out from among them, unaccompanied by some token of their approbation and friendship, and on the eve of his departure from Detroit, they tendered him the compliment of a public dinner. And the proceedings on this memorable occasion are evidence so unmistakable of their attachment to him, that a perusal will afford a more correct view of the relations existing between the distinguished guest and his many friends, than any other mode of

narration.

The address of Major John Biddle, who presided on the occasion, was as follows:

"YOUR EXCELLENCY:-Our fellow-citizens have assigned to me the office of expressing the sentiments which your intended departure from among them has universally called forth. To be the organ of conveying to you these sentiments is a most grateful duty, sympathizing, as I do, very sincerely in the general feeling. "Many of us have witnessed your administration of the affairs. of this Territory for a series of years, which embrace a large portion of the active period of life. The situation is one of the most difficult to which an American citizen can be called. The public officer who is delegated, without the sanction of their suffrages, over the affairs of a people elsewhere accustomed to exercise, in its fullest extent, the right of self-government, is regarded with no indulgent feelings. The relation is truly colonial, and the history of territories, like other colonial history, has been too often a mere chronicle of the feuds of the governing and the governed, exhibiting a domineering and arbitrary temper on the one side, met by a blind and intemperate opposition on the other.

"From the evils of such a state of things we have been happily exempted. You have preserved harmony by wisely conceding to public opinion that weight to which it is entitled under every government, whatever may be its forms; thus giving to your measures the support of the only authority to which the habits of American citizens will allow them cheerfully to submit. The executive powers of the Territory have been administered in the spirit of republican habits and principles, too firmly fixed to yield to temporary circumstances, leaving the people nothing to desire but an occasion to manifest their approbation, by bestowing themselves an authority so satisfactorily exercised.

"Of the manner in which yourself and most estimable family have performed the courtesies, as well as the graver duties of

private life, I will permit myself to say no more than that it has been duly appreciated, and has left an impression not easily to be effaced.

"The people of Michigan will long remember your zealous and successful exertions to promote their welfare, and, if the present separation should prove a final one, be assured that they will look, with affectionate interest, to your future career, hoping that in a more extended field of usefulness it may be as honorable to yourself, and as beneficial to your fellow-citizens, as that has been which you are now about to terminate. Allow me to propose :

"Lewis Cass- Health and happiness attend his future course. May the people of the United States duly appreciate the talents and integrity which Michigan has contributed to the public service of the Union."

This sentiment, so felicitously given, was received with vociferous and prolonged cheers by the audience, which now crowded the large dining-room of the hotel, and filled the doors and windows and the adjoining halls. Mr. Biddle struck a chord which thrilled the heart of that large and intelligent assembly. The leading citizens of the Territory, without distinction of party, had come to bid their Governor, of eighteen years' continuance, an affectionate farewell. It was not a mere feast, or passing compliment; and their speaker, in the most simple and unadorned language, had given utterance to feelings and sensations which alike animated all.

When the applause had partially subsided, their honorable guest, most naturally affected by these evidences of warm attachment and earnest regard, falteringly rose from his seat, almost wishing that his sense of public duty would permit him to remain continually with his neighbors and friends, and responded as follows:

"FELLOW-CITIZENS:-I return my sincere thanks for this distinguished mark of your regard, as well as for the very kind manner in which your sentiments have been conveyed to me by the gentleman who has been called to preside at this festive board. This numerous and respectable assemblage furnishes but another manifestation of that kindness which has never deserted me, during the period of eighteen years in which I have administered the executive department of the territorial government, and under many trying circumstances, both in peace and war. At the

