American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1851, 1851-07-30
Communicated
Aristidos ct al.

MEssRs. EDIToRs In your paper of yester-
day afternoon is communication over the sig
nature of i" Aristides"-the second one, be-
leve, from the same author. His first one
endeavored to draw General Cass and the Hon.
Alexander w. Buel, of Michigan, into the re-
sponsibility of the retention, in the Indian
Agency of Michigan, of the Rev. Mr.. Sprague,
a notorious Abolitionist of the Seward and Gid
dings school, Immediately upon the issue of
the first communication of "Aristides,n took
the responsibility upon myself of writing a
communication for the Union" denying, in a
positive manner, that either General Cass or
Mr.. Buel had ever written to the Secretary of
the Interior in favor of Sprague's retention in
office. This communication was not published
in the "Union," for reasons best known to the
careful conductors of that paper; indeed, when
the author called upon them for the MSS, in
order to present it to the editors of the Tele-
graph for publication, where he believed it
would find insertion, it could not be found.
Fortunately Mr.. Buel has spoken for himself
But the refutation, by him, of the charge made
by "Aristides" in his first assault, is now made
the basis of a second article by that writer.
Aristides" must be very obtuse not to see
that Mr.. Buel, in his disclaimer, only speaks
for himself; that that is all he presumes to do
1t is acknowledged by "Aristides' that " this
disclaimer will do, so far as Mr.. Buel is con-
cerned !" and he is glad that it is So In the
next breath he charges Mr.. b. with misrepre-
senting his statement, and then contradicting
it." Now this is extraordinary. Who cannot
see in moment, that after "Aristides" ex-
presses his satisfaction with Mr. Buel's dis
claimer, 80 far rs it concerns him, he is fully
estopped from oil further pursuit of himy Mr..
Buel said that "this is the only paragraph in
which my name is used, and have only to say
that there is not word of truth in it." OF
course no one will pretend to say that this
means any thing more or less than that there
sis not word of truth in it." 30 far as his
name is concerned 1t is SO to be understood,
according to the most natural construction of
language.
But Aristides" asks IL he did not know at
the time that General Cass, his neighbor and
friend, political and personal, had written as
charged, and thereupon at least half of the
statement published in the Telegraph was true %
Suppose he did, General Cass has not deputed
Mr.. Buel to denounce aspersions upon him. Mr..
Buel spoke for himself, and himself alone But
venture the assertion that he did not know
that General Cass had written as charged, in
favor of the retention of Mr.. Sprague And
further, aciH take IL upon myself to assert that
General Cdss has never so aoritten and defy
"Aristides" or any other man to substantate the
contrary. | am fortified in my assertion, by
the disclaimer of Mr.. Buel, on the one hand,
and by that well-known proposition in law on
the other, which "Aristides" seems to have for
gotten, If he ever knew, Of "falsw In uno, fall
sus IN omnibus''--false in one, false in all.
Hence his belief that "one haif' of his for
mer asseveration is true, falls to the earth.
There is no foundation in truth for his assertion,
that either General Cass or Mr.. Buel have ever
written letters to the Interior Department OF
the character charged. The whole thing /
apprehend to have been simply the emanation
of an extraordinary fancy on the part Of Arts
tides"
But the reason which is assigned by /" Arts.
tides" for the alleged course of Gen. Cass and
Mr.. Buel, is the most amusing feature Of both
his communications that it was "to distrae
and divide the Wing party Of Michigan" SHOULD
like to know of the writer what he imagine
either Of the gentlemen alluded to have to fea
from the "Whig party" Of that Statei Gen
Cass was elected to the u. 8. Senate by tn
strong vote of the Democracy Of the Lsgislatur
last winter, when there were but half-a-dozei