The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-06-20
For the National Era.
GEN. CASyS LAST SPEECH.

MT. EDITOR In the speech OF Zen. Cass, de-
livered last week in the Senate there are several
droll things 30 much superior to the average Of
Joe Miller, that one would be faithless to the
cause of fun who should suffer them to pass I'M
noticed. confne myself, for the present, to that
part of the Generals speech in which he reviews
the late letter of Mr. Mann to his constituents /;
for it would make the sides of Comus himself
ache to look at all the ludicrous plghts in which
the General has placed himself, in that speech
He says, as Mr.. Mann "uses my name, and
subscribes his own. violate none of the courte-
sizes Of the occasion in referring to him. The
General remembered to forget that in his parrym
in nntto speech Of January last, he went out of
his way to attack MIR. Mann. But this was only
snppressio peri; and, according to the Generals
ethics, as we must presume, not at all reprehen-
sible.
The General reads very solemn lecture to
Mr. Mann, for his want of reverence in quo
ting Scripture, and remarks with a strong odor
Of sanctimoniousness, that "the Holy Scriptures
have q higher object than to be introduced into
the party contests of the dayn He shows his
sincerity, by quoting Scripture, sic several times
in this very speech, in the same way as MIR
Mann did once. Is there any canon of the
Church which forbids Mr.. Mann to quote
Scripture, but allows it to q seeker for the Presi-
dency2
But what is most remarkable in this land Of
Bibles and Sunday schools, is the Generals
theological knowledge. The prohibition in the
Deoalogue against bearing false witness, he calls
''the THIRD COMMANDMENT When there were but
ten in the whole could he not get nearer than with
in six of the right one2 He had better drawn lots
for the true number. Did the General in his
childhood never study his catechism, or see the
"New England primer 2" Since then, has he never
been to church and seen the Ten Commandments
printed on tablets, and set up behind the altar
Should he 60 there now, think the whole Deca-
logue will frown on him. Most earnestly do we
commend his case to the Sunday School Society.
Such ignorance in the American Senate will be
quoted abroad to the scandal Of our Juveniles
This is no error of the typesn His hearers are
witnesses that he was correctly reported. BE as
sured my dear General, if you had only obeyed
the Commandment, which in your ignorance you
intended to quote, would not have exposed you
The General declares Mr.. Mann to be
"braveD man, because he made this statement:
" Gen. Cass never took the ground that slavery
could not exist in the new Territories" He then
goes on to prove, by quoting from his own Mich
olson letter. that Mr.. Mann was right. II is not
often that an accuser proves the innocence of him
he accuses. Such fatuity is rare. But Gen.
Cass has done this, and more. He has proved
Mr.. Mann's innocence and his own guilt, the
" third Commandment notwithstanding. The pas
sage quoted by himself, in defence of himself, con-
victs himself 1t states alphabetically, and as
presumption or probability, that slavery would
not 70 into the new Territories But he nowhere
afirms, absolutely and without qualification, that
it cannot 90 there, which was the point Of Mr..
Mann's assertion. | suppose Mr. Webster to be
the original and sole discoverer of that irrepeal-
able and immutable law Of nature, which makes
it impossible for slavery ever to exist in Cali
fornia or New Mexico ms IL is for the sun to
radiate darkness Gen Cass, therefore has CON-
mitted double wrong here. He not only broke
the thud,n commonly called the ninth Command
ment, by bearing false witness against Mr.. Mann,
but did he not also break the eghih, by stealing
Mr.. Webster's thunder % Salmoneus had bet
ter not set himself up for Jove
But Gen. Cass, although expanding whole
column upon Mr.. Mann, has not touched the
main point in issue between them In his little
in-much speech, he declares that the Constitution
nowhere confers upon Congress any power TO
legislate for the inhabitants Of the Territories
and he puts all our Presidents, lawmakers
judges, jurists and commentators, for the last
sixty years, into one bundle, which he assumes
to label nonsense IIe sayshe derived his power
to take and administer Territorial oaths and hold
Territorial Offices, and receive Territorial sala-
ries, for the greater part Of his official life, not
from the Constitution, which he kept swearing to
support, but from some source above IL or outside
oft This he called "moral necessity He thus
altered the Constitution To all the grants Of
power which it makes, he added the phrase, I" and
also in cases of moral necessity" and to all the
prohibitions it contains, he subjoined, except in
cases Of moral necessity
But he has since accepted place on the Com
promise Committee, and, as a member Of it, has
reported bill to do what he declares the origi-
nal Constitution forbids-that is, to legisate for
the inhabitants of the Territories But as though
this were not contradiction enough he contrsdicts
the contradiction, by providing, in the bill itself,
that the inhabitants of the Territories shall mot
legislate for themselves on the subject Of slavery
He reasons thus The Constitution confsrs no
power to egislate for the inhabitants Of the Ter
ritories. Therefore Congress must leGislsts Tor
them from moral necessity But moral neces-
sity" requires Congress to forbid their touching
the subject ofslavery. Therefore, tAo.gh Coness~
has no power to legislats for them under the -.
stitution Ia any case, and though they nave TUG
inherent right and power TO lsGts'Ais TOT 'a'~'