II! ill 1 ill I II 11 111 I 11 \\l il if <1 ii! ., MONUMENT TO THE MEMORY OF HENRY CLAY. " He was a man, take him for all in all We shall not look upon hia like again." "I WOULD BATHER BE RIGHT, THAN BE PRESIDENT.' /fan *> lf> CINCINNATI: W. A. CLARKE, PUBLISHER. 18 57. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 185G, by WM, A. CLARKE, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of Ohio. STEREOTYPED BY D. HILLS & CO, 141 Wain St.. Cincinnati. PREFACE. The object of the present work is two-fold. First, to present in a condensed form a complete Life, and the most important Speeches of Henry Clay; and secondly, to collect, in a form adapted to their preser- vation, the Eulogies called forth by the death of the great statesman, together with an account of the Obsequies at- tending his burial. In respect to the first object, it may be said, that the field has already been occupied. In reply, we say that, although the works which have appeared from time to time, and especially the large volumes of Colton, have given us nearly all the information which we can hope to obtain, whether in regard to the public or private life of Henry Clay, yet that they all, and especially those which we have designated, labor under the disadvantage of being too large and too costly for popular circulation. Now, such was the affectionate admiration with which Henry Clay was regarded, while living, that we believe thousands will hail with satisfaction the appearance of a volume like this, in which it has been the aim to unite IV PREFACE. accuracy in the statement of facts, with a clear delineation of the marked features of Clay's public and private char- acter. The Biographic part claims, moreover, to be some- thing more than a mere abridgment or compilation. It aspires to the dignity of an original portraiture. In the Selections from Clay's speeches, the rule observed was this ; to present the political opinions of the great leader in his own words, rendering him, thus, as far as possible, the author of his own political biography. To this end, extracts have been made to convey, not always so much an impression of the beauty and force of his diction, as of the peculiar sentiments which he enter- tained, the form in which he held them, and the argu- ments with which he defended them. They have been arranged with express reference to their biographic value. In regard to the contents of the latter part of the volume, we need only say, that they can not but have a value while the memory of Henry Clay shall live, as in- dicating the mode in which a mighty nation gave expres- sion to its grief, at the loss of its favorite son. The volume then as a whole, we trust, will vindicate its pretensions, notwithstanding defects which, doubtless, exist in it, to be considered truly a monument to the memory of Henry Clay. Paris, Kentucky March 1, 1857. CONTENTS. THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. CHAPTER I. PAQK. What constitutes a true monument — The best position for estimating a public man — Men have often a distinct private and public char- acter — Which their true character — Essentials of a perfect bio- graphy 9 CHAPTER II. Birth and parentage — Death of his father — Its probable influence upon his after history — Significance of the incident of "the mill-boy of the Slashes " — His schooling — A foolish opinion, that genius does not need education — What education means — Whether Henry Clay, in this sense, was educated — He enters Mr. Denny's store — Obtains a situation in the clerk's office, at Richmond — Attracts the attention of Chancellor Wythe — Studies law with Attorney-General Brooke — Is admitted to the bar — Result of the influence upon him of such men as Wythe and Brooke — He engages in a rhetorical society — Inquiry, whether greatness is the offspring of circumstances — Clay moves to Kentucky , 13 CHAPTER III. Mr. Clay's modest opinion of himself — His competitors in Ken- tucky — The debating club — Kentucky people — Alien and Sedition Laws — Mr. Clay's success in law — His marriage — His election to the Legislature — To the Senate of the United States — Aaron Burr — Legislature of Kentucky again — Duel with Humphrey Marshall — Hi* abilities in the State Legislature 21 CHAPTER IV. Senate of the United States again — Policy of our country — Mr Clay advocates protection of domestic manufactures — Opposes a United States Bank — His activity in bringing about a war with England — Declaration of war 35 VI CONTEXTS. CH APT Ell V. Early disasters of the war — Subsequent successes — Negotiations fur peace — Ghent — Mr. Clay a Commissioner — Terms of the treaty — Mr. Clat visits England — United States Bank — Mr. Clay's change of views — What constitutes true Political Economy — Compensation bill — Clay is obliged to canvass his State — South American inde- pendence 44 CHAPTER VI. Mr. Clay is offered the post of Minister to Russia — Also, a place in the Cabinet — Advocates internal improvements — Mr. Clay the father of a policy and a party — The character and services of the Whig party — Seminole war — The conduct of Jackson 54 CHAPTER VII. Mr. Clay as a " pacificator " — Missouri desires admission — Violent agitation of slavery — The Compromise — The efforts of Mr. Clay. . . 60 CHAPTER VIII. Candidates for the Presidency in 1824 — No election by the people — Mr. Clay's influence given to Mr. Adams — Charge of corruption — Mr. Kreiner of Pennsylvania — Revival of the charge by Jackson — More trouble — A Duel with Randolph 66 CHAPTER IX. The Tariff of 1824 — Question as to the expediency of a Protective tariff — Difference between theory and practice — Unpopularity of the protective system at the South — Nullification — Mr. Clay introduces his Compromise Tariff, and harmony is restored 7 1 ) CHAPTER X. Mr. Clay is again defeated as a candidate for the Presidency — Clay and Jackson as rival leaders — Removal of the Deposits by the Presi- dent — Mr. Clay's indignant opposition — Resolution of censure — The Cherokees — Lavish expenditure — The expunging resolution — The Sub-treasury bill — Dawning of better t imes 85 CHAPTER XI. Enthusiasm of 1840 — Extra session of Congress — Death of Harrison — Defection of Tyler — Grief of Mr. Clay, at the subversion of his cherished hopes — lie advocates a tariff, designed for Protection — Resigns his 6eat — His farewell to the Senate 97 CONTENTS. VU CHAPTER XII. Mr. Clay is again candidate for the Presidency, and suffers renewed defeat — Sorrow of his friends — War with Mexico — Acquisition of Territory — Embarrassing questions — Danger to the Union — Mr. Clay accepts a seat in the Senate — His heroic efforts to quiet the dis- traction of his country — It is the Chieftain's last battle — Disease advances — His death — His abilities as a statesman and orator — Hi3 characteristics as a man 116 SPEECHES, ETC. Ok Domestic Manufactures. In the Senate of the United States, April 6, 1810 131 On Renewing the Charter of the First Bank of the United States. In the Senate of the United States, 1811 137 On the United States Bank Question. Address to his Constituents at Lexington, June 3, 1816 153 On Internal Improvement. In the House of Representatives, March 13, 1818 1 61 On the Greek Revolution. In the House of Representatives, January 20, 1824 172 On American Industry. In the House of Representatives, March 30 and 31, 1824 181 Address to La Fayette. House of Representatives, December 10, 1824. 205 The American System, etc. Delivered at Cincinnati, August 3, 1830. 207 On TnE Public Lands Bill. In the Senate of the United States Decem- ber 29, 1835 239 Petitions for the Abolition of Slavery. In the Senate of the United States, February 7, 1839 248 On the Bank Veto. In reply to the Speech of Mr. Rives, of Virginia, on the Executive Message containing the President's Objection to the Bank Bill. In the Senate of the United States, August 19, 1841. 263 On his Retirement to Private Life. At Lexington, Kentucky, June 9, 1 842 271 On the Compromise Measures, Reported by the Committee of Thir- teen. In the Senate of the United States, May 13, 1850 286 Address to Kossuth. December, 1851 317 VU1 CONTENTS. EULOGIES, ETC. Eulogy of Joseph R. Underwood, of Kentucky 321 Eulogy of Lewis Cass, of Michigan 330 Eulogy of Robert M. T. Hunter, of Virginia 334 Eulogy of John P. Hale, of New Hampshire 338 Eulogy of Jeremiah Clemens, of Alabama 341 Eulogy of James Cooper, of Pennsylvania 344 Eulogy of William H. Seward, of New York 349 Eulogy of George W. Jones, of Iowa 356 Eulogy of Walter Brooke, of Mississippi 359 Delivered in the United States Senate. Eulogy of John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky 363 Eulogy of Presley Ewing, of Kentucky 371 Eulogy of John S. Caskie. of Virginia 375 Eulogy of Joseph R. Chandler, of Pennsylvania 377 Eulogy of Thomas H. Bayly, of Virginia 382 Eulogy of Abraham "W. Venable, of North Carolina 385 Eulogy of Solomon G. Haven, of New York state 391 Eulogy of James Brooks, of New York city 393 Eulogy of Charles J. Faulkner, of Virginia 396 Eulogy of Samuel W. Parker, of Indiana 403 Eulogy of Meredith P. Gentry, of Tennessee 406 Eulogy of Richard J. Bowie, of Maryland 407 Eulogy of Thomas Y. Walsh, of Maryland 409 Delivered in the House of Representatives. Eulogy of John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky 413 Delivered at Louisville, Kentucky, September 29, 1852. Eulogy of Henry W. Hilliard, of Alabama 437 Delivered before the Citizens of Montgomery, Alabama, September, 1852. Eulogy of Alexander K. M'Clung, of Mississippi 470 Delivered in the Hall of the House of Kep. of the State of Mississippi, Oct. 11, 1852. Obsequies 489 Sermon by Rev. C. M. Butler, D. D 491 Lines by George D. Prentice 515 THE LIFE OF HENBY CLAY. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. What constitutes a true monument — The best position for estimating a public man — Men have often a distinct private and public character — "Which their true character — Essentials of a perfect biography. In any high sense, there is but one thing which men may call a monument. The skillfully-chiseled marble of the churchyard can be purchased, as well by money, as by merit. The can- vas, glowing with the semblance of life, is, how often, a monu- ment rather of the genius of the artist, than of the forgotten dead, whose features it perpetuates. Triumphal arches and pyramids even, however deeply and strongly they may be founded, change at last to ruinous heaps, or are intrusted, in vain, with the names of their builders and the records of the deeds which they commemorate. Nevertheless, greatness has its enduring monument. But that monument is erected by itself. Laid sometimes, indeed, in the blood and tears of suffering humanity, built up amid the sighs of lacerated bosoms, and crowned with the execrations of a long posterity ; but sometimes based upon the noblest impulses of a noble heart, erected every part of it to bless and adorn (9) 10 TIIE LIFE OF HENKY CLAY. humanity, and completed amid shouts of gratitude, or those more expressive tokens of affection — a nation's tears. When we speak then of a monument, commemorative of Henry Clay, we mean not the marble which may cover his moldering remains, nor any imposing columns, which men may hereafter erect in their places of public resort. We mean, his own great character ; his matchless will ; the thoughts which he entertained ; the words which he spoke ; his large sagacity ; and that larger patriotism, which achieved for his country continued peace and prosperity — for himself, a place, like that of a house- hold idol, in every American heart. To the life of Henry Clay we must look for his monument. It is obvious, then, that his life should be so presented, as to make what we may call, its historic impression. The particular phase of mind, or social temper, which is best known to a great man's familiar friends, bears, often, no higher relation to his character in its completeness, than the peculiar forms of rock or foliage, which come, more immediately, under the observation of the dwellers at the foot of the mountain, bear to the dimensions and outline of the whole mass. When great objects are to be estimated, nearness of position can not always be accounted a favorable circumstance. The work of the biographer, resembles, somewhat, that of the engraver, who must, with a few bold and discriminating lines, present what is individual and peculiar in the features to be delineated ; or perhaps, better yet, we may compare it with those works of the sculptor which are to stand at a distance, or upon an elevation. The liner details are left comparatively untouched, while the peculiar outlines are executed strongly. The biographer must present, as nearly as possible, the im- pression which the greatness that he describes made upon its own age, but it must be ever with this discrimination, he must present each striking action or characteristic, not in the light of its temporary importance, but of its historic permanence and value. This, to a cotemporary biographer, is a task of no small difficulty. Hence, it often happens, that greatness receives its best estimate years after men are familiar with it, except in its THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 11 results. The partiality of affection, the contempt, which is said to spring up in little minds from familiarity, and the prejudices of enmity, are alike fatal to the truth of biography. The household friends of Clay ; the farmers and shopkeepers, with whom he had frequent dealings ; and the enemies, who persecuted him with their slanders, would, severally, be unqual- ified to draw with correctness his portrait. Yet, it can not be denied, that the biographer, who lives near the time of tho character which he describes, possesses important advantages over those who come after him. The many little incidents, illustrative of character, which live their short life in the mem- ory of friends, serve often, as a sufficient clue to mysteries of public conduct, which the subsequent historian might seek in vain to decipher. Things which might otherwise be accounted trifles, are, in this way, not unfrequently invested with no small significance. Private details may be regarded as scattered rays, valuable in proportion to the quantity of light which they can throw upon the main object ; this, in historical characters, being not the private but the public and official conduct. It would, indeed, do great injustice to many, perhaps to most of those who have figured largely in the world's estimation, to depict them, mainly as they have appeared in social life. Men often bear what would seem two distinct characters — so distinct as even to amount to an apparent contradiction. The question with the biographer, in such a case, must be, which will give the most correct impression"? which represents, most truly, the effective character ? Charles II sought, in disguise, the ac- quaintance of the author of Hudibras, thinking that he should find him a most facetious fellow ; but so great was the king's dis- appointment, that he was led to pronounce him a stupid block- head, and to declare it to be impossible, that he could ever have written so witty a book. Tradition affirms, of Shakspeare, that after obtaining a competency from his dramatic works, he settled down quietly upon a farm, varying the monotony of his life by an occasional visit to the nearest market town, to execute small commissions for himself and his neighbors. What idea of the immortal dramatist should we now possess, had it been left to 12 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. one of those neighbors to transmit his personal impressions of the " chiel amang " them ! The elegant Addison, and the genial Lamb, are said to have been reserved in general society. In such cases, it is evident which phase of character must be presented, unless injustice would be done. Yet, even more, in the case of statesmen, must historic faith- fulness be regarded, because they leave no such oft-perused records of themselves, from which to correct mistaken impressions. The highest form of character which a man has ever devel- oped, even if that display of power has been but short and occasional, is a more just index of what he is, and of what he can do, than his intermediate periods, though disproportionately long, of mediocrity and indolence. For in this only does he vindicate his title to greatness, and render himself an object of possible interest to posterity. Keeping this fact in view, it will be evident, that the more clearly the character described is made to stand out in its individuality, the more perfectly the reader is made to feel a direct approach to it, the better will the ends of biography be answered. The day has forever passed by, in which history may be a dry catalogue of facts. Men put away contemptuously the skeleton, and demand the action and glow of life. This has evidently widened the province of biography, for to convey an adequate impression of a man's effective force, the history of his time must be displayed, the circumstances which made him what he was, and, those more hidden things, the probable motives of his conduct. Where so much is implied, the reader will be considerate, it is hoped, if he encounter occasional mistakes and misap- prehensions. < -3 O a S5 W EC - (3- CHAPTER II. Birth and parentage — Death of his father — Its probable influence upon his after history — Significance of the incident of "the mill-boy of the Slashes" — His schooling — A foolish opinion, that genius does not need education — What education means — Whether Henry Clay, in this sense, "was educated — He enters Mr. Denny's store — Obtains a situation in the clerk's office, at Richmond — Attracts the attention of Chancellor Wythe — Studies law with Attorney — General Brooke — Is admitted to the bar — Result of the influence upon him of such men as Wythe and Brooke — He engages in a rhetorical society — Inquiry, whether greatness is the off- spring of circumstances — Clay moves to Kentucky. Virginia, if asked, like the Roman matron, to display her jewels, could point, with an equal maternal pride, to her many illustrious sons. It is not her least occasion for boastino- that O she gave birth to Henry Clay. The future statesman was born April 12th, 1777, in Hanover County, in a neighborhood called the Slashes. His parentage may be denominated humble. His father was a Baptist clergy- man, deriving from his salary, doubtless, but a bare subsistence for a somewhat numerous family. Of the incidents of his earliest years, we have no record of any kind. It would not be difficult to draw an imaginary picture, which we might safely pronounce true in some of its features. We have no reason, and no occasion to suppose that his infancy was distinguished by any thing unusual. It is a fertile fancy, which goes back to the cradle, to find indications of the comino- p-reatness. Yet, we are not to disregard the providences, which direct our course of life, even from its outset. Events which seem the merest accidents, often hold in their keeping our whole subsequent history. The death of Henry Clay's father, while the son was yet but four years of age, may have been to him such an event. The Cis) 14 THIO LIFE OF HENKY CLAY. burden of so young a family, thrown upon the mother, would cause her to rear her children with a view to their self-depend- ence, and prompt her to seek for them, as early as possible, situations in which they might make their own subsistence. In fact, one of the earliest known incidents of Henry Clay's life, the source of no small enthusiasm, and of a name which became the rallying cry of more than one political contest — the story of the mill-boy of the Slashes — indicates that we are to look thus far back, if we would penetrate to the hidden springs of his mighty self-reliance. The frequent pilgrimages to " Mrs. Darricott's mill, upon Pa- munkey River," by the awkward lad astride of the meal-bag, upon the pony, guided by its rope bridle, probably indicated to the neighbors nothing more than filial faithfulness ; yet, all that time, though unconsciously even to himself, the seeds were sow- ing, the ripened harvest of which was gathering in when he took his seat, as presiding officer, in the legislative halls of his country ; when further on, his tones commanded respect on that floor, where to be accorded, it is necessary, in a measure, to be commanded ; and when, most of all, his words, now of entreaty, now of warning, and anon, as if of command, were heard plead- ing, first with the South, and again with the North, until both laid by their anger, appeased by the magic of his earnestness and his eloquence. It may seem fanciful to some, to go thus far back for "the hidings of his power." But let it be considered, that we take the incident, not so much for what it is in itself as for the evi- dence which it gives, of an early, manly grapple with real labor, and real difficulties. We discern in it the beginning of a habit — and what significance does not that word convey — a habit of self-dependence, ready to ripen into every fruit of excellence. To magnify too highly the effect of such early influences is hardly possible. Viewed in this light, we venture the assertion, that there was a deeper reason for selecting the incident of the mill-boy of the Slashes, to construct from it a name for the nation's idol, than THE LIFE OF JIENKY CLAY. 15 was comprehended by the thousands who made it their rallying shout. Of school instruction, Henry Clay, apparently, received scarcely any thing. Mention is made of three years' tuition in a losf school-house, under the care of Peter Deacon, a convivial Englishman. His whole curriculum, as they say in universities, amounted only to reading, writing, and ''arithmetic, as far as Practice." Our fathers had not then bestirred themselves in the matter of common schools. But, had the advantages of the period been ten-fold what they were, there is occasion to doubt whether, in the destitute condition of his mother, Henry Clay would have been able greatly to avail himself of them. He at least, we may believe, would not have been in the way of becoming what is termed, "an elegant classic." We never can be brought to depreciate the advantages of a thorough education, but all honor, we say, to the man who, despite of the want of it, can make his way to "the high places of the earth." A foolish opinion is extensively prevalent, that greatness does not need, or that it disdains, the usual toilsome course to excel- lence. Indolent school-boys and dissipated college lads are prone to quote the example of Henry Clay, of Patrick Henry, and of Daniel Webster even, to justify their idleness, and to prove, by a curious process of logic, that they are thus giving indications of genius. The great men, whose names they are guilty of thus taking in vain, would be the last to give their voices in confirmation of such a conclusion. The silly error has grown out of a misapprehension of what is implied in the term education. It is generally thought to mean an infusing into the mind of a certain amount of information, classical, mathemati- cal, technical, or historical. But, to think thus, is to confound the end with the means. Every kind of information existent may have a tendency to educate, but of itself, can not constitute the work. That man is educated who, by whatever means, has made his powers available, and he is best educated, who can make his talents effective to their highest extent. Now it is usually thought, and doubtless wisely, that a severe 16 THE LIFE OF HENKY CLAY. course of classical and mathematical training will best effect this result — will, in other words, render a man most perfectly the master of his powers. In saying this, we include the expansion of mind, which naturally comes from a wide range of informa- tion, and the habitual, manly exercise of thought. If now, any other course than that of the university, will be productive of equal results, then that process, whatever its nature, may be called education. While, on the other hand, if the curriculum of the university has failed in this, its legitimate end, the failure is total so far as the term education can be applied to it. Viewing the matter in this light, it is more than doubtful, whether Henry Clay can be said to have been destitute of early education. Although he was not, in the ordinary sense, a stu- dent, during the fourteen years of his life preceding his en- trance as a clerk into Mr. Richard Denny's store, in Richmond, nor, we may add, at any time subsequent, yet in that effective- ness, which we have shown to be implied in education, he might all the time have been making rapid proficiency. He, we may at least believe, judging from his experiences as a mill-boy, was learning those practical lessons which would prove invaluable to him, when afterward called upon to undertake larger work, and encounter real difficulties. He was training his faculties for that prompt decision, in which the most admirable and learned theorizers are often deficient, but which is always indispensable to the man of business, and most of all, to the politician and statesman. We do not know but that Providence, in its dispo- sition of the early life of Henry Clay, and of so many others who have come up from the humble ranks of society, arranged every thing with an obvious reference to the highest effective- ness of their after career. Their history is, at all events, no proclamation hung out to indolence and stupidity. Henry Clay did not long remain behind Mr. Denny's counter, tying packages, and compounding simples for sick children. His new stepfather, Captain Watkins, had somewhat higher aspirations for him. Through the influence of a friend, he ob- tained for him a situation in the office of Peter Tinsle} r , Esq., clerk of the High Court of Chancery. His awkward manners THE LIFE OF I1KNUY CLAY. 17 and his tall form, set off, not to the best advantage, by a suit of homespun, excited at first, the ridicule of his fellow-clerks, but upon better acquaintance their laughter was made to yield to sincere respect for his abilities and worth. His fortunes can not be thought to have advanced, as yet, very high, though certainly, at this point they begin to mend. He is, for the first time, definitely upon the road which is to conduct him to renown. Between the mill-boy of the Slashes or the compounder of drugs, and the leader upon either floor of Congress, we can discover no particular relation, but the path from an office