than I am. But I see none, and therefore I think that we are
reduced to a choice between General Cass and General Taylor. You may
remember, that in the discussions of 1844, when Mr. Birney was drawing
off votes from the Whig candidate, I said that every vote for Mr. Birney
was half a vote for Mr. Polk. Is it not true that the vote of the
Liberty party taken from Mr. Clay's vote in the State of New York made
Mr. Polk President? That is as clear as any historical fact. And in my
judgment, it will be so now. I consider every Whig vote given to Mr. Van
Buren, as directly aiding the election of Mr. Cass. Mark, I say, _Whig_
vote. There may be States in which Mr. Van Buren may draw from the other
side largely. But I speak of Whig votes, in this State and in any State.
And I am of opinion, that any such vote given to Mr. Van Buren inures to
the benefit of General Cass.

Now as to General Cass, Gentlemen. We need not go to the Baltimore
platform to instruct ourselves as to what his politics are, or how he
will conduct the government. General Cass will go into the government,
if at all, chosen by the same party that elected Mr. Polk; and he will
"follow in the footsteps of his illustrious predecessor." I hold him, I
confess, in the present state of the country, to be the most dangerous
man on whom the powers of the executive chief magistracy could well be
conferred. He would consider himself, not as conservative, not as
protective to present institutions, but as belonging to the party of
Progress. He believes in the doctrine of American destiny; and that that
destiny is, to go through wars and invasions, and maintain vast armies,
to establish a great, powerful, domineering government over all this
continent. We know that, if Mr. Cass could have prevented it, the treaty
with England in 1842 would not have been made. We know that, if Mr. Cass
could have prevented it, the settlement of the Oregon question would not
have been accomplished in 1846. We know that General Cass could have
prevented the Mexican war; and we know that he was first and foremost in
pressing that war. We know that he is a man of talent, of ability, of
some celebrity as a statesman, in every way superior to his predecessor,
if he should be the successor of Mr. Polk. But I think him a man of rash
politics, pushed on by a rash party, and committed to a course of
policy, as I believe, not in consistency with the happiness and security
of the country. Therefore it