soldier hesitated.
Do not wat,'' said the officer and, lifting him upon
his horse, with directions to ride at night to the
s Generals tent, he proceeded on foot to join the
army. At night, the young soldier rode to the
tent, where he was mt by the general with a
h,erf welcome, which he repaid with tears of
5ratItudn. That officer was General Cass, and the
young soldier was the person addressing him, our
worthy felow-citizehs, John Laylin.' The Gene
raj, remembering the circumstance, Immediately
recognized him. Mr.. Laylin remarked, General,
that act was not done for the world to look uron;
it was done in the woods, with i;pt three to Wit
ness it,
sAnother: Our old friend Major Park, on being
introduced to General Cass, exclaimed. with much
General, thank God that am able to
see you! fought by the side of your father, jon
athan Cass, and your uncle, Daniel Glass; at the ba
tie of Bunker's Hill. Your father sergeant OF
: the company, and l was corporal. We were
8 brothers together during the God bless you,
: General, for his sake.' The General was deeply
affected in meeting the friend and companion Of his
father; while the old veteran, with eyes sparkling,
recounted the SCIENCES through which they passed
together in the days of danger and strfethe times
that stried mems souls.''' a
Another anecdote of General Cass,
while on his tour through Ohio, was re-
lated, with much spirit, by the late gallant
and lamented General Hamer. The car
riage containing General Csss was one
day stopped by man who, addressing the
General, said: Il can't let you pass with
out speaking to you. You don't know
me, General" General Cassrcplied that
he did not. "1Vell, sir, (said he, l was
the first man in your regimtnt to jump
out of the boat on the Canadian shore
"No, you were not, (said General Cass; }
/ was the first man myself On shore. >
I"True, (said the other;) l jumped ou,
first into the river, to get ahead Of you
but you held me back, and set on shore
ahead of me.
The result of the contest in 1914 is
well known. The vote of every western
State, save one, and that by meagre ma.
jority, was given for Mr.. Polk. To the
efforts Of General Cass, and his great per.
sonal popularity exerted in favor of Mr.
Polk, much of this is to be attributed. II
the following winter, General Cass Wa.
elected to the Senate of the United States
and took his seat on the 4th of March
1915. In the formation Of the commit
tees of the Senate, General Cass wa
unanimously rendered the post of Chair
man OF the Committee on ForeI gn Affairs
which, however, he declined. On tw
subsequent occasions, the same position
has been offered him, but he has uniform
ly declined it.
! In December, 1915, General Cass in
troduced resolutions in the Senate relativ
to the national defence, W tn particular re
ference to the condition of our affairs wit
Great Britain, growing out of the Oregol
question. These resolutions be support
ed in a speech, Of which the following
an extract, referring TO the course whic
should be pursued in maintaining GU
rights to the territory III questions:
GAS to receding. il is neither to be discussed nc
thought of. refer TO it but TO denounce it-a dc
nunCiation which will find response in every A
mcFiC1n bosom. Nothing is gained by nation
al puslanimity. And the country which seeks /
purchase temporary security by yielding to unjus
pr ten ions, buys present at the expense
permanent honor and safety. II SOws the wind
reap the whirlwind. ! have said elsewhere, VIII;
viii -cre here that it is better to fight for til
first inch of national territory than for the last.
Is better to defend the door-siil than the hcartl
stone-tho porch than the altar. National charac
ter Is richer treasure than gold and silver, and eN
srcises moral influence in the hour of DANCE
which, if not power itself, Is its surest ally. Thu
far, ours is untarnlShed; and tot all Join, howeI
or separated by party or by space, so to prescrv
it,"
In the month of March following, Gen
eral Cass delivered his celebrated speec
on the Oregon question. A this speec
has been circulated and read very gene
rally, mere allusion to it here is all tn;
would appear necessary; but the follow
ing extract expresses SO fully the sent
lncnt Of every patriotic American that
is worthy OF record:
eft pains me, sir, to hear illusions to the dcstru
ton Of this and to the dissolution of Il
ContedcraCy. 1t pains me, not because they inSIil
with any fear, but because ought to have or
unpr0nounceatle word, as the Jews had of old, an
that word is Disso ton. We should re Jet the fee
ing from our hearts and its name Fl ON our tongue
This cry Of !IUC, ,c0, to JerusaCm,'' crates harSh
upon my ears. Our Jerusalem is neither beleague
ed nor in danger. 1t is yet the city upon hill
glorious in what it is, still more glorious, by tn
blessing of God, in what it is to be-a landmark, il
wiling the nations of the world, struggling upon II
stormy ocean of political oppression, to follow us
haven Of safety and of rational liberty. No En-!
Iish Titus will enter our temple of freedom throuo
breach in the battlemcnts, to bear thence the al
of Constitution and the book of our law, to tai
their stations in trumThal procession in II
streets of a modern Rome as trophies Of ConQue
and proofs Of submission.
"Many raven has croaked in my day. but Il
augury has failed, and the republic has marched OF
ward. Many a crisis has presented itself to II
imagination Of our political Cassandras, but we ha,
still! increased in political prosperity have il
creased in years. and that, too, with accelerate
progress unknown of the world. We have ella.
Of r,en whose eyes are always upon the future, owe
looking the blessings around us, and forever aprr
hensivc of some great POLITICAL evil, which is TO Il
rest our course somewhere or other on this side
the millennium. To them we are the image of gol,
and silver, and brass, and clay, contraricty in unit
which the first rude blow of misfortune is to stril
from its pedestal.
ssFor my own part, consider this the stronge
Government on the face Of the earth for good. ar
the weakest for evil. Strong, because supported
the public opinion of people inferior to none of t,
communities ofthe earth in all that con stitutes NOR
worth and useful knowledge, and who have breathe
into their political system the breath of life; and wi
would destroy it, as they created it, if it were u
worthy of them, filled to fulfill their just expeC
atoms.
aAnd weak for evil, from this very consideratio
which would make its foies and its faults the sign
ofits overthrow. 1t is the only Government in e.
istence which no revolution can subyert. It may
changed, but it provides for its own change, whit
the public will requires. Plots and insurrecton
and the various struggles, by which an Cypress,
population mar ifasts its sufferngs and seeks Il
recovery gifts Ri hts, have no place here. We ha
nothing to fear but ourselves.
The part taken by General Cass in Il
subsequent exciting controversy on tn