of law to the same high position, it is more easy to determine. The entrance into Mr. Tinsley's office we may con- sider the turning-point of his early history. His advantages here were doubtless not very great, but he attracted the attention of Chancellor Wythe, and in that fact found new and wider prospects open before him. The chancel- lor engaged his services as an amanuensis, and, finding in him evidences of an inquiring mind, gave him access to his library. Dailv familiarity with a dignified and cultivated man, like Chan- cellor Wythe, even if it never took the intimate form of com- panionship, could not fail to exert a powerful influence upon the young and plastic mind of Clay ; while the turn that his reading- would receive, from the judicious counsel of one so capable of advising, could not fail to be to him of infinite service ; the more so, because, not having enjoyed the advantages of early systematic training, his curiosity might have led him into many fruitless literary explorations. Henry Clay remained with the chancellor four years — years more pregnant with future results, we may believe, than any equal period of his previous life. From this scene of his labors, he passed, at the instance of the chancellor, to the office of Robert Brooke, Esq., attorney- general of Virginia. With this gentleman lie pursued the study of law, during one year, at the end of which time he was ad- mitted to practice in the Virginia Court of Appeals. He was now twentv years of age, and there can be no doubt, that his in- timate association during several preceding years with the most courtly gentlemen of Virginia, had gone far toward producing 2 18 THE LIFE OF IIEXRY CLAY. in the awkward youth, the dignity and gracefulness for which he was pre-eminent as a man ; toward disciplining his powers for effective action, and infusing' into his mind those elevated habits of thought, which constituted him the far-seeing and commanding statesman. It is a fact worth relating in this connection, that he was active in the formation of a rhetorical society, which embraced some of the most refined and promising of the young men of Rich- mond, and that he was, if tradition may be relied upon, one of the most marked and brilliant of its members. The early history of eloquent men is a curious commentary upon the oft-repeated assertion, that greatness is the offspring of circumstances. We can not leave the history of Hexry Clay, where poverty and the struggle against disadvantages are about to give place, by rapid gradations, to competence and a nation's applause, without applying the test to what, we believe to be, in some measure a fallacy. Men as great may, possibly, have lived in this country, as Webster, Clat, Calhoun, Hamilton, and Jefferson, entirely un- known to fame, but we are not prepared to believe it. These men might, under some circumstances, have themselves re- mained unknown, but we are not quite prepared to believe that. Circumstances, we doubt not, have prodigious weight, but at the best they furnish only the training and the field for exercise. They fail in what is most indispensable of all — they do not create the man. Otherwise, every emergency would find, not merely its few worthy leaders, but would produce a universal crop of greatness. Let us see, for instance, how much Henry Clay owed to out- ward circumstances in the forming period of his life. He was born, then, in an humble let — a condition from which it is said the most of givatness has sprung, because more than any other, it tends t'> develop hardiness of character. Luxury, it is rightly said, enervates. C r i . :it advantages are often no! valued. The want of them is the spur to activity. To this it may be answered, that it is not remarkable that a humble station should have furnished the most numerous in- THE LIFE OF IIENKY CLAY. 19 stances of greatness. The doctrine of probabilities would have indicated thus much, since by far the larger portion of the human race are in humble circumstances. To the rest of the argument, it may be said, if the humble birth and childhood of Clay were the sources of his strength, why are not the unnum- bered thousands of like instances fruitful in such results. We would not, in this, be thought guilty of unsaying what we have urged in the course of this chapter, in favor of practical and severe training. While we have magnified its value, we trust that we have done it with sufficient discrimination to be free from the charge of self-refutation. A writer,* at once elegant and powerful, has expressed so forcibly the truth upon which we are insisting, that we can not forbear quoting a paragraph : " The greatness or small- ness of a man is, in the most conclusive sense, determined for him at his birth, as strictly as it is determined for a fruit, whether it is to be a currant or an apricot. Education, favor- able circumstances, resolution and industry, can do much ; in a certain sense they do every thing ; that is to say, they determine whether the poor apricot shall fall in the form of a green bead, blighted bv an east wind, shall be trodden under- foot, or whether it shall expand into tender pride, and sweet brightness of golden velvet. But, apricot out of currant, great man out of small, did never yet art or effort make, and in a general way, men have their excellence nearly fixed for them when they are born ; a little cramped and frost-bitten on one side, a little sunburnt and fortune-spotted on the other, they reach, between good and evil chances, such size and taste as o-enerallv belong to the men of their caliber, and the small in their serviceable bunches, the great in their golden isolation, have, these no cause for regret, nor those for disdain." Greatness, in truth, is indigenous to no soil. If born in the soul, it is safe to assert, that it will come out under every variety of training and circumstance, subject, perhaps, only to this con- dition, that its degree of development will depend, in a measure, *Ruskix, Modern Painters, Vol in. 20 TUB LIFE OF HENKY CLAY. upon its opportunities for action. Look at Fox, the spoiled child, of a luxurious father, rising, despite luxury, despite gam- ing, despite dissoluteness, into "the most brilliant and accom- plished debater," in the language of Burke, "the -world ever saw." See Pitt, from his infancy trained with reference to his future statesmanship, and declaiming, when a child, from a chair, to the guests at his father's dinner table. See Burke, coming up with the ordinary advantages of good classical train- ing, and distancing them all. See Chatham, bred in luxury, and whom, more than any other Clay resembles, bearing every thing down by the resistless storm of his eloquence ; and then turn to Patrick Henry, sitting indolently upon a barrel-head in his grocery, and looking, although with no meaningless stare, upon the rude sports of his customers ; to our Clay, not the least among them, spending his earlier years in almost menial employ- ment. The commentary upon greatness furnished by such varied circumstances may not, it would seem, be mistaken. We have now traced the history of Clay, so far as it is iden- tified with Virginia. It was the place only of his birth and training. With his license in his pocket, he seeks fortune and ■fame in a new home, though, as it will appear, with modest ex- pectations in respect to both. His history, except that portion of it which belongs to his whole country, is henceforward, identified with Kentucky. CHAPTER III. Mr. Clay's modest opinion of himself — His competitors in Kentucky — The debating club — Kentucky people — Alien and Sedition Laws — Mr. Clay's success in law — His marriage — His election to the Legislature — To the Senate of the United States — Aaron Burr — Legislature of Ken- tucky again — Duel with Humphrey Marshall — His abilities in the State Legislature. In one of his discriminating essays, Hazlitt has discussed the question : " Whether genius is conscious of its powers ?" " No really great man," he asserts, "ever thought himself so. The idea of greatness in the mind answers but ill to our knowledge, or to our ignorance of ourselves. No man is truly himself, but in the idea which others entertain of him. The mind, as well as the eye, ' sees not itself but by reflection from some other thing.' " The opinion which Hexry Clay entertained, concerning his own abilities and probable success, seems to corroborate the assertion of Hazlitt. In the course of a speech, at a banquet given him by his friends, June, 1842, upon occasion of his retirement to private life, he says : " I obtained a license to practice the profession of law, from the judges of the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and established myself in Lexington, in 1797, without patrons, without the favor or countenance of the great or opulent, without the means of paying my weekly board, and in the midst of a bar uncommonly distinguished bv eminent members. "I remember how comfortable I thought I should be, if I could make one hundred pounds, Virginia money, per year, and with what delight I received the first fifteen shillings fee. My hopes were more than realized. I immediately rushed into a successful and lucrative practice." (21) 22 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. This brief allusion, by Henry Clay himself, to his "start in life," serves the purpose of a complete and graphic picture. He has left the Old Dominion behind, with its stirring and classic memories. He has left the polished society of Richmond, in which remembrance of his early struggles with poverty might have imposed upon him an irksome constraint. He has left the learned bar, toward which, as having furnished him with his patrons and instructors, he might have looked with a deference too great for his future independence of character and mind. He has turned his steps, like so many of more aspiring ambition since that day, to the Great West. Whatever his dreams of success, they are yet too dim to be told to others, to be whispered even to himself. He has not yet felt within the kindling of that inspiration, which is to fascinate and subdue the hearts of his countrymen. He has not yet waked up to the consciousness, that he is possessed of any unusual power. He feels himself to be only plain Henry Clay, but just now deputy clerk, amanu- ensis, and law student. A bare support, in his new home, is the bight of his expectations. His modesty seems even to have kept him from asking for admission to the Favette bar, until he had given several months' additional attention to his legal studies. Though he had left the refinements of Virginia, he found that he was by no means beyond the pale of civilization, and that his opponents were to be something more than backwoodsmen. It is doubtful whether the bar of Fayette county was ever more ably represented. Lex- ington had appropriated to itself all that was most choice and vigorous in the talent of the State. Brecken ridge, and Nicholas, and Brown, and Hughes, and Murray, were men from whom the palm of superiority could be wrested by no competitor, without a struggle. They were also established in business and reputation, when the new and diffident candidate for wealth and honor entered the lists against them. But self-distrust still held him back. He could not persuade himself yet, to measure Ids strength with theirs. What he was reluctant to do, was, however, at last forced upon him, as it were, by accident. He had become a member THE LIFE OF IIENKY CLAY. 23 of a debating- club, but had never ventured to speak upon any question. One night, it is related, as the debate was about to close, he whispered to a neighbor, that something more, he thought, might be said upon the subject. The remark was eagerly caught at, as affording an opportunity for calling out the young stranger, and ascertaining what "stuff he was made of." The president delayed to put the question, and from every side the call was made for " Clay." Half surprised into the discus- sion, and yet half eager for it, the young orator arose, blushing and confused. The first words which he stammered out were, " Gentlemen of the jury." This unpropitious beginning deep- ened his embarrassment. Again he exclaimed, " Gentlemen of the jury !" But his hearers were considerate. Their courtesy restored his composure. His ideas quickly became clear and well expressed. His enthusiasm became roused. An ingenuous pride, to thoroughly redeem his opening effort from the appear- ance of failure, which it first assumed, quickened his intellect and fired his emotions. Whatever credit, for abilities, his silent good sense might have acquired for him before, his success now took his audience by storm. Their surprise, delight and applause were unbounded. That was an auspicious evening to him. Thenceforward, he might regard his fortune as made. The expectations of the community were to be allies upon his side, and he himself had awaked to a consciousness of his power. The days when "fifteen shillings fees " were a source of delight, will now rush away to give place to a successful and lucrative practice. To every class of mind, the gay and grave, the learned and the ignorant, there is something fascinating in the eloquence of highly wrought feeling. It arises, in part, from a love of excitement, natural to every human breast, and, in part, from admiration of a high display of power ; that power seeming especially wonderful, which can, at will, alternately excite and subdue the varied feelings of a lary-e assemblv. But perhaps none give themselves up so entirely to its fasci- nation, as do the unlearned and uncritical. Unaccustomed to dissemble their emotions, impulsiveness becomes their ruling 24 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. habit; and, with something of ihe simplicity of children, they yield themselves to the power of the orator. Eloquence is regarded by them, with more enthusiasm, perhaps, than even military exploits, by which, notoriously, they are dazzled ; and the orator Avho can sway them at his will, is more applauded than the successful general. Such minds demand fervor, and even vehemence, in their speakers ; and can, more easily, forgive a little infelicity of reasoning than lameness in sentiment or manner. Among such people, most fortunately, Henri* Clat found himself when the consciousness of his power, as an orator, first flashed upon him. In the town of his residence, many of the citizens were highly intelligent and refined; but "the country people," as they were termed, — those who constituted the mass of the population, — were distinguished by the characteristics of pioneer life ; a resolute independence ; thorough practical com- mon sense ; the utmost frankness of feeling and manners, and an unbounded admiration for rousing oratory. A better field, for the development of young Clay's peculiar eloquence, can not be imagined. By his early life, he had been taught better how to sympathize with, and to approach, his sturdy auditors, than he could have been by any instruction of the schools. His style of eloquence could not admit of being cramped. Its very success was dependent upon its hearty boldness. An audience of learned critics would have frozen the fountains of his inspiration. A careful regard to the nice structure of every sentence, and a perpetual dread lest, by some unlucky expression, he should offend "ears polite," would have effectually sealed the lips of one, like him, sensitively conscious of early disadvantages. But the honest yeomanry and hardy hunters, who were to ■I ml constitute the mass of his hearers, cared little about the nice balance of sentences, if so be those sentences conveyed senti- ments which ihey could relish, in language which thev could not mistake, and by tones and gestures which struck home to their hearts. Occasions, likewise, favored the budding reputation of the THE LIFE OF IIEXKY CLAY. 25 vouiio- orator. Demasroffism was from the first abliorrent to his soul. However much he might seek to work upon the sym- pathies of his susceptible audiences, he never prostituted his powers to artifice, nor appealed to local and unworthy prejudices. He delighted in expatiating upon those cherished principles of freedom, for which our country had but just triumphantly fousrht. In such themes, he could indulge his loftiest declama- tion, without offense to his high sense of honor. The promulgation ui the "Alien and Sedition Laws," gave him his chosen opportunity. Those laws had their origin in a panic, which had seized upon many, lest our institutions should be overthrown by foreign emissaries, and the authority of our officers weakened, or destroyed, by the unbounded license of the press. They gave to the President authority to send into exile any person, whom he might deem dangerous to the well being of the Government, and guarded from assault, by special statute, the private and public character of those intrusted with responsible offices. In endeavoring to correct, what was undoubtedly an evil, the Government was betrayed into an offense still more unpardon- able. Freedom of personal movements and liberty of the press, are matters too sacred for governmental interference, except in cases of the most unusual and uncpuestionable necessity. The people considered their rights outraged. The disturbances of the Old World, the revolutionary proceedings of France, the turbulence of agents from abroad, the scurrility of the writers of pamphlets and newspapers, did not, in their opinion, consti- tute a necessity sufficient to warrant a scrutiny, like that of the Inquisition, and edicts which savored of despotism. The laws met with vehement opposition. They could be popular in no part of a country, which was enjoying its first exultant consciousness of freedom. In Kentucky, they were especially odious. The habits of a pioneer people are abhorrent to every thing like constraint, whether in movements or in speech. They grow up in the enjoyment of almost unbounded license in respect to both. The people of Fayette called out their orators, to give utterance to their indignation. 3 26 THE LIFE OF HENBY CLAY. After listening to the eloquence of one of their favorite and experienced leaders, with one accord and with great clamor, they shouted for Clay. Warm with the zeal of youth, ambi- tious for distinction, eager for the excitement of debate, unaf- fectedly indignant at the insult to freedom and to freemen, the young patriot responded to the call. To him the subject appeared, not in the light of an opportunity for successful demagogism, it was invested with the sacredness of liberty itself. The "inalien- able rights," for which we had sent out a "declaration " to the world, and which, during eight years, we had defended at the point of the bayonet, were imperiled by our own rulers, upheld in their conduct by the deluded slaves of party zeal. The name Federalist, itself, was to himself and to many of his hearers an odious term. In the minds of not a few, it was associated with a tendency toward a concentration of power, ultimately a mon- archy, and possibly a despotism. Having such sentiments to work with, and such an audience to work upon, it is not wonderful that the enthusiastic eloquence of the vouthful orator, roused the feelings of his hearers to almost a frenzy of excitement. Those who were to follow in defense of the hated laws, except, for the interposition of Clay, and the friend who had preceded him, would not have been permitted a hearing. As it was, they were suffered to proceed but a little way in their argument, before the people rushed upon them to hurl them down. With difficulty they were saved from personal indignity. Among such a people, an orator like Clay could not fail of "a successful and lucrative practice." It is related of Erskine, that, after his first speech, he had placed in his hand retaining fees from thirty eminent lawyers. The services of Hexry Clay, as we have abundant evidence, were considered at once equally desirable in every important suit. His quickness to unravel the knotty points of a case, which had puzzled for a day or two the wits of his associate counsel, and his wonderful success in criminal causes, have come down to us with something, doubtless, of the exaggeration of tradi- tion. Yet that his influence over a jury was, in no small degree, THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 27 dangerous to the full attainment of justice, we may well believe, when we remember the fascination which, upon every subject, attended his eloquence. It is related of him with much enthusiasm, that, at a trial for capital offense, in Harrison county, in which two Germans, father and son, stood indicted for a brutal murder, he succeeded, first, in obtaining a verdict of homicide, and afterward, an arrest of judgment, resulting in their acquittal. In another instance, though the evidence seemed demonstra- tive against his client, he prevailed so far as to divide the jury ; and, upon a second trial, to procure a discharge, by setting up the remarkable plea, that no man could have his life twice im- periled for the same offense, and that, to continue the prosecu- tion, would constitute such a case. To carry his point, he found it necessary to back his plea by such a trial of his personal consequence, as never could succeed except where great popularity had given occasion for the utmost self-confidence ; demurring at the objections of the court, to his peculiar construction of the case, and gathering up his docu- ments, he was about to leave the court-room. The ruse, — for such we must consider it, — succeeded, and he was urged to come back and conduct the trial in his own way. The result, as we might expect, was the discharge of the prisoner. Such instances, whatever value they may or may not have, in establishing Henry Clay's character with the reader, as an accurate and thorough lawyer, certainly prove that his eloquence was of a very effective order, and that his personal influence, thus early, was almost unbounded. While prosperity was thus attending Henry Clay in his public career, he was adding to his private happiness, by bring- ing around himself the comforts of a home. With social affec- tions keenly active, he early sought that high sympathy and companionship which can be found only in marriage. In April, 1799, when he was but twenty-two years of age, he was united in marriage to Lucretia Hart, the daughter of Col. Hart, one of the most influential and hospitable citizens of Lex- ington. Two years afterward we find him, in a letter to Judge 28 THE LIFE OF HEHBT CLAY. Brooke of Virginia, speaking of his home, with a settled gravity and that peculiar air of consequence, which seem especially to befit the father of a family. We can not forbear giving an extract from this letter, since it not only indicates the feeling we have described, but also the high-toned generosity of his char- acter, and the eagerness with which, at the earliest opportunity, he offers a return for past favors. After speaking of some business matters, he adds : " What has become of the son of my much regretted friend, your brother ? I feel myself under obligations of gratitude to the father, which I should be happy of having an opportunity of discharging to the son. What is the progress he has made in his education ? We have, in this place, a university in a very flourishing condition. Could you not spare him to me, in this country, for two or three years ? I live at a short distance from the buildings, have a small family, and need not add that, from the cheapness of living in this country, his expense to me would be extremely inconsiderable. We have, too, a distant hope of getting Mr. Madison, from 'William and Mary,' to take the man- agement of our seminary. Be pleased to let me hear from you on this subject." For domestic life, we may believe, judging from his tempera- ment, he had a keen relish. But of domestic life he was not destined to partake largely. His talents forbade his living, in any exclusive sense, to himself. He was needed by his country. Before it had been possible for him to build up any great or last- ing character as a lawyer, he was called to enter upon what became the special business of his life, — the toils of statesman- ship. Without any solicitation of his own, and while he was absent amontr the mountains for his health, his name was brought forward in connection with a seat in the State Legisla- ture. His competitors were popular ; he started late in the canvass, but his personal presence at the critical juncture, — his remarkable tact, as displayed in his quick reply to the hunters, when, without any practice in rifle-shooting, he claimed to be an excellent shot, and, favored by chance, won the hearts of the rude backwoodsmen by planting the bullet in the center of the THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 29 mark, — and, most of all, the fascination of his eloquence over- came all obstacles, and insured for him a complete triumph. His first legislative exploits pertained to matters of local interest, and were conducted with much sparring and direct personal encounter ; a mode of debate sure to elicit the applause of a rude and popularly constituted assembly. The contest between himself and a member of the name of Grundy, constituted the principal interest of his first session. It was doubtless that kind of intellectual gladiatorship, which young and ambitious minds delight in when they first awake to the consciousness of considerable power ; confident and impetu- ous, they are ready to measure swords with every opponent, and covet the admiration of the multitude who cheer them on. But Clat soon vindicated his supremacy, and feeling himself facile princeps, was, thenceforward, better situated to advance business and devise measures for the true welfare of the State. For, until a man's position is established, his attention will be absorbed by his own claims, and his views will likewise lack the weight which comes from confirmed personal influence. The degree of self-confidence and personal consideration, to which he soon attained, as well as the peculiar class of minds with which he had to deal, may be seen in the effect which a few jocular remarks from him produced, when it was proposed to remove the seat of government. Clay was in favor of the removal, and in ridicule of the peculiar position of Frankfort, which is in a deep valley, surrounded by abrupt hills, compared it first to an inverted hat, and afterward changing the