Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1853-12-28
REMARKS OF GEN. CASS.


In the Senate, on the 9th instant, on the &C.
casion of the announcement to that body of the
death of the late Vice President King
Mr. President: Again has death invaded the
high places of our land, and has taken from us
citizen distinguished for his talents, his worth,
and his services, and enjoying the confidence and
affection Of his countrymen. In the Providence
Of God, these visitations come to warn US that
none are exempt from the decree, that in life we
are in the midst Of death, and that be We also
ready" is a solemn admonition, announced to us
from the cradle to the grave, by the mighty and
the lowly, as they successfully fall before the
great destsoyer. The lesson is the more i'm
pressive the higher is the position, and the more
eminent the character, Of him whose departure
we may be called upon to mourn. And when
one who occupied the second station in our
country is summoned from the duties of this life
to the responsibility of that which is to come, as
the loss is national one, the manifestation of
public sympathy, and the acknowledgement Of
the public grief, should be national also. Our
amented friend, the late Vice President, has been
taken from us, full of years indeed, and Of hon
ors but in the midst of his usefulness. and when
he was just prepared to enter upon the high ca
reer to which he had been called by the Ameri-
can people. Upon this occasion desire to do
little more than to express those sentiments Of
ahectionate regard with which an acquaintance
of many years had inspired me, leaving to others
who have this day well fulfilled the task, to pre-
sent those features of his character and services
which endeared him to his countrymen in life,
and will endear to them his memory, now that
the scenes of his life are forever closed upon
him.
His career was eminently useful and fortu-
nate and in the whole range Of Amercan states
men there are few, indeed, to whom youth can
better look when seeking models of imitation
and encouragement than to William K. King
Firm but courteous, frank and fearless, Of high
honor and irreproachable morals, he brought
vigorous intellect and varied and extensive nfor-
nation to the public counsels; and the ripe
fruit Of his experience, joined to these endow.
ments gave conviction to his opinion and author
ity to his example. We always heard him with
attention; for he elucidated every subject he in
vestigated, and brought to our discussions the
stores of his knowledge and experience, with
manner as unassuming as it was captivating
While loving the States in which he so long re-
sided, and which had given him so many proofs
of confidence and affection, he loved also our
common country, and at home and abroad prov
ed himself the true patriot, the able and faithful
cJtlZcn. III all TIC TClatlOIS vi pINutc lic He
wa, loved and honored as we'll from the amen.
ty of his manners as from the kindness of his
heart, and in the social circle he was the very
model of the accomplished gentleman. For al
most half century he was in the public service,
and was intimately connected with many Of the
great events which marked that long and stirring
period, and he proved himself equal to all the
circumstances in which he was placed, sustain
ing himself with signal ability among men whose
renown is written in imperishable characters up.
on the history Of our country.
Better than all this, and above all this, he was
a sincere Christian; adding another to the long
list of eminent men who have searched the Cos.
pei of Jesus and have found it the will and word
of God In his last illness, when the world and
the things of the world were fast fading before
him, he found hope and consolation in the prom
Uses of the Savior; and, calmly surveying the
approach of death, he looked beyond its power
to the glorious Immortality promised to the be.
lever. The places that knew him can know
him no more but, though Dead his memory is
enbalmed in the hearts Of his countrymen, and
there it will live, honored and cherished long af.
ter all those who are now taking part in this
tribute to his worth shall have followed him in
the journey, where, for brief space, he has pre-
coded us through the dark valley of the shadow
of death.
ANOTHER CUBAN FILIBUsTER.-An apparent
IV well informed WASHINGTON corros nondent