commencement of that period, the Territory had just been rescued from the grasp of an enemy. Its population was small, its resources exhausted, its prospects cheerless. The operations of the war had pressed heavily upon it, and scenes of suffering and oppression had been exhibited, to which, in the annals of modern warfare, we may vainly seek a parallel. We have only to look around us to be sensible how great is the change which has since taken place in our condition. The Peninsula has been explored in every direction, and its advantages ascertained and developed. "The current of emigration has reached us, and is spreading over our forests and prairies. Settlements have been formed, villages founded, and roads opened in every direction. All the elements of social order and prosperity have been called into action, and are combining to form another republic, almost prepared to ask admission into that confederacy which, protecting all in its hour of security, may appeal to all in its hour of danger, should danger ever approach it. This great advantage is due to the intelligence, industry, and enterprise of our countrymen. These causes will continue to operate, until the vast plain extending from Lake Erie to Lake Michigan, shall furnish through its whole extent, another example of the powerful effects of free institutions upon the progress and prosperity of a country.

"I have been called, fellow-citizens, to another sphere of action. To one where your generous confidence can not alone support me, and where, I am apprehensive, I shall find the duties as far beyond my abilities, as the appointment itself was beyond my expectation. But wherever I may go, or whatever may await me, I shall cherish with unfading recollection the events of this day, and the sentiments you have expressed towards myself and towards those whom nature and affection have made the nearest and dearest to me. In severing the connection which has heretofore united me to the Territory, permit me to thank you for all the kindness I have received from you. I can claim only the merit of having endeavored faithfully to execute the trust reposed in me, and if, at the termination of my long period of service, I leave you without a party for or against the executive, to your partiality, far more than to my services, must this result be attributed. For that forbearance, as well as for all other marks of your favor, and especially for this, the latest and the last, I beg leave to express my feelings in a sentiment:

"The citizens of Michigan-May they be as prosperous as they have been to me kind and generous."

The great regret manifested by the inhabitants, on this occasion of parting, ought not to be forgotten, and is, in itself, one of the most convincing proofs how eminently fit their friend was for discharging the duty of a chief magistrate.

Seldom has it been the good fortune of a territorial governor, clothed with the extraordinary powers conferred by the ordinance of 1787, to retire from the station without some murmur of disapprobation reaching his ears, or without having afforded opportu nities for the indulgence of unpleasant feelings. In this instance, neither existed, and with that generosity of heart common to the people of the west, which prompts them to render justice, did the people of Michigan unhesitatingly proclaim their approbation of the administration just closed.

CHAPTER XVI.

General Cass assumes the duties of Secretary of War-The Cabinet-Reforms Introduced-His Family -His Indian Policy-His first Report-Indian Difficulties in Georgia-General Cass reviews the Decision of the Supreme Court.

General Cass reached Washington with his family early in August, 1831, and entered upon his duties of Secretary of War. The successor of John H. Eaton, by resignation, his appointment was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, on the thirtieth of December following.

This post of duty under the general government, was full of responsibility and labor on all occasions; but, as we shall soon see, it was destined to be much more so for a few years to come. Party spirit had reached an alarming hight, far exceeding any that had hitherto occurred in the political annals of our country. Men of solid intellect, far-reaching sagacity, and commanding popular influence, were arraying themselves in formidable strength against that man of single purpose and incorruptible integrity, whom the sovereigns of the Republic had called from his lowly home in Tennessee to the cares and responsibilities of the presi dential mansion. Unfortunately, all will admit, as he was fairly putting the ship of state on the democratic tack, it became necessary to exchange his crew, and that, too, in the midst of his voyage. With what firmness and philosophy he met such an unexpected crisis, is already embalmed in the eternal remembrance of the civilized world.

Mr. Livingston had been one of the earliest and most efficient advocates of the views of the democratic party, and the zealous co-laborer of Mr. Jefferson in its formation. General Jackson was much attached to him, as well from early political association as from later intercourse growing out of the campaign of New Orleans, when Mr. Livingston was his volunteer aid-de-camp, but in fact his trusted adviser in the difficult questions, legal and others, growing out of the events of that stirring period. He was a man of extensive information, of great powers of application, of much simplicity of character, with acknowledged probity of