figure, called it nature's penitentiary, pointing to a ragged and now scampering group in the galleries, as a specimen of the prisoners. The witticism proved as effective as a logical argument ; the point was carried, and Frankfort, if any other place could have been agreed upon, would have ceased to be the capital. It is right to say that Clay, some years afterward, made honorable amends by apologizing for this injustice to a very beautiful town. The nobleness of his character and his dauntless manner, at this time, are illustrated by his espousing the cause of a humble 30 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. innkeeper, who could find no one else willing to undertake it, against the United States Attorney, Daviess, from whom he had received insolent treatment, and so warmly as to receive at a pause in the trial, a note of intimidation, but which Clay persisted in disregarding so far as to provoke from the offended attorney a challenge. The duel was prevented, however, by the interposition of friends. Having once set out in the career of politics, there was to be for Clay no turning back. General Adair of Kentucky, resigned his seat in the United States Senate, and Clay, though but twenty-nine years of age, was selected to fill the vacancy. As he was about setting out on his journey to Washington, he received the following letter from Aaron Burr : " Dear Sir — Information has this morning been given me, that Mr. Daviess has recommenced his prosecution and inquiry. I must entreat your professional aid in this business. It would be disagreeable to me to form a new connection, and various considerations will, it is hoped, induce you, even at some per- sonal inconvenience, to acquiesce in my request. I shall, how- ever, insist on making a liberal pecuniary compensation. The delay of your journey to Washington, for a few days, can not be very material. No business is done in Congress until after new year. I pray you to repair to Frankfort on receipt of this." Public opinion was at this time greatly divided, as to Burr's innocence of any treasonable intentions. By many the prosecu- tion against him was regarded as the offspring of party malice. Burr, himself, was careful to remove any scruples which busy rumor might have created in the mind of Clay. He addressed him a second note, in which he pleads innocence in the following unqualified terms : "Sir — I have no design, nor have I taken any measure, to promote a dissolution of the Union, or a separation of any one or more States from the residue. I have neither published a line on the subject, nor has any one through my agency or with HIE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 31 my knowledge. I have no design to intermeddle with the Government, or to disturb the tranquillity of the United Slates, or of its Territories, or any part of them. I have neither issued, nor signed, nor promised a commission to any person, for any purpose. I do not own a musket, nor a bayonet, nor any single article of military stores, nor does any person for me, by my authority, or with my knowledge. "My views have been fully explained to, and approved by, several of the principal officers of Government, and, I believe, are well understood by the administration, and seen by it with complacency. They are such as every man of honor, and every good citizen, must approve. " Considering the high station you now fill in our national councils, I have thought these explanations proper, as well to counteract the chimerical tales, which malevolent persons have so industriously circulated, as to satisfy you that you have not espoused the cause of a man unfriendly to the laws, the Govern- ment, or the interests of his country." Clat was deceived by the apparent candor of Burr, and the heartiness of his disavowal. So pressing an application to a young lawyer, from one who had filled a highly distinguished place in the regards of his country, could not have been other- wise than flattering. He undertook the defense, but as the grand jury returned the indictment, accompanied with a refusal to con- sider it a true bill, he was absolved from any active part in the matter. Upon repairing to Washington he was shown evidence, which satistied him, of the criminal intentions of Burr. The endeavor was made to fasten odium upon Clay, because of the part which he had assumed. In this attempt party malig- nity to some extent succeeded; but to us, who, at a distance, can look impartially upon the occurrences of that day, the eager endeavor of Burr to establish his innocence in the eyes of the young Senator, is all the vindication of his own integrity, which Clay could wish. We follow Clay now to his seat in the Senate of the United States. It is not to be supposed that, occupying it for but one 32 . THE LIFE OF IIENRY CLAY. session, and feeling conscious of beim? one of the youngest members, he took a remarkably active part in the deliberations of that body. He found occasion, however, to advocate various plans for internal improvement. His maiden speech was upon the construction of a bridge over the Potomac ; a matter of local interest, but involving a question of constitutional power. He brought to the subject the results of extensive investigation, and his speech upon the occasion was esteemed equal to the fame which had preceded him. His efforts were likewise directed to the construction of a canal in his own State, and improvements in the navigation of the Ohio River, — harbingers of the policy to which he was after- Ward committed, and by which no small degree of his great subsequent popularity was secured. Upon returning to his friends, he was again elected to a seat in the State Legislature, and was made Speaker of its lower House. That he filled this office with dignity, it can not be necessary to assert, while his signal ability in a still higher station of the same character, is still a matter of memory. In 1808, his friends, from a desire to match him against his principal political opponent, Humphrey Marshall, saw fit not to re-elect him Speaker. The debates assumed an acrimonious turn. Some offensive remarks, by Marshall, upon a resolution introduced by Clay, to the effect that all the members should, for the sake of encouraging home industry* clothe themselves in garments of domestic manufacture, called forth a challenge from the latter. The parties met, exchanged two or three shots, were both slightly wounded, when, by the interference of their seconds, they Avere prevented from pursuing any further their murderous diversion. One effort of Uknrv Clay, during his last connection with the Siate Legislature, deserves to be recorded forever to his credit. It was his valiant and successful opposition, almost single-handed, t>> a measure which prejudice and demagogism would have carried through, to the everlasting discredit of Ken- tucky. An unqualified hatred to England led to the strange proposal, that the decisions of her courts should never be cited THE LIFE OF IIENKY CLAY. 33 as precedents, nor allowed any weight at any Kentucky bar. Illiberality could not well go further. Yet so great was the unenlightened zeal of the Legislature, that its purpose was defeated only by the most strenuous efforts of Clay, exerted through personal influence, through argument, and through the seductive power of his eloquence. Henry Clay's career, in the limited sphere of a State Legisla- ture, we are now to see draw to a close. His talents are for wider fields and loftier displays. The skill which he has acquired, is to be transferred permanently to that arena where he can accomplish most for his country and for his race. But while we dismiss him from his narrower stage, we must show, from the testimony of one who knew how he there acquitted himself, that his success was not the result of accident ; that by no "chance hits," and by no fitful efforts in these earlier years of discipline, was laid the foundation of the brilliant, useful, and enduring structure of his future fame. "He appears," says the writer alluded to, "to have been the pervading spirit of the whole body. He never came to the debates without the knowledge necessary to the perfect elucida- tion of his subject, and he always had the power of making his knowledge so practical, and lighting it up so brightly with the fire of eloquence, and the living soul of intellect, that, without resorting to the arts of insidiousness, he could generally control the movements of the Legislature at will. His was not an undue influence ; it was the simple ascendency of mind over mind. The bills, which originated with him, instead of being characterized by the eccentricities and ambitious innovations which are too often visible in the course of young men of genius, suddenly elevated to power and influence, were remark- able only fur their plain common sense, and their tendency to advance the general interests of the State. Though he carried his plans into effect by the aid of the magical incantations of the orator, he always conceived them with the coolness and discretion of a philosopher. No subject was so great as to baffle his powers, — none so minute as to elude them, lie could handle the telescope and the microscope with equal skill. In him, the 34 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. haughty demagogues of the Legislature found an antagonist, who never failed to foil them in their bold projects, and the intriguers of lower degree were baffled with equal certainty, whenever they attempted to get any petty measure through the House for their own personal gratification, or that of their friends. The people, therefore, justly regarded him as emphati- cally their own." CHAPTER IV. Senate of the United States again — Policy of our country — Mr. Clay advocates protection of domestic manufactures — Opposes n United States Bank — His activity in bringing about a war with England — Declaration of war. Mr. Clay entered the Senate of the United States a second time, in the winter of 1809-10. So short had been the political history of our country, that no great systems, either of foreign or of domestic policy, had been established. The wants and capabilities of the country were hardly known. The course of legislation had been rather a series of experiments than any thing stable and definite. The political character of the nation was undergoing a formative process. The problem, whether Federal or Democratic principles should obtain the predomin- ance, was hastening to a solution. Upon the result of this important question, hung suspended the future distinctive policy of the nation. That problem, to all intents and purposes, was solved by the administration of Jefferson. The Democratic element then trained a predominance, which, except in a few fluctuations, it has ever since retained. Yet, while the prevailing spirit of the country may be characterized as the eager, restless, aggressive spirit of a Democracy, it is not of such a Democracy as floated before the vision of the early champions of State rights. Federalism has not been annihilated, but absorbed. The country to-day, while it is more intensely democratic than it was fifty years ago, is also ruled more upon federal principles. While every year makes us a fiercer Democracy, every year also consolidates the power of the Central Government. Except in the instance of one or two States, the feeling of State pride is merging (85) 36 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. more and more into patriotic pride for the Union. Sectional causes, indeed, disturb the surface of this feeling and check its growth ; yet the evidence that it exists may be found in any casual newspaper, published in any part of the country. Where one paragraph is given, — always excepting the newspapers of South Carolina, — to the glorification of the State, ten paragraphs may be found of exultant pride, which, in case of threatened war, rises into bravado, in the extent, the resources, the power of "The Great American people." The country has, in fact, become a consolidated Democracy. This direction of its development, as we have intimated, was effected largely by the influence of Jefferson. Its career in that direction was but just inaugurated when Clay, in 1810, a second time entered the Senate. The country was ready, and waiting for the minds which were to mark out and fix its subsequent policy. Of those minds Clay's was eminently one. At the very outset, not as though yet he saw the way clearly, but rather as though he beheld "men as trees walking," he advocated what afterward grew into the American Protective System. The immediate occasion of his first argument upon the subject was a bill, to the effect that, in procuring cordage, sail-cloths and ordinary munitions of war, preference, if possible, should be given to articles of domestic manufacture. His views in the immediate instance were acted upon, and a most favorable im- pulse, especially considering the necessity for home industry which the war quickly following entailed, was given to the manufacturing interests of the country* The interest of this, his first reported speech, is greatly tight- ened by the fact, that the policy therein advocated was a favorite one with him through life ; one to which he devoted the most study ; upon which he expended the most ingenuity, and battled for with the most persistency. His arguments, except in comprehensiveness, were similar to those which he afterward adduced when the special champion of that policy ; arguments which will always have different detrrees of weight, according to the side which individuals THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 37 espouse of that much disputed question, the propriety of a protective tariff. In the winter session of 1810-11, the Senate was called upon to decide the question whether the charter of the United States Bank should be renewed. The Bank was incorporated in 1791, and its charter would expire by limitation, in 1811. Mr. Clay believed, with the mass of the Republican party, that the Constitution made no provision for granting such a charter. The Legislature of his State had also laid him under instructions to oppose it. He therefore assailed the Bank with all his power of logic, and all the keenness of his sarcasm. He directed his blows, especially, against what he supposed its weakest side, — its lack of constitutional warrant. As the United States Bank became afterward a favorite measure with him, his change of yiews gave occasion to his opponents to charge him with gross inconsistency. But pitiable, indeed, would be the lot of erring humanity, if a man must retain unchanged to his dying hour, the opinions which he may have embraced in the immaturity, and with the haste of youth. The highest definition of consistency is not that which limits it to perseverance in a given course, under all circumstances, and against every degree of conviction to the contrary. In such a quality, Clay might feel no shame to plead deficient. But if the question should be in regard to consistency, even in its general acceptation, — namely, an undeviating pursuit of the same specific ends, — political history, we are confident, can pre- sent few more striking instances of it than Clay's. In old ao-e he was seen fighting still under the same banner which he him- self had raised in the exultant strength of his youth. His last efforts were in behalf of a domestic policy and the integrity of the Union, and so likewise were his first. The sturdy Demo- cratic principles with which he set out in his political career, he retained through iife, — holding them, not alone during the sun- shine of popular favor, but battling for them in darkness and in trial, against the opposition of iron-willed enemies, and the treachery of false friends. 38 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. He himself referred to this single change of views many years afterward, when there could have been no occasion for insin- cerity, in the following words : " I never, but once, changed my opinion on any great measure of national policy, or any great principle of construction of the National Constitution. In early life, on deliberate consideration, I adopted the principles of interpreting the Federal Constitution, which had been so ably developed and enforced by Mr. Madison, in his memorable report to the Virginia Legislature, and to them, as I understood them, I have constantly adhered. Upon the question coming up in the Senate of the United States, to re-charter the first Bank of the United States, thirty years ago, I opposed the re-charter, upon convictions which I honestly entertained. The experience of the war which shortly followed, the condition into which the currency of the country was thrown without a bank, and, I may now add, later and more disastrous experience, convinced me I was wrong. I publicly stated to my constituents, in a speech in Lexington (that which I made in the House of Representatives of the United States not having been reported), my reasons for that change, and they are preserved in the archives of the country. I appeal to that record ; and I am willing to be judged, now, and hereafter, by their validity." Mr. Clay's term in the Senate, which was but for two years, having ended in 1811, he returned to his home at Lexington. But Kentucky could not dispense with services so fitted for public life and legislation. He was immediately elected to a seat in the House of Representatives, — and so conspicuous had he already become by his talents, and so great was his popularity, that, upon the first ballot at the opening of the session, he was made Speaker of that body, — an honor never accorded before to one whose person was a stranger in its halls, and whose voice was untried in its debates. A proud moment must that have been to the* young Kentucky Congressman, when his merit, owing nothing to birth, nothing to early advantages, and but little to outward circumstances of any kind, was at once recognized with homage, by those who THE LIFE OF IIENKY CLAY. 39 could boast of all ; and when the applause, which greeted the announcement of his election, revealed the strong force of enthu- siastic friends who would rally, at any time, to his support, as they had now rallied to render his entrance anions: them a triumph. He might appreciate the more highly the compliment, because the session promised to be a most important and stirring one. Europe was in arms, and the convulsion of one continent threat- ened to shake the stability of the other. War was teaching that lesson which it inculcates more emphatically than any other mentor, — the mutual dependence of the different families of the human race ; that one member can not suffer without all the other members Buffering with it. The Berlin and Milan decrees of Napoleon, and the orders in Council of England, had subjected our commerce to most ruinous restrictions. All the important ports of Europe were declared in a state of blockade. Our trading vessels were constantly exposed to confiscation. The only choice left to our merchants was to permit their ships to rot idly at their wharves, or to engage them in commerce by stealth, and at the imminent risk of seizure. Troubles had been deepening, too, for years. Our young country was regarded by England with hatred and contempt. Her officers, in foreign service, omitted no opportunity of dis- playing toward us their insolence. One of our own vessels of Avar, without just provocation, had been fired into, almost within our own waters. No indignity, however, excited such universal anger as the course of British officers, in forcibly entering our ships, and, under the pretext of searching for their fugitive sailors, impress- ing our seamen. According to a statement in Congress, seven thousand of our countrymen were, at the moment of the report, forcibly detained in her service. All remonstrance proved ineffectual. Lord Castlereagh treated contemptuously the idea that England would relinquish her right of search. To Mr. Russel, our Charge (V Affaires, to whom was intrusted a negotiation with the British Government, he stated, in language which he desired not to be mistaken : 40 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. " There has evidently been much misapprehension on this subject ; an erroneous belief entertained, that an arrangement in regard to it has been nearer an accomplishment than the facts will warrant. Even our friends in Congress, — I mean those who are opposed to going to war with us, — have been so confident in this mistake, that they have ascribed the failure of such an arrangement solely to the misconduct of the American Govern- ment. This error probably originated with Mr. King, for, being- much esteemed here, and always well received by persons in power, he seems to have misconstrued their readiness to listen to his representations, and their warm professions of a disposition to remove the complaints of America in relation to impressment, into a supposed conviction, on their part, of the propriety of adopting the plan which he had proposed." There was, therefore, throughout the country, an indignant cry for Avar. In Congress the belligerent spirit was pre- dominant. Still, the party in opposition was far enough from being insignificant. Nearly all the Federalists were opposed to a rupture with England. Of the State Rights party, Randolph, one of the ablest, exerted his influence, sometimes by logic, sometimes by rhetoric, and sometimes by ridicule, unceasingly against it. In his eyes, a war with England was an alliance with Napoleon, whom, from his rapacious spirit of conquest, he designated "the arch enemy of mankind." The capture of Canada, one of the professed objects of the war, he sneered at as preposterous. He deprecated the fostering of a military and aggressive spirit, which the existence of an army and a navy would be sure to promote. The session was, therefore, a stormy one. The country did not ride into war with all sails set and colors flying, and by the breath of only prospering gales. Notwithstanding the preva- lent hatred to England, and the war sentiment predominant in Congress, it required the logic of Calhoun, and the martial enthusiasm of Clay, to nerve their fellow-members into a war- like attitude. In the President's message of November 4, 1811, the causes of complaint against England were reviewed. The message was THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 41 referred to a committee, of which Peter B. Porter of New York, was chairman. The resolutions which they reported were un- mistakably warlike. Still, as the formation of committees was under the control of the Speaker, those resolutions could be regarded as expressing the sentiments of only a party. The Senate transmitted to the House, on the thirty-first of December, a bill providing for the raising of twenty-five thou- sand troops. Clay, leaving the chair, made it the occasion for a most enthusiastic speech in favor of war. He had committed himself to that policy, and it was never his characteristic to do things by halves. High spirited and impetuous, he could no more brook an insult to his country than to himself. He viewed the aspect of affairs with the partiality of the advocate, rather than with the wily coolness of the diplomatist. He was desirous to precipitate matters. What he did, he would do boldly. Since he had given his voice for war, he would have every preparation made to constitute it a successful war. In this he proved him- self worthy to be a leader. A large class of men, after deciding upon a course of conduct, — such a course, even, as from its very nature demands promptness and intrepidity, — display a miserable infirmity of will, and signally fail, because what they desire they have not the courage to perform. It was not so with Clay. Whatever his judgment or his feel- ings dictated, his will shrank not from executing. A part of those who were committed in favor of war, trembled at the pros- pect of so large a standing army as twenty-five thousand men. To order such a levy, they seemed to feel, was to pledge them- selves to all the unknown horrors of war. That such was its bearing and intention, Clay unhesitatingly avowed. He justly contended, that it was "too great for peace, but," as he feared, "too small for war." If his country was to en«;ai>-e with Ensr- land, he would have it enter the contest equipped, not for defeat, but for victory. On the twenty-second of January, a report was made, by a committee to whom the matter had been intrusted, in favor of increasing the navy. To this, also, Clay gave his earnest sup- port. His plan contemplated not what was extravagant and 4 42 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. impracticable. He deluded not himself nor the House with the idea that a naval force might be created, able to cope in numbers with the proud marine of England. But he demanded that such additions should be made as might effectually protect our coast- ing trade, and our many ports, from the insolence of every passing cruiser. The Navy bill, like that of the Army Appro- priation, was adopted by a large majority. This was upon the twenty-ninth of January, 1812. Upon the first day of April, the President sent a secret mes- sage to Congress, recommending an embargo for sixty days. This was acknowledged by the war party to be preparatory to an appeal to arms. Mr. Randolph rose, and, with much solemnity, exclaimed : "I am so impressed with the importance of the subject, and the solemnity of the occasion, that I can not be silent. Sir, we are now in conclave; the eyes of the surrounding world are not upon us ; we are shut up here from the light of heaven, but the eyes of God are upon us. He knows the spirit of our minds. Shall we deliberate upon this subject with the spirit of sobriety and candor, or with that spirit which has too often characterized our discussions upon occasions like the present ? We ought to realize that we are in the presence of that God who knows our thoughts and motives, and to whom we must hereafter render an account for the deeds done in the body. I hope, sir, the spirit of party, and every improper passion, will be exorcised ; that our hearts may be as pure and clean as falls to the lot of human nature. "I will appeal to the sobriety and reflection of the House, and ask what new cause of war for the last twelve months ? What new cause of embargo within that period ? The affair of Chesapeake is settled, — no new principle interpolated into the laws of nations. I suppose every man of candor and sober reflection will ask, why we did not go to war twelve months ago? Or, will it be said we ought to make up by our promptness now, for our slowness then? It is not generally wise to dive into futurity, but it is wise to profit by experience, although it may be unpleasant. I feel much concerned to have the bill on the table for one hour." TIIE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 43 The Federal party, through some of their representatives, as- sumed a tone still more deprecatory. Josiah Quincey of Massa- chusetts, openly avowed that he had sent dispatches to eastern merchants, that their vessels might leave port before the embargo should take effect. "We did it," he said, "to escape into the jaws of the British Lion and of the French Tiger, which are places of repose, of joy, and delight, when compared with the grasp and fang of this hyena embargo. Look now upon the river below Alexandria, and you will see the sailors towing down their vessels, as from a pestilence, against wind and tide, anxious to escape from a country which would destroy instead of preserv- ing them. I object to it, because it is no efficient preparation ; because it is not a progress toward honorable war, but a subter- fuge from the question. If we must perish, let us. perish by any hand except our own." From these extracts it can be seen that the opposition was wantinir neither in strength nor clamor. Clay rested uneasily in his seat as Speaker, under such arguments and appeals. His spirit longed to be in the thickest of the fight. Yielding the chair to others, he often descended to the floor of the House to confront audacity with equal boldness — and to answer the ques- tion, "What cause is there for war?" by depicting the com- merce of his country ruined, her honor insulted, her name a by- word and term of derision abroad. Randolph had said, in the course of the speech from which we have quoted, " I am confident in the declaration, Mr. Chairman, that this (the embargo) is not a measure of the Executive ; but that it is engendered by an extensive excitement upon the Executive." Madison, indeed, seems to have labored under an infirmity of purpose. Although he had committed himself so far as to lay the embargo, it was not until he had been waited upon by Clay in an informal deputation, and had caught the contagion of his enthusiasm, that he submitted the message to Congress which was to result in an appeal to arms. Both Houses of Congress took decisive action upon the subject on the eighteenth of June, and on the nineteenth, by proclamation of the President, war existed between the United States and England. CHAPTER V. Early disasters of the war — Subsequent successes — Negotiations for peace — Ghent — Mr. Clay a Commissioner — Terms of the treaty — Mr. Clay visits England— railed States Hank— Mr. Clay's change of views — What constitutes true Political Economy — Compensation bill — Ci.ay is obliged to canvass bis Stat. — South American independence. The credit or the blame of the second war "with England, whichever it be, must unquestionably fall mainly to the share of Clay. For an appeal to arms he had battled with the ardor of a patriot, and with a vehemence inspired by opposition. The war opened disastrously. General Hull surrendered his army at Detroit. A series of similar reverses followed in its train. The depression occasioned by such calamities is vividly conveyed in the following letter from General Harrison to Mr. Clay : "I write to you, my dear sir, amid a thousand interruptions; and I do it solely for the purpose of showing you, that you are present to my recollection, under circumstances that would almost justify a suspension of every private feeling. The rumored disasters upon our northwestern frontier, are now ascertained to be correct. The important point of Mackinac was surrendered without an efforl : an army raptured at Detroit, after receiving three shots from a distant battery id' the enemy (and from the rang.- of which it was easy to retire), a fort [Chicago], in the midst of hostile tribes of Indians, ordered to be evacuated, and the garrison slaughtered ; the numerous northwestern tribes of Indians (with the exce] Lion of two feeble ones), in arms again-! us, is the distressing picture which pre- sents itself to view in this part of the country. ( 14) THE LIFE OF HKNKY ( LAY. 45 "To remedy all these misfortunes, I have an army competent in numbers, and in spirit equal to any that Greece or Rome ever boasted of, but destitute of artillery, of many necessary equip- ments, and absolutely ignorant of every military evolution ; nor have I but a single individual capable of assisting mo in train- ing them." This gloomy state of affairs, however, soon passed away. England, exultant, especially upon her own chosen element, the sea, was made to lower her tone of insolent superiority. The Constitution encountered the Guerriere, and captured it, after a short, most decisive and brilliant engagement. An English statesman was constrained to declare upon the floor of Parlia- ment, that the spell of invincibility, in which their marine had gloried, was effectually broken. Upon the lakes, America gained renewed laurels. The spirit of the people rose with the return of the tide of success. Washington, to the mortification of the country, was taken and sacked, but upon the north-western frontier, Scott was retrieving the fortunes of his Government, and vindicating the bravery of its people. Meanwhile, Russia offered her interposition to bring about peace. The United States accepted her offer, but England expressed a preference for a negotiation between commissioners, appointed severally by the belligerent parties. As Clay had been the principal instigator of war, so he was selected as one of the negotiators of peace. It was proposed at first to meet at Gottingen, but, by agreement of the commis- sioners, Ghent was afterward selected. Albert Gallatin, James A. Bayard, John Q. Adams and Jonathan Russel acted, with Mr. Clay, for the American Government; Lord Gambier, Henry Goulborne and William Adamos, for the British. The English commissioners were able, from their nearness to home, to refer every important matter to the consideration of the power which had appointed them. The dispatches of the American commissioners to their Government were, unex- pectedly to themselves, spread before the people. It was feared 4fi THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. that this ill-advised proceeding would embarrass negotiations. Lord Gambier, when the subject was alluded to in his presence by Mr. Clay, purposely to call out his opinion, expressed his unqualified surprise at an action so entirely without precedent in diplomatic experience. Mr. Clay gave the subject a most ingenious and characteristic turn. He represented to Lord Gambier, that to lay the matter thus before the people was equivalent only to what the British commissioners had done, in referring matters to their home Government ; for that, in the United States, the whole American people were the repositories of power, and that directly to them the commissioners stood responsible. After long discussion in regard to the Fisheries, the right to which the English wished to recall; the navigation of the Mis- sissippi, which they demanded for their vessels, upon equal terms with ours ; the right of protection over the Indians, which they claimed, and a boundary line which would deprive us of a large portion of our territory, but which they ceased to contend for, the terms of peace were agreed upon. American rights were established upon a footing which they had never before enjoyed. The commerce of the ocean was released from its intolerable restrictions. The odious right of search was relinquished. The navigation of the Mississippi was denied to English vessels. The privilege of fishing in British waters was not withdrawn. The impertinent claim to extend a supervision over our Indian tribes, was abandoned. And so well were the principal rights which were contended for established, that America never >ince has had occasion for those complaints which drove her reluctantly into conflict with her haughty foe. This fact Henry Clay might proudly point to, in vindication of the earnestness with which he pleaded for a war in defense of " Free Trade and Sailors' Rights." What he had urged his country to contend for, upon sea and upon land, at the cannon's mouth, he labored effectually to secure in the peaceable encoun- ters of diplomacy. Having proved himself zealous for his country's rights in her halls of legislation, he proved, also, that he might be trusted to demand for her abroad, all that THE LIFE OF IIENRY CLAY. 47 justice might claim, or that a foe, whose insolence was somewhat subdued, might be expected to yield. After concluding negotiations, Mr. Clat proceeded to Paris. He delayed, as yet, to go to England ; for during his residence at Ghent, he had heard with chagrin of the capture of Washington. But while he remained undecided, the intelligence came of the battle of New Orleans. "Now," he exclaimed, "I can go to England without mortification." In England, Mr. Clay received not only every attention which his official character would naturally elicit, but the most flattering regard from men who would not have bestowed it except where they had discovered agreeable qualities, and been affected with sincere admiration. Sir James Mackintosh, of whom Mr. Mac- aulay says : " His mind was a vast magazine, admirably ar- ranged ; every thing was there, and every thing was in its place. His judgments on men, on sects, on books, had been often and carefully tested and weighed, and had then been committed each to its proper receptacle, in the most capacious and accu- rately constructed memory that any human being ever pos- sessed. It would have been strange, indeed, if you had asked for any thing that was not to be found in that immense store- house ;" — Sir James Mackintosh wrote to the youthful American diplomatist the following flattering note : " Sir James Mackintosh is so eager to have the honor of Mr. Clay's acquaintance, that he ventures to request his company this evening to a small party, when Lady Mackintosh will be most happy to receive him, at nine or ten o'clock, with any gentleman of his suit who may be so good as to honor them with coming." In September, 1815, Mr. Clav returned to his own country, and shortly afterward entered Congress, to which he had been re-elected during his absence. He was chosen Speaker a second time. As the procuring cause of the war, and the negotiator of the subsequent peace, he felt called upon to stand forth as the champion of the treaty, against its opposers. 48 THE LIFE OF HENIiY CLAY. "Whatever diversity of opinion," lie said, "may have existed as to the declaration of the war, there are some points on which all may look back with proud satisfaction. The first relates to the time of the conclusion of the peace. Had it been imme- diately after the treaty of Paris, we should have retired humil- iated from the contest, believing that we had escaped the severe chastisement with which we were threatened ; and that we owed to the generosity and magnanimity of the enemy, what we were incapable of commanding by our arms. That magnanimity would have been the theme of every tongue, and of every press, abroad and at home. We should have retired, unconscious of our strength, and unconscious of the utter inability of the enemy, with his whole undivided force, to make any serious impressions upon us. Our military character, then in the lowest state of degradation, would have been unretrieved. " Fortunately for us, Great Britain chose to try the issue of the last campaign. And the issue of the last campaign has demon- strated, in the repulse before Baltimore, the retreat from Platts- burg, the "hard-fought action on the Niagara frontier, and in that most glorious day, the eighth of January, that we have always possessed the finest elements of military composition ; and that a proper use of them, only, was necessary to insure, for the army and militia, a fame as imperishable as that which the navy had previously acquired. "Another point, which appears to me to afford the highest consolation is, that we fought the most powerful nation per- haps in existence, single-handed and alone, without any sort of alliance More than thirty years has Great Britain been ma- turing her physical means, which she had rendered as effica- cious as possible, by skill, by discipline, and by actual service. Proudl v boasting of the conquest of Europe, she vainly flattered herself with the easy conquesl of America, also. Her veterans were put to flight, or defeated, while all Europe, — I mean the governments of Europe, — was gazing, with cold indifference or sentiments of positive hatred of us, upon the arduous contest. Hereafter, no monarch can assert claims of gratitude upon us for assistance rendered in the hour of danger. THE LIFE OF IIEMiY CLAY. 49 "There is another view of which the suhject of the war is fairly susceptible. From the moment that Great Britain came forward at Ghent with her extravagant demands, the war totally changed in character. It became, as it were, a new war. It was no longer an American Avar, prosecuted for objects of British aggressions upon American rights, but became a British war, prosecuted for objects of British ambition, to be accompanied by American sacrifices. And what were those demands ? They consisted of the erection of a barrier between Canada and the United States, to be formed by cutting off from Ohio and some of the Territories, a country more extensive than Great Britain, containing thousands of freemen, who were to be abandoned to their fate, and creating a new power totally unknown upon the continent of America ; of the dismantling of our fortresses and naval power on the lakes, with the surrender of the military occupation of those waters to the enemy ; and of an arrondisse- ment for two British provinces. These demands, boldly as- serted, and one of them declared to be a sine qua non, were finally relinquished. Taking this view of the subject, if there be loss of reputation by either party, in the terms of peace, who has sustained it? " The effects of the war are highly satisfactory. Abroad, our character, which at the time of its declaration was in the lowest state of degradation, is raised to the highest point of elevation. It is impossible for any American to visit Europe without being sensible of this agreeable change, in the personal attentions which he receives, in the praises which are bestowed on our past exertions, and the predictions which are made as to our future prospects." In the winter session of 1815-16, President Madison recom- mended the establishment of a National Bank, as a measure of relief for the financial embarrassments of the country. On the eighth of January, 1816, John C. Calhoun, chairman of the com- mittee to which the subject had been referred, reported in favor of the institution. Clay, in the noble ingenuousness of his nature, did not fear to come out, despite his former views, and give the whole weight of his influence in favor of the measure. He knew 6 50 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. that he rendered himself liable to the charge of fickleness and in- consistency. He knew that the bloodhounds of parly would follow upon the trail and raise a clamor at his expense. But, whether riffht or wrong in his views, he had become convinced that, for the financial distresses of the country, there was no other remedy. He hesitated not, therefore, to sacrifice the appearance of con- sistency to the supposed welfare of his country. He advocated the measure in Congress, until he saw it brought to a suc- cessful issue, and justified his course, with the utmost appear- ance of candor, to his constituents at home. That he was sincere in his change of views, we can have no just occasion to doubt. The country, at the close of the war, felt the effects of that sudden revulsion which always attends a sudden change from hostilities to peace. Manufactures which, during the suspension of commerce, flourished without competition, languished when peace whitened again the sea with sails. Domestic labor could not stand before the foreign competition. Our people would not submit to work for prices which the half famished artisans of the Manchester and Birminghams of England were glad to accept. War, too, creates special branches of business, and furnishes employment in ways peculiar to itself. The restoration of peace is, therefore, the discharge of thousands from situations, upon the continuance of which, depended their daily bread. In addition to all this, a sudden and oppressive debt hangs like an incubus upon the energies of a nation, at the moment it leaves the toils of war to resume the kindlier arts of peace. At such emergencies, the people look < spectantly to their legislators. They have not the political sagacity which would enable them to wait in confident hope, for time to bring the wished-for changes ; and even if they possessed the sagacity, they would hardly exercise the patience. Like one laboring under a painful disease, the agony of which, nevertheless, is the outworking of the malady and the salvation of the patient, they demand an instant remedy, not reflecting that a temporary sup- pression of pain may prove, in the end, disastrous and fetal. THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 51 The physician and the legislator feel also, each in their separate departments, that since it is their province to relieve suffering and restore to health, they will be wanting in their duty, unless, by some heroic remedy, they remove the visible, undeniable evidences of distress. So that, looking more to present relief than to permanent benefit ; yielding themselves rather to the impulse of their feelings than to the calm con- viction of their judgments, they often institute measures, in all sincerity, which afterward none would regret more than themselves. The United States Bank, we conceive to have been such a measure ; yet, at the same time, we believe that Clay, and Calhoun, and Madison, and the host of others who approved of it, acted under the firmest conviction, that thus they were best promoting the interests of their country, and meriting the ap- proval of patriots. Nor need we wonder that this should be so, for political science, though capable of being reduced to rigid rules and to a simple system, is yet but one of the youngest of the sciences ; and it labors, moreover, under the disadvantage that disorders in the body politic can often be corrected only by years of patient waiting, extending, not unfrequently, beyond the lives of the existing generation. But, as we have indicate'd, it is not in the nature of man to wait so long in hope. Something must be done at once, and if the regular physician, if the true legis- lator will not do it, resort will be had to some medical or political quack, according as the case may be, who Avill promise most largely, and administer his remedies most heroically. It is diffi- cult, also, when not enlightened by experience, to keep accurately in the mind relations of cause and effect, which are separated by so wide an interval. If we are wiser to-day than the statesmen of forty years ago, it is not because we have clearer heads, or sounder judgments, or larger patriotism, but because the science of legislation has advanced, and that, too, by their very instrumentality ; because they, by going over the ground before us, have guarded us from error, by even their very blunders, and have bequeathed to us the accumulated treasures of their experience. 52 T1IE LIFE OF IIEXKY CLAY. Soon after the passage of the bill establishing the United States Bank, Mr. Clay made himself somewhat unpopular by- voting for what was called the Compensation bill. The pay of members of Congress had been six dollars per diem. A bill was introduced to substitute a salary of fifteen hundred dollars for the session, in place of the per diem allowance. Clay found it necessary to canvass his own State, in oppo- sition to his former colleague, to secure his seat. His popu- larity was, however, proof against even this undemocratic measure, as it was thought, and he was returned again to Congress. At the next session the obnoxious bill was repealed, and a per diem allowance of eight dollars substituted in place of the salary. During the course of the ensuing session, a subject came before the House which excited the enthusiasm of many of the members, and of none so much as that of Clay. It was in regard to South America, in her struggles for independence. We can not be expected to understand the feelings inspired at the time, by the events to which we refer. "We have seen how " lame and impotent" the "conclusion" of that, which promised so fairly. We have been led to regard, with something of pity and con- tempt, the republics which have been formed from the fragments of the dismembered colonies of Spain. We have seen them ever in a ferment ; never enjoying " the bliss of calm ;" never reach- ing the true end of Government. We have seen their beautiful theory of liberty give way in practice, sometimes to anarchy, and sometimes to military despotism. We have seen them set forth in the career of self-government, with sounding manifestoes and every semblance of energy, only to relapse into hopeless supineness, and to become mere ciphers in the political interests of the world. But when they began their struggles, only the brilliance of what they attempted was seen ; the inauspicious ending was hidden in the future. The ardent and impulsive saw, in their declaration and struggle for liberty, a case parallel to our own. For a time it was fondly believed thai the whole western hemi- sphere would become the home of liberty. THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 53 The temperament and feelings of Clay were of just the nature to he fired hy such a spectacle. The theme was admirably adapted to his style of eloquence. Of Liberty in its largest and broadest sense, he was a devout worshiper ; upon it, he might expend any measure of enthusiasm ; without restriction, he might indulge in his loftiest declamation. He was untiring in his efforts to secure, from our Government, a recognition of South American independence. His speeches were translated into Spanish, and read at the head of the republican armies. He was regarded by the struggling colonies, as their champion in the American Congress. They voted him thanks, and cor- responded with him through their generals. Yet the object at which he aimed was not immediately attained. Two or three years still elapsed, before the independence of the South Ameri- can republics was recognized by our Government. CHAPTER VI. Me. Clay is offered the post of Minister to Russia — Also, a place in the Cabinet — Advocates internal improvements — Mr. Clay the father of a policy and a party — The character and services of the Whig party — Seminole war — The conduct of Jackson. Mr. Madison acknowledged the merit and abilities of Mr. Clay, by offering bim, upon bis return from Europe, after tbe treaty of peace, tbe situation of Minister to Russia, and again, upon the occurrence of a vacancy in bis Cabinet, tbe Secretary- ship of War. Thus honors poured in upon the rising statesman, from every quarter. Success had smiled upon him from the first. By none of the artifices of the demagogue ; by no special solicitation of any kind, he had risen to such estimation, that honors, instead of being sought by him, might almost be said to have come to him soliciting acceptance. He declined the flattering offers of Mr. Madison, believing that he could serve his country best in her halls of legislation. He bad occasion soon to advocate, what was ever with him, a favorite measure. It had been proposed to expend tbe bonus of the United States Bank, upon Internal Improvements. A bill to that effect was passed by Congress, but to tbe surprise of Mr. Clay, was vetoed by President Madison. This was upon the third of March, 1817. Upon the next day James Monroe was inaugurated President. But he, it was understood, would follow, in respect to this matter, in the foot- steps of his predecessors. A resolution was, notwithstanding, offered in the House of Representatives, to the effect that Con- gress possessed the constitutional power to construct military roads, post roads and canals. ( Ml THE LIFE OK IIKXKV CI. AY. 55 Upon this resolution Clay, March thirteenth, made one of his most powerful and effective speeches. lVliiical sentiment, from the day on which the Constitution was adopted until the present hour, has heen divided as to the right which that instrument confers, to carry on systems of improvement within the different States, at the expense, and under the direction of the Federal Government. The prosecution of such improvements, the advocates of State Rights have regarded an unwarrantable assumption of power, and an interference with the domestic polity of the different sovereignties which constitute the Republic. To yield the point, they have felt would be to advance far toward that consolidation of power, which they have ever earnestly deprecated. Mr. Clay expended the principal force of his argument against that class of objectors. He undertook to show that, if the power to carry on internal improvements was not expressly conferred by the Constitution, it was most unquestionably implied. The power to establish post roads, which was granted by the Consti- tution, was, he contended, the power to construct them. The Government, he also argued, since it had the power to make war, had also, by implication, the power "to employ the whole physical means of the nation to render the war, whatever may be its character, successful and glorious." There was, therefore, "a direct and intimate relation between the power to make war and military roads and canals." Some of his opponents might, perhaps, in view of his inge- nuity, quote against him the story which, in earlier days, he brought forward against those who sought a warrant in the Con- stitution for a national bank. They might remind him of the Virginia justice, who represented " to the man, whose turkey had been stolen, that his books of precedents furnished no form for his case, but then he would grant him a precept to search for a cow, and. when looking for that, he might possibly find his turkey." They might charge him with being recreant to his early principles and possessed of an unequaled facility, both in changing his opinions, and confuting his own arguments. 56 THE LIFE OF HENEY CLAY. It doubtless must be admitted, that Mr. Clay's views of the Constitution, during a course of years, underwent a change. He was less a States' Rights man than at first. By his political sagacity, he saw how much for the country a vigorous central power, well administered, might accomplish, lie saw that to limit the Constitution, as some desired to limit it, would render that instrument a most effete and worthless thing. He saw that the tendency of the States' Rights doctrine was to rob us of our unity, in which resides our strength, and to substitute for it the weakness of jealous and conflicting sovereignties. He saw the great resources of our country, and he longed to develop them. Those resources, he felt, could not be made productive, unless Government reached out to them its arm of strength. A little more of federalism he, therefore, ingrafted upon his early democ- racy ; but it was because the good and glory of his country pointed him to such a course. He was such a leader as the times demanded, — one to inaugurate a more united and vigorous policy. The country was undergoing a salutary political change, and it was given him to be the master-spirit of that change. His measures constituted him the founder and leader of a new party. That party, bearing long the old and honored name of Whin - , is now, in all that is distinctive, passing away ; but it Avould be wrong, either to measure the extent of its influence, by the length of iis years, or to believe that it has passed the autumn of its decline, without accomplishing the mis-ion for which it was called into existence. Most of the measures, which consti- tuted its favorite policy, have, indeed, been permitted quietly to pass from notice, but not before they subserved, some of them at least, the valuable temporary ends for which they were de- signed ; and not before others exerted upon the legislation of the country a formative influence, which, if not so great as was aimed at, is vet too decided to be effaced. As each year makes more apparent the vigor and efficiency of our noble Government; as each year reveals new proofs of the wonderful resources of our country; as each year gladdens our land with prosperity, and pours into our coffers no stinted tide of wealth, let not the agency of the Whig party, in accomplishing the glad result, be Tin: LIFE OF HENRY CLAT. 57 forgotten, and lot not fitting honors be refused to the memory of their gallant leader, "Hakry Clay." The views upon internal improvements, which Mr. Clay ad- vocated, on the thirteenth of March, he had the satisfaction of seeing sustained by Congress. The resolution was adopted by a vote of ninety to seventy-five. His labors, at different periods, for kindred objects, rendered him, in many sections of the coun- try, the most popular man of the nation. At a prominent point upon the Cumberland road, which was constructed mainly through his influence, a stone, inscribed with his name, was erected to commemorate the gratitude of the people. In 1818, Mr. Clay came into conflict, for the first time, with his future adversary, — "the man of iron will." General Jack- son had been sent with an army, to repress disturbances occa- sioned by the Seminole Indians. In the discharge of his duty, he paid but little regard to the usages of civilized warfare. The unfortunate savages received, at his hands, such treatment as might be given to pirates or wild beasts. Two traders, Arbuth- not and Ambrister, were hung in violation of the rules of war. Several Spanish fortresses, though we were at peace with Spain, were attacked and taken. A resolution of censure was moved in the House of Repre- sentatives. It became the occasion of a most exciting and stormy debate. Jackson was at the summit of popularity, as the hero of New Orleans. Yet Clay did not hesitate to characterize his conduct, in the terms which it deserved. "To you, Mr. Chairman," said he, in the conclusion of hi3 speech, "belongs the high privilege of transmitting, unimpaired, to posterity the fair character and liberty of our country. Do you expect to execute this high trust, by trampling, or suffering to be trampled down, law, justice, the Constitution, and the rights of the people ? — by exhibiting examples of inhumanity, and cruelty, and ambition ? When the minions of despotism heard, in Europe, of the seizure of Pensacola, how did they chuckle, and chide the admirers of our institutions, tauntingly pointing to the demonstration of a spirit of injustice and aggran- dizement, made by our country in the midst of an amicable 58 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. negotiation. Behold, said they, the conduct of those who are constantly reproaching- kings. You saw how those admirers were astounded and hung their heads. You saw, too, when that illustrious man, who presides over us, adopted his pacific, moderate, and just course, how they once more lifted up their heads, with exultation and delight beaming on their counte- nances. And you saw how those minions, themselves, were finally compelled to unite in the general praises bestowed upon our government. Beware how you forfeit this exalted character. Beware how you give a fatal sanction, in this infant period of our Republic, scarcely yet two score years old, to military insubor- dination. Remember that Greece had her Alexander, Rome her Caesar, England her Cromwell, France her Bonaparte, and that if we would escape the rock on which they split, we must avoid their errors. " How different has been the treatment of General Jackson, and that modest but heroic young man, a native of one of the smallest States in the Union, who achieved for his country, on Lake Erie, one of the most glorious victories of the late war. In a moment of passion, he forgot himself and offered an act of violence, which was repented of as soon as perpetrated. He was tried, and suffered the judgment to be pronounced by his peers. Public justice was thought even then not to be satisfied. The press and Congress took up the subject. My honorable friend from Virginia (Mr. Johnson), the faithful and consistent sentinel of the law and of the Constitution, disapproved in that instance, as he does in this, and moved an inquiry. The public mind remained agitated and unapprised, until the recent atonement, so honorably made by the valiant Commodore. And is there to be a distinction between the officers of the two branches of the public service? Are former services, however eminent, to preclude even inquiry into recent misconduct ? Is there to be no limit, no prudential bounds to the national gratitude? 1 am not dis- posed to censure the President for Dot ordering a court of inquiry, or a general court-martial. Perhaps impelled by a sense of gratitude, he determined, by anticipation, to extend to the General that pardon, which he had the undoubted right to THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 59 grant after sentence. Let us not shrink from our duty. Let ua assert our constitutional powers, and vindicate the instrument from military violation." The popularity of Jackson, however, and the tacit influence of the Executive availed to prevent the passage of the resolution of censure. Clay, at the opening of his speech, had expressly disclaimed the influence of any personal prejudice. "In rising to address you, Mr. Chairman," he had said, "on the very interesting subject which now engages the attention of Congress, I must be allowed to say, that all influences drawn from the course, which it will be my painful duty to take in this discussion, of \infriendliness, either to the chief magistrate of the country, or to the illustrious military chieftain, whose opera- tions are under investigation, will be wholly unfounded. Toward that distinguished captain, who shed so much glory on our country, — whose renown constitutes so great a portion of its moral property, — I never had, I never can have any other feel- ings than those of the most profound respect and of the utmost kindness." But this disavowal was not sufficient to avert the an«-er of the irascible General. He took deep offense at the course pursued by Clay. Upon visiting Washington, which he did soon after, he refused to hold any communication with him. From this point, therefore, we date the beginning of the war between the political chieftains. CHAPTER VII. Mr. Clay as a "pacificator" — Missouri desires admission — Violent agita- tion of slavery — The Compromise — The efforts of Mr. Clay. Mr. Clay's talents, during twenty years, had been displayed in various forms of legislation. One position remained to be tried before his character, as a statesman and patriot, might be pronounced complete. The opportunity soon presented itself. A struggle, not between this and other Governments, but the more fearful throes of civil dissension, occupied the public thought, and gave alarm to all the well-wishers of our institutions. Clay's services, for the first time, were de- manded to pacify fraternal strife. He had earned laurels of which he might be proud in other and varied capacities, but so well did he acquit himself in this, so pre-eminently did he attract all eyes to himself, as to the only one who could accomplish what others despaired of; and so successfully, more than once afterward, did he perform the same benignant office, that no title seems so entirely to befit him as that by which he has sometimes been designated, — " The Great Pa- cificator." The event which first revealed him to the country, in the capacity of which, we speak, was what has been called the Mis- souri Question. As early as 1818, the Territory of Missouri intimated a desire to be admitted to the privileges of a State. The subject was taken up in Congress, in the session of 1818-19. The bill relating to the subject became the occasion of the most violent excitement, upon the vexed question of Slavery. The House of Representatives inserted in it the following resolutions, which were incorporated by a small majority : (SO) THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 61 "Resolved, That the farther introduction of slavery, or invol- untary servitude, be prohibited, except for the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been fully convicted. "And, that all children, born within the said State, after the admission thereof into the Union, shall be free at the age of twenty -five years." The bill, as amended, was rejected by the Senate, and Mis- souri was condemned to wait. In the meantime popular feeling became greatly roused. In no amiable mood, at the next session of Congress, Missouri renewed her application. The subject was again taken up. Various resolutions were reported. It was moved, " that a committee be appointed to report a bill, prohibit- ing the further introduction of slaves, into the Territories of the United States, west of the Mississippi." This motion met with violent opposition. At last a compromise was agreed upon, in a conference of the two Houses of Congress. The terms of that compromise are conveyed in the following resolution : "Resolved, That in all the Territory, ceded by France to the United States, under the name of Louisiana, which lies north of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes, north latitude, not included within the limits contemplated by this act, slavery and involun- tary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the parties shall have been duly convicted, shall be, and is, hereby, forever prohibited : Provided always, That any person escaping into the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed, in any State or Territory of the United States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed, and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor, or service, as aforesaid." During the summer of 1820, the people of Missouri organized a State government, but, inflamed by the opposition which their application had met with, and the restrictions which it had been sought to impose upon them, inserted in their Constitution, a clause to the effect, that "it should be the duty of the General Assembly, as soon as possible, to pass such laws as might be necessary, to prevent free negroes and mulattoes from coming to, or settling in, the State, under any pretext whatever." The committees, in both Houses of Congress, reported in 62 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. favor of sanctioning the Constitution, as it was. The Senate concurred, but the House was again distracted with intense ex- citement, and involved in a most stormy debate. Nor was the excitement confined to Congress. It had become general throughout the country. The North was arrayed against the South, and the South against the North. Inflammatory meet- ings were held, and every newspaper teemed with new appeals to feelings already unduly exasperated. The obnoxious clause was looked upon as inserted, in defiance of the North, and the restriction upon free negroes was held to conflict with the Constitution and the rights of citizenship. The true cause of excitement was, however, back of all this. The public feeling, during the past few years, has been so often and so deeply agitated, in regard to the subject of slavery, that all other issues have become subordinate to it. It is the great social and political problem of our country. The Missouri question only furnished an occasion, for the outworking of a feelinf, which is ever waiting to be roused. Upon one side of an invisible, but accurately defined line, stands an army of watchful opponents of slavery. Upon the other, the guardians of that institution, jealous of their privileges and ceaselessly on the alert against their invasion. Every thing, which promises the advance, most of all the predominance, of one of these lynx- eyed parties, brings against it, with angry menace, the other. The control of the legislation of the country, is the goal, toward which are bent the persistent efforts of both. The application for admission of every new State, therefore, which, by any pos- sibilitv, whether of situation or of climate, can become an object of contention, develops their latent activities, and agitates with dangerous convulsions the country. The application of Missouri occasioned so unusual an ex- citement, because its admission involved a test question, and would constitute a significant precedent. All of the territory of the Union, from which States previously had been formed, had had their domestic polity, so far as slavery was concerned, defi- nitely settled by the action of the central Government The ordinance of 1787 secured them to freedom THE LIFE OK HENRY CLAY. 63 But the case of Missouri was different. The new State was formed from a part of that territory which had been ceded, by France, to the United States. The destiny of that immense country became, therefore, an anxious problem. In respect to it there was no specific regulation of our Government. Was it, then, open to all the institutions of our country, not excepting the sectional one of the South ; or, as the national domain, was it to be considered exclusively the property of freedom ? This was the exciting question, and, upon its solution, were involved immense results. If secured to the North alone, that section W< >uld receive thereby an inevitable predominance ; — if open to both, the South might possibly maintain a political equality. The North argued, that it was contrary to the intentions of the founders of our Government ; contrary to the genius of our insti- tutions ; and contrary to the rights of man, to extend slavery over a square foot of territory beyond its original limits. The South contended, that slavery already existed in the disputed territory ; that it was an institution of the soil, by the previous legislation of another power ; and that the slave States had equal right, with the non-slaveholding, to extend their institu- tions, and to enjoy their special privileges in any part of the national domain. Mr. Clay, during previous sessions, while the subject was before Congress, labored heroically to reconcile the painful dif- ferences. Private embarrassments compelled him, in 1820, to resign his office as Speaker, and to betake himself again to the practice of his profession. But the threatening attitude of affairs did not permit him to remain away long. Leaving behind the lesser concerns of private interest, he resumed his seat in Congress. This was in January, 1821. His undoubted patriotism, his tried integrity, his unrivaled popularity, pointed him out as the arbiter of the strife. On the second of February, he procured the appointment of a committee of thirteen, of which he was Chairman. The committee reported the following resolution: "Resolved, That the State of Missouri be admitted into the Union, on an equal footing with the original States, in all 64 the life of henry clay. respects whatever, upon the fundamental condition, that the said State shall never pass any law, preventing any description of persons from coming to, and settling in, the said State, who now are, or may hereafter become, citizens of any of the States of this Union ; and provided also, That the Legislature of the said State, hy a solemn public act, shall declare the assent of the said State to the said fundamental condition, and shall transmit to the President of the United Suites, on or before the fourth Monday in November next, an authentic copy of the said act, upon the receipt whereof, the President, by proclamation, shall announce the fact ; whereupon, and without any further proceeding on the part of Congress, the admission of said State into the Union shall be considered as complete ; and provided further, That nothing herein contained, shall be construed to take from the State of Missouri, when admitted into the Union, the exercise of any right or power, which can now be constitutionally exercised, by any of the original States." This resolution, however, notwithstanding the most eloquent and impassioned appeals of Clay, was rejected in committee of the whole, and afterward in the House. Soon after, the House was the scene of increased excitement. The occasion was the counting of the electoral votes for Presi- dent. The interest turned upon the decision of the question, whether the votes from Missouri should be received. The Senate, which had assembled in joint-meeting withjhe House, withdrew. Great confusion and perplexity prevailed in conse- quence of an uncertainty, which Randolph had raised, as to the validity of the election, in the existing attitude of Missouri. Difficulties seemed still, as far as ever from an amicable adjustment, Both parties were wearied with the conflict, and in despair as to its result. Mr. Clay made another effort. He offered to the House the following resolution : "Resolved, That a committee be appointed, on the part of the House, jointly with such committee as may be appointed on the part of the Senate, to consider and report t>> the Senate, and to the House, respectively, whether it be expedient, or not, to make THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 65 provision for the admission of Missouri into the Union, on the same footing as the original States ; and for the due execution of the laws, within Missouri ; and, if not, whether any other, and what provision, adapted to her actual condition, ought to be made by law." The House adopted the resolution. The committee consisted of twenty-three members. Mr. Clay exerted himself to have those appointed, whom he knew to be willing to compromise the difficulty, and give peace to the country. He himself was at the head of the number. The Senate appointed a committee to confer with that of the House. They met in joint-conference, and adopted a report not greatly varying from that which had been previously presented by the committee of thirteen. But the country, wearied by the long agitation, was heartily desirous of peace. The report, when laid before the House, was adopted by a vote of eighty- seven to eighty-one. Missouri acquiesced in it, and thus, at last, was settled the question, which threatened, at one time, to rend asunder the Union, and kindle the flames of civil war. The nation has always accorded to Mr. Clay its gratitude, for bringing about this happy result ; but how deeply we are in his debt, those only can know who witnessed his persevering labors ; who were aware of his sleepless and incessant anxiety ; and who listened to the impassioned, and often pathetic tones of his eloquence. 6 CHAPTER VIII. Candidates for the Presidency in 1824 — No election by the people — Mr. Clay's influence given to Mr. Adams — Charge of corruption — Mr. Kremer of Pennsylvania — Revival of the charge by Jackson — More trouble — A duel with Randolph. Nothing unusual, either in his personal history, or in the interests of his country, interrupted, for the two or three years subsequent to the events which we have described, the even tenor of Mr. Clay's life. Between his professional employment, domestic ease, and the toils of legislation, he passed his time until the Presidential canvass of 1 824. His abilities and popu- larity had long pointed significantly toward the Presidency. His admirers waited only for him to attain the proper age and experience, to bring forward his claims. Jackson, Crawford and John Quincy Adams were before the people for their votes. The friends of Clay believed that his time, too, had fully come. Several State Legislatures had expressed their preference for him. Kentucky, two years in advance, had promised to stand by him. The canvass went duly on, but resulted in the election of no one of the four candidates. Jackson stood highest on the list, Adams next, and Clay the last. The three highest only could be presented to the House for their choice. It devolved, (here- fore, upon Clay to decide upon which he would bestow his vote and influence. Meanwhile, lie was the object of marked atten- tion from the adherents of the several opposing aspirants for honor. His own personal preferences were for Mr. Crawford, but such was the state of Crawford's health, that he believed him unfitted for the duties of the Presidency. Jackson and Adams he believed to be, practically, the only candidates, f «9) THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 67 between whom he was called to choose. He gave the prefer- ence to Mr. Adams, and thus secured his election. Upon assuming the Presidential chair, Mr. Adams offered to Mr. Clay a seat in his Cabinet as Secretary of State. This office Mr. Clay accepted. Such is the brief history of an occurrence, which party malignity afterward converted into an instrument, which, when he was at the full tide of his popularity, well-nigh proved fatal to the reputation of Clay. Never before had he felt the blasting breath of calumny, nor taken any abiding lessons in the school of adversity. Confident in the integrity of his own character, trusting to the firmness of an established reputation, he committed what he afterward acknowledged to be the blunder of his life. The finger of suspicion was pointed at him, and through many a long year, his fortunes underwent a disastrous eclipse. Time has done for him what his own assertions could not do. His character is thoroughly vindicated. It is doubtful, whether the bitterest enemy he ever had, while living, now believes him guilty of corruption in the transaction for which he was reproached. It will not, therefore, be necessary to undertake a formal vindication of his character, but only to give a short and simple history of those proceedings which proposed, as their end, to blacken it. We have said that, previous to the election in the House, Mr. Clay was made the subject of marked attentions, by the friends of the opposing candidates. "Every body," as he said, in an address to his constituents, "professed to regret, after I was excluded from the House, that I had not been returned to it. I seemed to be the favorite of every body. Describing my situa- tion to a distant friend, I said to him, ' I am enjoying, while alive, the posthumous honors which are usually awarded to the venerated dead.' A person not acquainted with human nature, would have been surprised, in listening to these praises, that the object of them had not been elected by general acclamation. None made more or warmer manifestations of these sentiments of esteem and admiration, than some of the friends of General GS THE LIFE OF HENRY ('LAV. Jackson. None were so reserved as those of Mr. Adams, under an opinion (as 1 have learned since the election), which they early imbibed, that the western vote would be influenced only by its own sense of public duty; and that, if its judgment pointed to any other than Mr. Adams, nothing which they could do Avould secure it to him. These professions and manifestations were taken by me, for what they were worth. "I knew that the sunbeams would quickly disappear, after my opinion should be ascertained, and that they would be suc- ceeded by a storm ; although I did not foresee exactly how it would burst upon my poor head. I found myself transformed, from a candidate before the people, into an elector for the people. I deliberately examined the duties incident to this new attitude, and weighed all the facts before me, upon which my judgm in was to be formed or reviewed. If the eagerness of any of the heated partisans of the respective candidates, suggested a tardiness in the declaration of my intention, I believed that the new relation, in which I was placed to the subject, im- posed on me an obligation to pay some respect to delicacy and decorum. " Meanwhile, that very reserve supplied aliment to newspaper criticism. The critics could not comprehend how a man stand- ing as I had stood, toward the other gentlemen, should be restrained, by a sense of propriety, from instantly lighting under the banners of one of them, against the others. Letters were issued from the manufactory at Washington, to come back, after performing long journeys, for Washington consumption. These letters imputed to 'Mr. Clay and his friends a mysterious air, — a portentous silence,' etc. From dark and distant hints, the pro- gress was easy to open and bitter denunciation. Anonymous letters, full of menace and abuse, were almost daily poured in on me. Personal threats were communicated to me through friendly organs, and I was kindly apprized of all the glories of village effigies, which awaited me. A systematic attack was simultaneously commenced upon me, from Boston to Charleston, with an object, present and future, which it was impossible to mistake. No man but mvself, could know the nature, extent, THE LIFE OF HENEY CLAY. 60 and variety of means which were employed to awe and influence me. I bore them, I trust, as your representative ought to have borne them, and as became me." The friends of Jackson, at last, as it would seem, became convinced that, unless desperate measures were resorted to, Mr. Clay's vote and influence would be given to Mr. Adams. A new mode of intimidation was thereforo adopted. A letter appeared in the Columbian Observer, published at Philadelphia, charging definitely upon Mr. Clay the terms of a bargain between himself and Mr. Adams, in accordance with which he was to support the latter, and receive, as his reward, the first seat in the Cabinet. The letter professed to be written by a member of Congress, acquainted with the facts which he affirmed. Mr. Clay felt himself called upon to publish an indignant denial, and to brand the author of the letter, "as a base and in- famous calumniator." The publication of this card, by Mr. Clay, called out one from Mr. Kremer of Pennsylvania. In it he avowed, "though somewhat equivocally, that he*was the author of the letter to the Columbian Observer." "To Mr. Crownin- shield, a member from Massachusetts, formerly Secretary of the Navy," continues Mr. Clay, in the address from which we have quoted, "he declared, that he was not the author of that letter. In his card he draws a clear line of separation, between my friends and me, acquitting them and undertaking to make good his charges in that letter, only so far as I was concerned. The purpose of this discrimination is obvious. At that time the elec- tion was undecided, and it was, therefore, as important to abstain from imputations against my friends, as it was politic to fix them upon me. If they could be made to believe that I had been perfidious, in the transport of their indignation, they might have li ■•!! carried to the support of General Jackson. "I received the National Intelligencer, containing Mr. Kre- mer's card, at breakfast, on the morning of its publication. As soon as I read the card, I took my resolution. The terms of it clearly implied, that it, had not entered into his conception to have a personal -affair with mo, and I should justly have exposed 70 THE EJFB OF IIKNRY CLAY. myself to universal ridicule, if I had Bought one with him. I determined to lay the matter before the House, and respectfully to invite an investigation of my conduct. I accordingly made a communication to the House, on the same day, the motives for which I assigned. Mr. Kremer was in his place, and, when I sat down, rose and stated, that he was ready and willing to sub- stantiate his charges against me. This was his voluntary decla- ration, unprompted by his aiders and abettors, who had no op- portunity of previous consultation with him, on that point. Hero was an issue, publicly and solemnly joined, in which the accused invoked an inquiry into serious charges against him, and the accuser professed an ability and a willingness to establish them. "A debate ensued, on the next day, which occupied the greater part of it, during which Mr. Kremer declared to Mr. Brent of Louisiana, a friend of mine, and to Mr. Little of Mary- land, a friend of General Jackson, as they have certified, ' that he never intended to charge Mr. Clay with corruption or dis- honor, in his intended vote for Mr. Adams as President, or that he had transferred, or could transfer, the votes or interests of his friends; that he (Mr. Kremer) was among the last men in the nation to make such a charge against Mr. Clay ; and that his letter was never intended to convey the idea given to it.' " A committee was appointed by the House, agreeably to tho request of Mr. Clay. It consisted of seven members, not one of whom was his political friend. The committee "called upon Mr. Kremer to execute his pledge, publicly given, in his proper place, and also previously given in the public prints." "Mr. Kremer was stimulated by every motive which could impel to action ; by his consistency of character ; by duty to his constituents, to his country ; by that of redefining his solemn pledge; by his anxious wish for tho success of his favorite, whose interests could not fail to be ad- vanced by supporting his atrocious charges. "But Mr. Kremer had now the benefit of the advice of his friends. He had no proofs, for the plainest of all reasons, because there was no truth in his charges. They saw that to attempt to establish them, and to fail, as he must fail in tho THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 71 attempt, might lead to an exposure of the conspiracy, of which he was the organ. "They advised, therefore, that he should make a retreat, and their adroitness suggested, that, in an objection, to that jurisdic- tion of the House which had been admitted ; and in the popular topics of the freedom of the press ; his duty to his constituents ; and the inequality in the condition of the Speaker of the House and a member on the floor, plausible means might be found to deceive the ignorant and conceal his disgrace. "A labored communication was accordingly prepared by them, in Mr. Kremer's name, and transmitted to the committee, founded upon these suggestions. Thus the valiant champion who had boldly stepped forward and promised, as a representa- tive of the people, to ' cry aloud and spare not,' forgot all his gratuitous gallantry and boasted patriotism, and sank, at once, into profound silence." Shortly afterward, Mr. Adams was inducted into office, and appointed Mr. Clay to the Department of State. The acceptance of office under the new administration gave substance, in the eyes of many, to the vague insinuations and charges, which, otherwise, would have passed away with the excitement of the political canvass. Mr. Clay felt, afterward, that in that instance, he committed a mistake. " I will take this occasion," said he in his speech, upon his retirement to private life, " to say, that I am, and have been long satisfied, that it would have been Aviser and more politic in me, to have declined accepting the office of Secretary of State, in 1825. Not that my motives were not as pure and patriotic, as ever carried any man into public office. Not that the calumny, which was applied to the fact, was not as gross and unfounded as any that was ever propagated. Not that valued friends and highly esteemed opponents did not unite, in urging my accep- tance of the office. Not that the administration of Mr. Adams will not, I sincerely believe, advantageously compare with that of any of his predecessors, in economy, parity, prudence and wisdom. Not that Mr. Adams was himself wanting, in any of those high qualifications, and upright and patriotic intentions, 72 THE LIFE OF HEKET CLAY. •which wore suited to the office. But my error, in accepting the office, arose out of ray underrating the power of detraction and the force of ignorance, and abiding, with too sure a confidence, in the conscious integrity and uprightness of my own motives." Well might he regret it, for, like an unquiet spirit, for years the charge of corruption was not permitted to rest. It was ever starting up to oppose his progress and to interrupt his peace of mind. When the public had almost ceased to speak of it, the hateful calumny was revived by an enemy who never faltered in the execution of any purpose, because of unnecessary scruples of conscience, and who, through his immense popularity could give to any "airy nothing, a local habitation and a name." General Jackson took up the slander. He perhaps believed it, for it is easy to believe what we \vish to be true. The office out of which he had been disappointed, he determined yet to secure. But there were formidable competitors in his way. Those competitors must be removed. To accomplish that, no way was so effective as to blacken their characters. Report accused the Executive and the principal Secretary of corruption. There was, therefore, thus much ground to begin upon. An overture was conveyed to Jackson, — so he affirmed, — to make a bargain with Mr. Clay before Mr. Adams should make it. The bearer* of the overture intimated that the latter intention was entertained, by the friends of the respective parties. The Gen- eral, — as he himself asserts, — turned away in disdain from such a dishonorable proposal. " Before he would reach the Presi- *In the following extract from a letter (dated Washington, August 14, 18271, to Francis Brooke, by Mr. Clay, it may be scon who was the bearer of the overture, and what his relation to the matter: "I hope you are not mistaken in the good effect of my Lexington speech. Mr. Buchanan has presented his communication to the public ; and although he evidently Labors throughout the whole of it to spare and cover Crucial Jackson, he fails in every essential particular to sustain the General. Indeed, I could not desire a stronger statement from Mr. Buchanan. The tables are completely turned upon the General. Instead of any intrigues on my part and that of my friends, they were altogether on the side of General Jackson and his friends. But I will leave the THE LIFE OF HENKY CLAY. 73 dential Chair, by such means of bargain and corruption, he would see the eartli open, and swallow both Mr. Clat, and his friends, and himself with them." " During the dispensation of the hospitalities of the Hermitage, in the midst of a mixed company of individuals, from various States, he permits himself," says Mr. Clay, " to make certain statements, respecting my friends and me, which, if true, would forever dishonor and degrade us. The words are hardly passed from his mouth, before they are committed to paper, by one of his o-uests, and transmitted, in the form of a letter, to another Staif, when they are published in a newspaper, and thence cir- culated throughout the Union. And now he pretends that these statements were made ' without any calculation that they were to be thrown into the public journals.' Does he reprove the indiscretion of this guest, who had violated the sanctity of a conversation at the hospitable board ? Far from it. The public is incredulous. It can not be, General Jackson would be so statement to your ow? reflections. I directed a copy to be inclosed yester- day to Mr. Southard. It must confirm any good impression produced by my speech." The impression made by Mr. Buchanan's letter is still more apparent in the following communication of R. P. Letcher to Mr. Clay : "Lancaster, August 27, 1827. "Mr Dear Sir — Yours of the ninth instant came to hand last night The one by Mr. A., I received a few days siuce by private hand, from the county of Harlan. With your letter of the ninth, Mr. Buchanan's response to the hero was received. This answer is well put together. As they say, in Connecticut, "there is a great deal of good reading" in Buck's reply. It is modest and genteel, yet strong and conclusive. I am truly delighted with the manner in which B. has acquitted himself. I really feared and believed he was placed in such a dilemma, by the General, that he could not extricate himself with any sort of credit But he has come forth victoriously. I am greatly gratified with the result, and must believe it will have a happy effect upon the Presidential election. It is impossible it should turn out otherwise. Virginia, after this, will not — can not support the General. I never had the least hope of Virginia until now. "I presume Buck's reply supersedes the necessity of any reference to the conversation in my room. I am glad of it." 7 7-i THE LIFE OE HENRY CLAY. wanting- in delicacy and decorum. The guest appeals to him for the confirmation of the published statements, and the General promptly addresses him a letter, 'in which he unequivocally confirms' (says Mr. Carter Beverly*), 'all I have said, regard- ing the overture made to him, pending the last Presidential election before Congress ; and he asserts a f/reat deal more than he ever told me.'' " But other troubles grew out of the annoying slander. It was a favorite dream with Clay, to establish, with the new South American republics, a great American alliance. Those republics had appointed a Congress, at Panama, to consult upon their mutual interests, in opposition to Spain. Mr. Clay, who was now Secretary of State, desired that the United States should co-operate with them through a special representative. The * In 1842, Carter Beverly did the following act of tardy justice to the reputation of Mr. Clay: "Fredericksburg, Va., April 2, 1S42. "Dear Sir — On my arrival here yesterday I received your reply to my letter of February last, from Middlesex, and feel glad to find that the communication I then made to you was well received, and kindly acknowledged. "It is assuredly a matter of high satisfaction to me to believe, that I discharged the obligation which feeling and duty dictated, in doing the justice I designed, of effacing the indignity cast upon you by the un- fortunate, and to me unhappy Fayetteville letter that was, and has been so much the subject of injury to you in the public mind. It is now, I trust, put entirely to rest in the minds of all honorable and candid men, of whatever political persuasion; for surely none can, or will hencefor- ward presume to countenance the miserable Blander thai went forth in that communication to the public against you. The entire revocation of it given by me ought to overwhelm the author of it with utter shame and mortification; and if I had any light to Bay, were I in his situation, it would be my province, as it should be an incumbent duty on me, to make every atonement possible for such an unfounded, unprovoked attack upon your integrity and public fame. "Believing that your letter to me, and this my reply, arc calculated to benefit you in the public mind, I have sent both to ' The Richmond Whig' and 'Independent' for publication. "I rcitnatc expressions of health and happiness to you, and remain yours, etc." THE LIFE OK HENRY CLAY. 75 time seemed to him to have come for accomplishing- his brilliant design. The President entered with enthusiasm into the project. Randolph, as usual, was found in the opposition. At the close of a characteristic speech, he denounced the concurrence of the President and Secretary, as "the coalition of Blind and Black George, — of the puritan and blackleg." Conflicts had not been un frequent between Clay and Ran- dolph. The latter, early in Clay's Congressional career, had taken exceptions to his rulings, as Speaker, and had published a card, which elicited from Mr. Clay a reply. More than once they had seemed upon the point of open rupture. Perhaps, under ordinary circumstances, the insinuation of Randolph would have passed unnoticed, as one of that strange man's eccentricities of speech. But Clay felt that, now, he was not himself rich enough in reputation to be generous. His feel- ings, lacerated by the thousand stabs of calumny, writhed under the last infliction. He had borne heroically open detraction, — this covert sneer stung to the quick his proud and sensitive soul. He yielded to his angry impulse, and sent to Randolph a challenge. Randolph accepted it. "I have no explanations to give," he exclaimed. "I will not give any. I am called to the field. I have agreed to go, and am ready to go." His unconciliatory disposition seemed like blood-thirstiness, but it is only justice to him to explain that it was not so. " The night before the duel," says General James Hamilton of South Carolina, " Mr. Randolph sent for me. I found him calm, but in a singularly kind and confiding mood. He told me that he had something on his mind to tell me. He then remarked, 'Hamilton, I have determined to receive, without returning, Clay's fire ; nothing shall induce me to harm a hair of his head ; I will not make his wife a widow, or his children orphans. Their tears would be shed over his grave ; but when the sod of Virginia rests on my bosom, there is not, in this wide world, one individual to pay this tribute upon mine." When the parties, the next day, had taken their positions, Randolph's pistol was accidentally discharged before the word 76 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. was given. " The moment this event took place, General Jesup, Mr. Clay's friend, called out that he would instantly leave the ground with his friend, if that occurred again. Mr. Clat, at once exclaimed, it was entirely an accident, and begged that the gentleman might be allowed to go on. On the word being given, Mr. Clay fired without effect, Mr. Randolph discharging his pistol in the air. The moment Mr. Clay saw that Mr. Randolph had thrown away his fire, with a gush of sensibility, he instantly approached Randolph and said, with an emotion which " (adds General Hamilton), "lean never forget, 'I trust in God, my dear sir, you are untouched ; after what has occurred, I would not have harmed you for a thousand worlds.' " Of dueling, Mr. Clay had, previously to this, spoken in the following terms : "I owe it to the community to say, that, what: ever heretofore I may have done, or by inevitable circumstances might be forced to do, no man holds in deeper abhorrence, than I do, that pernicious practice. Condemned, as it must be, by the judgment and philosophy, to say nothing of the religion of every thinking man, it is an affair of feeling, about which we can not, although we should, reason. Its true corrective will be found, when all shall unite, as all ought to unite, in its unquali- fied proscription." CHAPTER IX. The Tariff of 1 824 — Question as to the expediency of a protective tariff- Difference between theory and practice — Unpopularity of the protective system at the South — Nullification — Mr. Clay introduces his compro- mise tariff, and harmony is restored. A bill to protect American Industry was adopted by the House of Representatives, in 1820, but was lost in the Senate by a vote of twenty-two to twenty-one. In 1824, the committee on manufactures reported another bill, recommending a high pro- tective tariff. Mr. Clay had labored assiduously from the first to procure the adoption of such a measure. The reader will remember that his earlier Senatorial efforts were directed to that end. He made a forcible speech upon the subject, in 1 820 ; but it was in 1824, that he laid out all his strength. His argu- ment was extended and elaborate. He brought to the subject much and varied investigation. He equipped himself for an arduous parliamentary conflict, for, among his opponents, primus inter pares, stood Mr. Webster. The bill was successful. It passed both Houses of Congress, received the signature of the President and became a law. While with one class in the community, the claims of Mr. Clat, to be considered a patriot, have been based upon the advocacy of no measure, so much as upon that of the protective system, with another, his partiality for that very policy has been the occasion for calling in question his political sagacity and the soundness of his statesmanship. It has been justly said, that no system of doctrines can obtain extensive belief, without contain- ing some element of truth. The converse is, perhaps, likewise true. No system prevails among fallible men, which does not contain some admixture of error. We may apply the axiom. A protective tariff is not the sublimation of wisdom, which some 78 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. have regarded it; neither is it that offspring of delusion and folly, which it has seemed in the eyes of others. In theory, we are obliged to confess that such a tariff appears radically un- sound. In practice, it assumes altogether another appearance. ' Such an assertion might seem strange, had it not been seen long ago, and in multiplied instances, that theory and practice do not necessarily nor always coincide. Theories too often presuppose a state of things which does not exist. A thousand circumstances, prone to be disregarded because of their seeming insignificance, often demand, in prac- tice, from their combined influence, unexpected modifications. The force of many influences, also, can not be calculated, until the experiment has been tried. A theory of political economy, moreover, which may suit one nation, or be fitting at a particu- lar time, will not infallibly suit every other nation and be adapted to all times alike. Because a protective tariff is not needed now, it is becoming common to suppose that it was always a useless and an absurd institution. Because the theory of protection is liable to serious objections, it is argued that, under all circumstances, it must be unphilosophical and impolitic. But we say to the objector, that he proceeds too fast. His arguments are truly plausible, but they presuppose a state of things which does not exist, — which never has existed. They proceed too much upon the fallacious ground, that this is a per- fect world, and that the nations of it bear toward each other the relation of a united, confiding, unselfish brotherhood. If this supposition were true, then a protective tariff would be to the last degree absurd and mischievous. But unfortunately it is the furthest possible from being true. Upon the supposition of the theorizer, the argument which is regarded the strongest against protection would be absolutely unanswerable. This argument is, that each nation should devote itself to thai branch of industry, in which it can eiiL>a^e with the most facility, and to which its natural advantages most clearly point. If that be agriculture, then let agriculture flourish ; if it be commerce, then let commerce reign ; if manufactures, then THE LIFE OF HENET CLAT. 79 let workshops abound; but lei nothing be forced into a pre- mature existence, for thereby risk will be incurred, — danger of continual frost to the hot-house plants which you have reared; or else at special expense they must be shielded, — expense bring- ing no return, but ending in inevitable loss. This reasoning would do if all governments were Utopias ; — if the rule, to love our neighbor as ourselves, was recognized and obeved in the intercourse of nations ; but who does not know, J that a thousand of the expenses of government arise from the fact that the opposite of all this is true ? Who does not know that it would, according to theory, be infinitely better for a nation's wealth and prosperity, to disband its armies, to dismantle its forts, to convert into trading vessels its ships of war ? But who would advise the experiment ? "Who does not see that certain tendencies belonging to depraved humanity, brand it as impracticable ? Each nation, in this selfish world, must stand upon the defen- sive ; each must in a measure contain within itself all needed resources; each must be capable, when occasion, which is not unfrequent, requires to occupy an attitude of self-dependence ; each nation must, in short, be a microcosm, where all the pursuits of men, to a greater or less extent, shall be followed, and where, for all their absolute wants, there shall be suitable provision. A country may, from circumstances of climate and soil, be plainly pointed to agriculture, as the suresl source of its wealth ; but a country exclusively agricultural is plunged into the deepest embarrassment and distress, when war intercepts the supplies of commerce, and withholds the products of the workshop. Another countrv, finding but a scanty subsistence from its barren hillsides, may see the finger of Providence pointing to running streams and commodious harbors, as adapted to do that for its prosperity, which an unkindly soil refuses to do ; but the instinct of self-defense forbids an exclusive attention to manufactures and trade, lest sudden hostilities should confront the people with starvation. Thus the theory of legislation is modified by unavoidable and dangerous contingencies. A svstem of safeguards and cheeks 80 THE LIFE OF HEXKY CLAY. upon dishonesty, often complicated and perplexing, but con- fessedly necessary, governs the daily business dealings of men. Nations are but collections of men of like passions, and for their mutual security must, therefore, submit to a similar control. But in some instances, and the earlier condition of our country constituted one of such, other arguments plead for a protective system with special power. War produces for an agricultural people the results that we have indicated. The foreign supply is cut off. The demand is, however, imperative, and domestic labor is called upon to supply the deficiency- Manufactories, therefore, spring up upon every hand, and, if hostilities are long continued, draw to themselves a large amount of the labor and capital of the country. No part of the country, as it often happens, is more benefited by this direction of industry, or more imperatively demands it, than the agricultural. But peace returns and brings back the abundant products of the foreign loom and anvil. Domestic fabrics are driven from the market by perhaps a better article, furnished at a cheaper price. Hence, an interesting question rises at once for solution : Shall the immense capital embarked in manufactures be exposed to inevitable shipwreck, or shall Government extend to it a while the protection which peace has suddenly withdrawn? Meanwhile, those who had been benelited begin to complain. Ii is hard, they say, that we, who have nothing whatever to do with the workshop, should be compelled to bear the burden of its support, and be forced to take an inferior article at an exor- bitant price. But the complaint, though plausible, is founded upon a forgetfulness of benefits absolutely essential, already received, and upon a forgetfulness that obligations are mutual; — that it would be wronir to devote to destruction, at the moment they cease to receive benefit from it, that capital which, by their own wants and importunity, was directed into its existing chan- nels. The argument is supported, also, by the consideration, that the demanded protection is only a temporary expedient; that it is not absolute and indefinite support which is asked for, but, just for the present, a little " mat' rial aid." THE LIFE OF HBNBY CLAY. 81 The problem of a protective policy, therefore, it will be seen, resolves itself into a very different question from this: Shall a country, prematurely and without occasion, quicken into life manufactures by a protective tariff? The true question is more generally a double one, namely : First, shall a country, by its variety of interests, be ready for a healthful self-dependence ? Secondly, when by unavoidable contingencies a new and im- portant interest is created, shall it be crushed out of existence the moment that it ceases to be profitable, when by a little encouragement, it might, at no remote period, instead of needing assistance, become a right arm of strength ? In our own country, the manufacturing interest received a powerful impulse by the war of 1812. Shortly after the close of hostilities, John C. Calhoun advocated a tariff designed to confer protection upon it. We must consider it an act of liberal and enlightened statesmanship in him, for to his own state the benefit was not so much to accrue, as to a distant section, charac- terized by different institutions. The tariff law of 1816 extended encouragement to manufactures, without elevating them into a monopoly, or stimulating them unduly by excessive protection. The tariff of 1824 can not, we fear, plead entire innocence of such an imputation. National pride is easily provoked to go too far. It was a fond ambition of Mr. Clay to render his country independently great. Seeing the immense resources of every kind, of which it could boast, he believed that it might reach its full measure of pros- perity by inward development. He, therefore, advocated a sys- tem of protection which should result in the exclusion of foreign competition. But this was to exalt the means above the end ; it was to stimulate, which is injurious, rather than to protect; it was to push manufactures beyond their proper limits ; to create a monopoly ; to subordinate the interests of trade to the interests of the workshop ; to aim, in a prejudicial way, at independence, which is unattainable, rather than at self-dependence, which is both attainable and desirable. The consequence was, that while one section of the country and one powerful monied interest were loud in their praises of 82 THE LIFE OF HENKY CLAY. the protective system, and eager to retain it, another section and another interest murmured against it as unjust and oppressive, and threatened, unless it were repealed, to employ the most ex- treme measures of redress. South-Carolina especially denounced the law as unconstitu- tional and odious ; threatened to disregard it, and entered upon a course which bore the appearance of open rebellion. General Jackson was at the head of Government. He detested the law almost as much as South-Carolina, but since it was a law, he determined that, at all hazards, it should be obeyed. Inflammatory meetings were held at Charleston. Open resistance to the officers of Government was recom- mended. Materials for war were collected. Meanwhile United States troops were sent to the disaffected State. Jackson, it was believed, would bombard, at the least provocation, the city of Charleston, and hang as traitors Hayne, Calhoun, and others of the leaders. Intense excitement pervaded the country. Randolph, broken down with age and yet more by disease, was roused by the sounds of coming strife. " Lifted into his carriage like an infant," says his biographer, "he went from county to county, and spoke with a power that effectually aroused the slumbering multitudes." "In the course of his speech at Buckingham, he is reported to have said, ' Gentlemen, I am filled with the most gloomy apprehensions fur the fate of the Union. I can not express to you how deeply I am penetrated with a sense of the danger, which, at this moment, threatens its existence. If Madison filled the Executive chair, lie might be bullied into some compromise. If Monroe -was in power, he might be coaxed into some adjustment of this difficulty. But Jackson is obstinate, headstrong, and fond of fight. I fear mat- ters must come to an open rupture. If so, this Union is gone !' Then pausing for near a minute, raising his linger in that em- phatic manner, so peculiar to his art ion as a speaker, and seem- ing, as it were, to breathe more freely, he continued, — 'There is one man, and one man only, who can save this Union, — that man is Henry Clay. I know he has the power. I believe THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 83 he will be found to have the patriotism and firmness equal to the occasion.' " Mr. Randolph Avas not mistaken. Mr. Clay proved himself to have alike "the power," "the patriotism," and the "firm- ness." Several years had elapsed between the passage of the tariff bill of 1824, and the events which we are describing. Various modifications had been introduced. Meanwhile Mr. Clay had retired from his seat in the cabinet, had returned to his home, and by his grateful State had been again sent to the national councils. He was now in the Senate. Advocating still his favorite policy, he came forward in January, 1832, with the following resolution : "Resolved, That the existing duties upon articles imported from foreign countries, and not coming into competition with similar articles made or produced within the United States, ought to be forthwith abolished, except the duties upon wines and silks, and that those ought to be reduced ; and that the committee on finance be instructed to report a bill accordingly." A bill, framed according to this resolution, was adopted in July, 1832. But every measure which avowed protection as its object, was regarded by the opponents of the system unconsti- tutional. The opposition increased, especially throughout the Southern States. At least South-Carolina assumed the attitude which we have described. At this juncture, Mr. Clay evinced how great and unselfish was his patriotism. In the language of one, who was not a political friend, " with parental fondness, he cherished his Amer- ican System, — with unyielding pertinacity, contended for it to the last extremity ; — but, when it became a question between that and the integrity of the Union, he did not hesitate ; like Abraham, he was ready to sacrifice his own offspring on the altar of his country, and to see the fond idols he had cherished perish one by one before his lingering eves." He introduced a bill which received the name of the Compro- mise Tariff Bill. From it, for the sake of his country's peace, he excluded most of those features which were odious to the South, however fondly they had been cherished by himself. Yet it was 84 TIIE LIFE OF IIENKY CLAY. truly a compromise, for the enemies of his system had also intro- duced a bill designed to be destructive of protection. The new tariff bill of Mr. Clay provided for a gradual reduction of duties, until 1842, at which time the rate was to continue at twenty per centum until further legislation. His sacrifice was not unavail- ing. The bill received the approval of both Houses of Congress, was signed by the President, and became a law, March, 1 833. Thus the country, which to all human appearances had been upon the verge of civil war, was again rescued from its danger by the firmness and the patriotism of Henry Clay. CHAPTEK X. Mr. Clay is again defeated as a candidate for the Presidency — Clay and Jackson as" rival leaders — Removal of the Deposits by the President — Mr. Clay's indignant opposition — Resolutions of censure — The Chero- kees — Lavish expenditure — The expunging resolution — The sub-treas- ury bill — Dawning of better times. In 1831, Mr. Clay was nominated by his friends for the Presidency, but slander had accomplished its intended work. Jackson, his opponent, was borne into office by an immense majority. But this was not the whole of his defeat. It was the special labor of the Executive to undo all the long-cherished, long-straff- gled-for measures of Mr. Clay. The veto power was used with unprecedented frequency. First, a bill which had been passed to renew the Charter of the United States Bank, returned with the President's negative. This was followed by the rejection of a bill, adopted by large majorities, for the distribution of the Public Lands among the several States. The system, in short, which with infinite pains and with a lifetime of labor, Mr. Clay had succeeded in building up, he now saw remorselessly over- thrown. His iron-willed opponent had seized him at an advan- tage, and seemed determined to make the most of his triumph. Mr. Clay ruled still with almost resistless sway in Congress, but what availed it, wheu, a short mile from the Capitol, sat one who, with a dash of his pen, could undo the result of weeks of legislation. Mr. Clay in the Senate murmured against the veto power, but the Constitution conferred it, and what could be done but to submit. But not even here did the President stop. Not content with the unlimited use of constitutional privileges, he overstepped the ( 0: n 86 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. prescribed bounds, and made use of what bis most devoted admirers must acknowledge to be, at least, doubtful prerogatives. Congress, in March, 1833, bad declared by special resolu- tion', that the Government Deposits, in the opinion of the House, might safely be continued in the Bank of the United States. But the President had determined that they should be removed, and when was he known to hesitate in the execution of any measure upon which he had decided ? The Secretary of the Treasury was directed to remove them. In the face of the action of Congress and the express terms of the Constitution defining his duties, he would not obey. The President dismissed him from his cabinet and substituted in his place the Attorney Gen- eral, Mr. Taney. The new Secretary was more compliant. He issued the necessary directions, and the Deposits were removed. Congress was outraged. The action of the President met with a loud burst of indignation. The military despotism which Mr. Clay had deprecated, when he alluded to the course of Jackson in the Seminole Avar, seemed about to be established. Mr. Clay stood forth as the champion of the opposition. He in- troduced resolutions of censure, and supported them by a power- ful speech. The war between the two most inflexible and popu- lar men of the nation was fairly joined and at its bight. Clay gained, apparently, the victory. The resolutions of censure were adopted, but the victory was only in appearance. Little did Jackson regard resolutions of censure, when his mind was settled upon the propriety of any course. He was not to be crushed by words. He moved on, as though nothing had happened. The violence done to the financial interests of the country occasioned deep embarrassments. Petitions poured in from every quarter. Mr. Clay again was in the van and the thickest of the fight To the President of the Senate, Mr. Van Buren, he addressed himself in terms of eloquent entreaty and remon- strance. 'In twenty-four hours,' said he, ' the executive branch could adopt a measure which would afford an efficacious and substantial remedy, and re-establish confidence. And those who, in this chamber, support the administration, could not render a better service than to repair to the executive mansion, and, THE LIFE OK HENRY CLAY. 87 placing before the chief magistrate the naked and undis ho were told by the administration that these banks would supply them with a better currency, are now left to struggle as they can, with the very currency which the THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 95 Government recommended to them, but which it now refuses itself to receive ! " The professed object of the administration, is to establish what it terms the Currency of the Constitution, which it proposes to accomplish by restricting the Federal Government, in all receipts and payments, to the exclusive use of specie, and by refusing all bank paper, whether convertible or not. It disclaims all purposes of crippling or putting down the banks of the States ; but we shall better determine the design or the effect of the measures recommended, by considering them together, as one system. "The first is the sub-treasuries, which are to be made the depositories of all the specie collected and paid out for the service of the General Government, discrediting and refusing all the notes of the States, although payable and paid in specie. " Second, a bankrupt law for the United States, leveled at all the State banks, and authorizing the seizure of the effects of any one of them that stops payment, and the administration of their effects under the Federal authority exclusively. "Third, a particular law for the District of Columbia, by which all the corporations and people of the District, under severe pains and penalties, are prohibited from circulating, sixty days after the passage of the law, any paper whatever not con- vertible into specie on demand, and are made liable to prosecu- tion by indictment. "Fourth, and last, the bill to suspend the payment of the fourth installment to the States, by the provisions of which the deposit banks, indebted to the Government, are placed at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury. " It is impossible to consider this system without perceiving that it is aimed at, and if carried out must terminate in, the total subversion of the State banks ; and that they will all be placed at the mercy of the Federal Government. It is in vain to protest that there exists no design against them. The effect of those measures can not be misunderstood. "And why this new experiment, or untried expedient? The people of this country are tired of experiments. Ought not the 9G THE LIFE OF IIENKY CLAY. administration itself to cease with them? ought it not to take warning from the events of recent elections ? Above all, should not the Senate, constituted as it is, be the last body to lend itself to further experiments upon the business and happiness of this great people ?" Mr. Clay opposed to the Sub-treasury scheme, at every stage, the same determined resistance ; but, after a hard-fought and protracted contest, after obtaining ground inch by inch, it was carried through both Houses of Congress, and became a law in July, 1840. Mr. Clay now stood amid the wrecks of all his proud schemes for the aggrandizement of his country. The Iconoclast, the ruthless image breaker, had passed through them and over- thrown them all. His patriotic heart swelled with grief and indignation, as he beheld the desolations of his beloved land. Through years his adversaries had exulted in continual victory. He had been compelled to contemplate, in sorrow, the impotence of his most heroic efforts. Still, through darkness and trial he battled on. The people would awake to their senses, he believed, and better times would come. At last, distant murmurings announced the coming of that looked-for period. The people were rising in their majesty. Hope again sat upon the brow and lighted the eyes of the waiting statesman. How well that hope was justified, and how lung the dawning retained its hues of promise, the coming pages will disclose. CHAPTER XI. Enthusiasm of 1840 — Extra session of Congress — Death of Harrison — De- fection of Tyler — Grief of Mr. Clay, at the subversion of his cherished hopes — He advocates a tariff, designed for protection — Resigns his seat — His farewell to the Senate. Seldom has our country been the scene of such enthusiasm, as that which characterized the Presidential canvass of 1840. The interests of the country, as we have shown, were at the lowest stage of depression. In a change of policy the people fondly hoped to see business revive, and prosperity again smile upon the land. The reaction had fairly come, and in its train, its usual concomitants, extravagant expectations for the future, and almost delirious excitement. Immense mass meetings were held in every part of the country ; torchlight processions paraded the streets at night ; banners were painted, bearing every possible reference to the hero of Tippecanoe and the Thames ; log-cabins were erected, and a sudden passion for "hard cider " seized upon the stoutest advocates of temperance. Such extremes looked almost like madness, but they were the violent rebound of a nation's feelings after years of disaster. The twelve years, during which thev had idolized the hero of New Orleans and adhered to his policy, had not brought the promised blessings. Weary with waiting, they rose by a movement almost unanimous, demanding other laws and another order of rulers. A convention met at Harrisburg. IIknrv Clay, it was ex- pected, would be their choice ; but the American people, is the opinion of the convention, would be more enthusiastic towajd a military chieftain. General Harrison received the nomination. Nobly throwing aside every consideration of personal disappoint- ment, Mr. Clay devoted himself to the success of the candidate. 9 (97) 98 THE LIFE OF IIENKY CLAY. By an immense majority, General Harrison was borne into power. The new President, as one of his first acts, called an extra session of Congress. The condition of the country demanded, he believed, immediate measures of relief. Congress convened the last day of May, 1841. Meanwhile, President Harrison, to the unutterable grief of the nation, had died. John Tyler, the Vice President, was occupying the Executive Chair. But the country, relying upon the soundness of the men whom it had elevated to power, was yet sanguine and hopeful. Congress set to work, at once, to repeal the obnoxious laws of previous sessions. The Sub-treasury was abolished. A general bankrupt law was established. A bill to create a National Bank was adopted. Every thing seemed to move on, as the party in power could wish. But suddenly, and from an unexpected quarter, came a check. The Bank bill returned with the Presi- dent's veto. This announcement fell upon Congress and upon the country like a thunderbolt. The grief and rage of one party and the exultation of the other were extreme. Mr. Clav, who had entered upon the Session full of spirit, changed his tones from hopefulness to anxiety. When the veto was announced, he arose and addressed the Senate in the following words : ''Mr. President, the bill, which forms the present subject of our deliberations, had passed both Houses of Congress by de- cisive majorities, and, in conformity with the requirement of the Constitution, was presented to the President of the United States for his consideration. He has returned it to the Senate, in which it originated, according to the direction of the Constitution, with a message announcing his veto of the bill and containing his objections to its passage. And the question now to be decided, is, shall the bill pass by the required Constitutional majority of two-thirds, the President's objections notwithstanding. Know- ing, sir, but too well that no such majority can be obtained, and that the bill must fall, I would have been rejoiced to have found myself at libertv to abstain from saying one word on this painful occasion. But the President has not allowed me to give a silent vote. I think, with all respect and deference to him, he has not THE LIFE OF HENIiY CLAY. 99 reciprocated the friendly spirit of concession and compromise, which animated Congress in the provisions of this bill, and especially in the modification of the sixteenth fundamental condi- tion of the Bank. He has commented, I think with undeserved severity, on that part of the bill ; he has used, I am sure un- intentionally, harsh, if not reproachful language ; and he has made the very concession which was prompted as a peace-offer- ing, and from friendly considerations, the cause of stronger and more decided disapprobation of the bill. Standing in the rela- tion to that bill which I do, and especially to the exceptionable clause, the duty which I owe to the Senate, and to the country, and self-respect impose upon me the obligation of, at least, attempting the vindication of a measure which has met with a fate so unmerited and so unexpected. " On the fourth of April last, the lamented Harrison, the President of the United States, paid the debt of nature. Presi- dent Tyler, who, as Vice-President, succeeded to the duties of that, office, arrived in the city of Washington on the sixth of that month. He found the whole metropolis wrapped in gloom, every heart filled with sorrow and sadness, every eye streaming with tears, and the surrounding hills yet flinging back the echo of the bells which were tolled on that melancholy occasion. On enter- ing the Presidential mansion, he contemplated the pale body of his predecessor stretched before him, and clothed in the black habiliments of death. At that solemn moment, I have no doubt that the heart of President Tyler was overflowing with mingled emotions of grief, of patriotism, and of gratitude — above all, of gratitude to that country, by a majority of whose suffrages, bestowed at the preceding November, he then stood the most distinguished, the most elevated,, the most honored of all living whigs of the United States. " It Avas under these circumstances, and in this probable state of mind, that President Tyler, on the tenth day of the same month of April, voluntarily promulgated an address to the people of the United States. That address was in the nature of a cor- onation oath, which the chief of the state in other countries, and under other forms, takes upon ascending the throne. It referred 100 THE LIFE OF IlEXKY CLAY. to the solemn obligations, and the profound sense of duty, under which the new President entered upon the high trust which had devolved upon him, by the joint acts of the people and of Provi- dence, and it stated the principles, and delineated the policy, by which he would be governed in his exalted station. It was emphatically a whig address, from the beginning to end — every inch of it was whig, and was patriotic. "In that address the President, in respect to the subject matter embraced in the present bill, held the following conclusive and emphatic language : "'I shall promptly give my sanction to any constitutional measure, which, originating in Congress, shall have for its object the restoration of a sound circulating medium, so essentially necessary to give confidence in all the transactions of life, to secure to industry its just and adequate rezvards, and to re-estab- lish the public prosperity. In deciding upon the adaptation of anv such measure to the end proposed, as well as its conformity to the Constitution, I shall resort to the fathers of the great repub- lican school for advice and instruction, to be drawn from their sage views of our system of government, and the light of their ever glorious example.' " To this clause in the address of the President, I believe but one interpretation was given throughout this whole country, by friend and foe, by whig and democrat, and by the presses of both parties. It was, by every man with whom I conversed on the subject at the time of its appearance, or of whom I have since inquired, construed to mean that the President intended to occupy the Madison ground, and to regard the question of the power to establish a national Bank as immovably settled. And I think I may confidently appeal to the Senate and to the coun- try, to sustain the fact, that this was the cotemporaneous and unanimous judgment of the public. Reverting back to the period of the promulgation of the address, could any other construction have been given to its language ? What is it ? 'I shall promptly give my sanction to any constitutional measure, which, originat- ing in Congress,' shall have certain defined objects in view. He concedes the vital importance of a sound circulating medium to THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 101 industry, and to the public prosperity. He concedes that its origin must be in Congress. And to prevent any inference from the qualification, which he prefixes to the measure, being interpreted to mean that a United States bank was unconstitu- tional he declares, that in deciding on the adaptation of the measure to the end proposed, and its conformity to the Constitu- tion, he will resort to the fathers of the great republican school. And who were they ? If the father of his country is to be ex- cluded, are Madison (the father of the Constitution), Jefferson, Monroe, Gerry, Gallatin, and the long list of republicans who acted with them, not to be regarded as among those fathers ? But President Tyler declares, not only that he should appeal to them for advice and instruction, but to the light of their ever glorious example. What example ? What other meaning could have been possibly applied to the phrase, than that he intended to refer to what had been done during the administration of Jef- ferson, Madison, and Monroe? " Entertaining this opinion of the address, I came to Washing- ton at the commencement of the session, with the most confident and buoyant hopes that the whigs would be able to carry all their prominent measures, and especially a bank of the United States, by far that one of the greatest immediate importance. I anticipated nothing but cordial co-operation between the two departments of government ; and I reflected with pleasure, that I should find, at the head of the Executive branch, a personal and political friend, whom I had long and intimately known, and highly esteemed. It will not be my fault, if our amicable rela- tions should unhappily cease, in consequence of any difference of opinion between us on this occasion. The president has been always perfectly familiar with my opinion on this bank question. "Upon the opening of the session, but especially on the re- ceipt of a plan of a national Bank, as proposed by the Secretary of the Treasury, fears were excited that the President had been misunderstood in his address, and that he had not waived but adhered to his constitutional scruples. Under these circum- stances, it was hoped, that, by the indulgence of a mutual spirit of compromise and concession, a Bank, competent to fulfill the 102 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. expectations and satisfy the wants of the people, might be established. " Under the influence of that spirit, the Senate and the House agreed, first, as to the name of the proposed Bank. I confess, sir, that there was something exceedingly outre and revolting to my ears, in the term ' Fiscal Bank ;' but I thought, ' what is there in a name ? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.' Looking, therefore, rather to the utility of the substan- tial faculties, than to the name of the contemplated institution, we consented to that which was proposed. " Secondly, as to the place of location of the Bank. Although "Washington had passed through my mind as among the cities in which it might be expedient to place the Bank, it was believed to be the least eligible of some four or five other cities. Never- theless, we consented to fix it here. " And, lastly, in respect to the branching power, there was not, probably, a solitary vote given in either House of Congress for the bill, that did not greatly prefer the unqualified branching power, as asserted in the charters of the two former Banks of the United States, to the sixteenth fundamental condition, as finally incorporated in this bill. It is perfectly manifest, therefore, that it was not in conformity with the opinion and wish of majorities in Congress, but in a friendly spirit of concession toward the President and his particular friends, that the clause assumed that form. So repugnant was it to some of the best friends of a national Bank in the other House, that they finally voted against the bill, because it contained that compromise of the branching power. "It is true, that in presenting the compromise to the Senate, I stated, as was the fact, that I did not know whether it would be acceptable to the President or not; that, according to my opin- ion, each department of the Government should act upon its own responsibility, independently of the other; and that I presented the modification of the branching power because it was necessary to insure the passage of the bill in the Senate, having ascertained that the vote would .stand twenty-six against it to twenty-five, if the form of that power which had been reported by the committee THE LII'K OF IIKNKV CLAY. 103 were persisted in. But I nevertheless did entertain the most confident hopes and expectations, that the bill would receive the sanction of the President ; and this motive, although not the im- mediate one, had great weight in the introduction and adoption of the compromise clause. I knew that our friends who would not vote for the bill as reported, were actuated, as they avowed, by considerations of union and harmony, growing- out of sup- posed views of the President, and I presumed that he would not fail to feel and appreciate their sacrifices. But I deeply regret that we were mistaken. Notwithstanding all our concessions, made in a genuine and sincere spirit of conciliation, the sanction of the President could not be obtained, and the bill has been returned by him with his objections." After giving the objections of the President a thorough scru- tiny, he added, in conclusion : " On a former occasion I stated, that in the event of an un- fortunate difference of opinion between the Legislative and Ex- ecutive departments, the point of difference might be developed, and it would be then seen whether they could be brought to coincide in any measure corresponding witli the public hopes and expectations. I regret that the President has not, in this message, favored us with a more clear and explicit exhibition of his views. It is sufficiently manifest that he is decidedly op- posed to the establishment of a new Bank of the United States firmed after the two old models. I think it is fairly to be inferred, that the plan of the Secretary of the Treasury could not have received his sanction. He is opposed to the passage of the bill which he has returned ; but whether he would give his ap- probation to any bank, and, if any, what sort of a bank, is not absolutely clear. I think it may be collected from the message, with the aid or information derived through other sources, that the President would concur in the establishment of a Bank whose operations should be limited to dealing in bills of exchange, to deposits, and to the supply of a circulation, excluding the power of discounting promissory notes. And I understand that some of our friends are now considering the practicability of arranging 10i THE LIFE OF IIKXKV CLAY. and passing a bill in conformity with the views of President Tjder. While I regret that I can take no active part in such an experiment, and must reserve to myself the right of determin- ing, whether I can or can not vote for such a bill after I see it in its matured form, I assure my friends that they shall find no obstacle or impediment in me. On the contrary, I say to them, go on : God speed you in any measure which will serve the country, and preserve or restore harmony and concert between the departments of government. An Executive veto of a Bank of the United States, after the sad experience of late years, is an event which was not anticipated by the political friends of the President ; certainly not by me. But it has come upon us with tremendous weight, and amidst the greatest excitement within and without the metropolis. The question now is, what shall be done ? What, under this most embarrassing and unexpected state of things, will our constituents expect of us? What is re- quired bv the duty and the dignity of Congress ? I repeat, that if, after a careful examination of the Executive message, a Bank can be devised which will afford any remedy to existing evils, and secure the President's approbation, let the project of such a Bank be presented. It shall encounter no opposition, if it should receive no support, from me. " But what further shall we do ? Never, since I have enjoyed the honor of participating in the public councils of the nation, a period now of nearly thirty-five years, have I met Congress under more happy or more favorable auspices. Never have I seen a House of Representatives animated by more patriotic dis- positions ; more united, more determined, more business-like. Not even that House which declared war in 1812, nor that which, in 1815-16, laid broad and deep foundations of national prosperity, in adequate provisions for a sound currency, by the establishment of a Bank of the United States, for the payment of the national debt, and for the protection of American industry. This House has solved the problem of the competency of a large deliberative body to transact the public business. If happily there had existed a concurrence of opinion and cordial co-opera- tion between the different departments of the (Jovernment, and THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 105 all the members of the party, we should have carried every measure contemplated at the extra session, which the people had a right to expect from our pledges, and should have been, by this lime, at our respective homes. We are disappointed in one, and an important one, of that series of measures ; but shall we therefore despair? Shall we abandon ourselves to unworthy feelings and sentiments ? Shall we allow ourselves to be trans- ported by rash and intemperate passions and counsels ? Shall we adjourn, and go home in disgust? No! No! No! A higher, nobler, and more patriotic career lies before us. Let us here, at the east end of Pennsylvania avenue, do our duty, our whole duty, and nothing short of our duty, toward our common country. We have repealed the Sub-treasury. We have passed a bankrupt law — a beneficent measure of substantial and exten- sive relief. Let us now pass the bill for the distribution of the proceeds of the public lands, the revenue bill, and the bill for the benefit of the oppressed people of this District. Let us do all, let us do every thing we can for the public good. If we are finally disappointed in our hopes of giving to the country a Bank, which will once more supply it with a sound currency, still let us go home and tell our constituents, that we did all that we could under actual circumstances ; and that, if we did not carry every measure for their relief, it was only because to do so was impossible. If nothing can be done at this extra session, to put upon a more stable and satisfactory basis the currency and exchanges of the country, let us hope that hereafter some way will be found to accomplish that most desirable object, either by an amendment of the Constitution, limiting and qualifying the enormous Executive power, and especially the veto, or by in- creased majorities in the two Houses of Congress, competent to the passage of wise and salutary laws, the President's objections notwithstanding. "This seems to me to be the course now incumbent upon us to pursue ; and by conforming to it, whatever may be the result of laudable endeavors, now in progress or in contemplation in relation to a new attempt to establish a Bank, we shall go home bearing no self-reproaches for neglected or abandoned duty." 106 THE LIFE OF HENBT CLAY. The course of Mr. Tyler, with respect to the Bank bill, was the harbinger of his subsequent conduct toward the party which elevated him to power. All the members of his cabinet, with one exception, resigned their places in disgust. Mr. Webster re- tained his position, as Secretary, because of an important nego- tiation in which he was engaged, with the British Government. Mr. Clayton indignantly declared, that " Corruption and Tyler, and Tyler and corruption, would stick together, as long as Cati- line and treason." Mr. Clay had seen the veto power abused by Jackson, and had then remonstrated. But now, when Tyler, desiring to com- pensate for his personal insignificance, by making his power as the Executive felt, returned to Congress bills inscribed with his negative, and dismissed whom he chose from office, filling their places with creatures of his own, Mr. Clay again came forward, seeking to procure such amendments to the Constitution, as would duly restrict this dangerous supremacy of the Chief Magistrate. He wished to limit the veto power ; to obtain the passage of a law rendering "a person ineligible to the office of President of the United States after a service of one term ;" to prevent the appointment by the Executive of any Senator or Representative, to any office under the United States, during the term for which he was elected ; and to procure a law that the Secretary of the Treasury should be chosen by Congress. Soon after, Mr. Clay resigned his seat in the Senate. The high hopes with which he had entered upon his duties in the session of May, 1841, had been doomed to bitter disappointment. Wearied with years of fruitless conflict, he longed for the retire- ment and peace of private life. But, before he left his post, he made a (dosing effort in behalf of his favorite policy. The Com- promise Tariff of 1833 expired by limitation, in 1842. True to his early predilections, he would not leave the councils of his country, until he had lifted up his eloquent voice once more, in favor of protection. Having fulfilled that duty, he felt free to leave the troubled arena of politics for the welcomes of friends and the peaceful shades of Ashland. THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 107 March 31st, 1842, he tendered his resignation to the Senate. Rising in his place, he said, with much emotion: — " Allow me to announce, formally and officially, my retire- ment from the Senate of the United States, and to present the last motion I shall ever make in this body. But, before I make that motion, I trust I shall be pardoned if I avail myself, with the permission and indulgence of the Senate, of this last occa- sion of addressing to it a few more observations. "I entered the Senate of the United States in December, 1806. I regarded that body then, and still consider it, as one which may compare, without disadvantage, with any legislative assem- bly, either in ancient or modern times, whether I look to its dignity, the extent and importance of its powers, the ability by which its individual members have been distinguished, or its organic constitution. If compared in any of these respects with the senates either of France or of England, that of the United States will sustain no derogation. With respect to the mode of constituting those bodies, I may observe, that, in the House of Peers in England, with the exceptions of Ireland, and of Scot- land — and in that of France with no exception whatever — tho members hold their places in their individual rights under no delegated authority, not even from the order to which they belong, but derive them from the grant of the Crown, trans- mitted by descent, or created in new patents of nobility ; while here we have the proud and more noble title of representatives of sovereign States, of distinct and independent commonwealths. "If we look again at the powers exercised by the senates of France and England, and by the Senate of the United States, we shall find that the aggregate of power is much greater here. In all, the respective bodies possess the legislative power. In the foreign senates, as in this, the judicial power is vested, although there it exists in a larger degree than here. But, on the other hand, that vast, undefined, and undefinable power involved in the right to co-operate with the Executive in the formation and ratification of treaties, is enjoyed in all its magnitude and conse- quence by this body, while it is possessed by neither of theirs : beside which, there is another function of very great practical 108 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. importance — that of sharing with the Executive branch in dis- tributing the immense patronage of this Government. In both these latter respects we stand on grounds different from the House of Peers either of England or France. And then, as to the dignity and decorum of its proceedings, and ordinarily, as to the ability of its members, I may, with great truth, declare that, during the whole period of my knowledge of this Senate, it can, without arrogance or presumption, stand an advantageous comparison with any deliberative body that ever existed in ancient or modern times. " Full of attraction, however, as a seat in the Senate is, suffi- cient as it is to satisfy the aspirations of the most ambitious heart, I have long determined to relinquish it, and to seek that repose which can be enjoyed only in the shades of private life, in the circle of one's own family, and in the tranquil enjoyments included in one enchanting word — Home. " It was my purpose to terminate my connection with this body in November, 1840, after the memorable and glorious political struo-<'le which distinguished that Year : but I learned, soon after, what indeed I had for some time anticipated from the result of my own reflections, that an extra session of Congress would be called; and I felt desirous to co-operate with my political and personal friends in restoring, if it could be effected, the prosperity of the country, by the best measures which their united counsels might be able to devise ; and I therefore attended the extra session. It was called, as all know, by the lamented Harrison ; but his death, and the consequent accession of his successor, produced an entirely new aspect of public affairs. " Had he lived, I have not one particle of doubt that every im- portant measure to which the country had looked with so confi- dent an expectation would have been consummated, by the co- operation of the Executive with the legislative branch of the Government. And here allow me to say, only, in regard to that so much reproached extra session of Congress, that I believe if any of those, who, through the influence of party spirit, or the bias of political prejudice, have loudly censured the measures then adopted, would look at them in a spirit of candor and of IHB LIFE OF HKXKY CLAY. 109 justice, their conclusion, and that of the country generally, would be, that if there exist any just ground of complaint, it is to be found not in what was done, but in what was not done, but left unfinished. "Had President Harrison lived, and the measures devised at that session been fully carried out, it was my intention then to have resigned my seat. But the hope (I feared it might prove vain) that, at the regular session, the measures which we had left undone might even then be perfected, or the same object attained in an equivalent form, induced me to postpone the determination ; and events which arose after the extra session, resulting from the failure of those measures which had been pro- posed at that session, and which seemed for the moment to sub- ject our political friends to the semblance of defeat, confirmed me in the resolution to attend the present session also, and, whether in prosperity or adversity, to share the fortune of my friends. But I resolved, at the same time, to retire as soon as I could do so with propriety and decency. " From 1806, the period of my entrance upon this noble thea- ter, with short intervals, to the present time, I have been engaged in the public councils, at home or abroad. Of the services ren- dered during that long and arduous period of my life it does not become me to speak ; history, if she deign to notice me, and posterity, if the recollection of my humble actions shall be trans- mitted to posterity, are the best, the truest, and the most impar- tial judges. When death has closed the scene, their sentence will be pronounced, and to that I commit myself. My public conduct is a fair subject for the criticism and judgment of my fellow-men ; but the motives by which I have been prompted are known only to the great searcher of the human heart and to myself; and I trust I may be pardoned for repeating a declara- tion made some thirteen years ago, that, whatever errors, and doubtless there have been many, may be discovered in a review of my public service, I can with unshaken confidence appeal to that divine arbiter for the truth of the declaration, that I have been influenced by no impure purpose, no personal motive ; have 6ought no personal aggrandizement ; but that, in all my public 110 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. acts, I have had a single eye directed, and a warm and devoted heart dedicated, to what, in my best judgment, I believed the true interests, the honor, the union, and the happiness of my country required. "During that long period, however, I have not escaped the fate of other public men, nor failed to incur censure and detrac- tion of the bitterest, most unrelenting, and most malignant char- acter ; and though not always insensible to the pain it was meant to inflict, I have borne it, in general, with composure, and without disturbance here [pointing to his breast], waiting as I have done, in perfect and undoubting confidence, for the ultimate triumph of justice and of truth, and in the entire persuasion that time would settle all things as they should be, and that what- ever wrong or injustice I might experience at the hands of man, He to whom all hearts are open and fully known, would, by the inscrutable dispensations of his providence, rectify all error, redress all wrong, and cause ample justice to be done. "But I have not meanwhile been unsustained. Everywhere throughout the extent of this great continent I have had cordial, warm-hearted, faithful, and devoted friends, who have known me, loved me, and appreciated my motives. To them, if lan- guage were capable of fully expressing my acknowledgments, I would now offer all the return I have the power to make for their genuine, disinterested, and persevering fidelity and devoted attachment, the feelings and sentiments of a heart overflowing with never-ceasing gratitude. If, however, I fail in suitable language to express my gratitude to them, for all the kindness they have shown me, Avhat shall I say, what can I say at all commensurate with those feelings of gratitude with which I have been inspired by the State whose humble representative and servant I have been in this chamber ?" [Here Mr. Clat's feelings overpowered him, and he proceeded with deep sensi- bility and difficult utterance.] "I emigrated from Virginia to the State of Kentucky now nearly forty-five years ago ; I went as an orphan boy who had not yet attained the age of majoritv ; who had never recognized a father's smile, nor felt his warm caresses ; poor, penniless, THK LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. Ill without the favor of the great, with an imperfect and neglected education, hardly sufficient for the ordinary business and com- mon pursuits of life ; but scarce had I set my foot upon her generous soil when I was embraced with parental fondness, caressed as though I had been a favorite child, and patronized with liberal and unbounded munificence. From that period the highest honors of the State have been freely bestowed upon me ; and when, in the darkest hour of calumny and detraction, I seemed to be assailed by all the rest of the world, she interposed her broad and impenetrable shield, repelled the poisoned shafts that were aimed for my destruction, and vindicated my good name from every malignant and unfounded aspersion. I return with indescribable pleasure to linger a while longer, and mingle with the warm-hearted and whole-souled people of that State ; and, when the last scene shall forever close upon me, I hope that my earthly remains will be laid under her green sod with those of her gallant and patriotic sons. " But the ingenuity of my assailants is never exhausted. It seems I have subjected myself to a new epithet; which I do not know whether to take in honor or derogation : I am held up to the country as a ' dictator.' A dictator ! The idea of a dictator- ship is drawn from Roman institutions ; and at the time the office was created, the person who wielded the tremendous weight of authority it conferred, concentrated in his own person an abso- lute power over the lives and property of his fellow-citizens ; he could levy armies ; he could build and man navies ; he could raise any amount of revenue he might choose to demand ; and life and death rested on his fiat. If I were a dictator, as I am said to be, where is the power with which I am clothed ? Have I any army ? any navy ? any revenue ? any patronage ? in a word, any power whatever? If I had been a dictator, I think that even those who have the most freely applied to me the ap- pellation must be compelled to make two admissions ; first, that my dictatorship has been distinguished by no cruel executions, stained by no blood, sullied by no act of dishonor; and I think they must also own (though I do not exactly know what date my commission of dictator bears ; I suppose, however, it must 112 THE LIFE OF ilLNKV CLAY. have commenced with the extra session); that if I did usurp the power of a dictator, I at least voluntarily surrendered it within a shorter period than was allotted for the duration of the dictator- ship of the Roman commonwealth. "If to have sought at the extra session and at the present, by the co-operation of my friends, to carry out the great measures intended by the popular majority of 1 840, and to have earnestly wished that they should all have been adopted and executed ; if to have ardently desired to see a disordered currency regulated and restored, and irregular exchanges equalized and adjusted ; if to have labored to replenish the empty coffers of the treasury by suitable duties ; if to have endeavored to extend relief to the unfortunate bankrupts of the country, who had been ruined in a great measure by the erroneous policy, as we believed, of this Government ; to limit, circumscribe, and reduce Executive au- thority ; to retrench unnecessary expenditure and abolish useless offices and institutions ; and the public honor to preserve untar- nished by supplying a revenue adequate to meet the national engagements and incidental protection to the national industry ; if to have entertained an anxious solicitude to redeem every pledge , and execute every promise fairly made by my political friends, with a view to the acquisition of power from the hands of an honest and confiding people ; if these constitute a man a dictator, why, then, I must be content to bear, although I still ought only to share with my friends, the odium or the honor of the epithet, as it may be considered on the one hand or the other. "That my nature is warm, my temper ardent, my disposition especially in relation to the public service, enthusiastic, I am ready to own ; and those who suppose that I have been assum- ing the dictatorship, have only mistaken for arrogance or as- sumption that ardor and devotion which are natural to my con- stitution, and which I may have displayed with too little regard to cold, calculating, and cautious prudence, in sustaining and zealously supporting important national measures of policy which I have presented and espoused. " In the course of a long and arduous public service, especially THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 113 during the last eleven years in which I have held a seat in the Senate, from the same ardor and enthusiasm of character, I have no doubt, in the heat of debate, and in an honest endeavor to main- tain my opinions against adverse opinions, alike honestly enter- tained, as to the best course to be adopted for the public welfare, I may have often inadvertently and unintentionally, in moments of excited debate, made use of language that has been offensive, and susceptible of injurious interpretation toward my brother senators. If there be any here who retain wounded feelings of injury or dissatisfaction produced on such occasions, I beg to assure them that I now offer the most ample apology for any departure on my part from the established rules of parliamentary decorum and courtesy. On the other hand, I assure senators, one and all, without exception and without reserve, that I retire from this chamber without carrying with me a single feeling of resentment or dissatisfaction to the Senate or any one of its members. " I go from this place under the hope that we shall, mutually, consign to perpetual oblivion whatever personal collisions may at any time unfortunately have occurred between us ; and that our recollections shall dwell in future only on those conflicts of mind with mind, those intellectual struggles, those noble exhibitions of the power of logic, argument, and eloquence, honorable to the Senate and to the nation, in which each has sought and con- tended for what he deemed the best mode of accomplishing one common object, the interest and the most happiness of our beloved countrv. To these thrilling and delightful scenes it will be my pleasure and my pride to look back in my retirement with unmeasured satisfaction. " And now, Mr. President, allow me to make the motion which it was my object to submit when I rose to address you. I present the credentials of my friend and successor. If any void has been created by my withdrawal from the Senate, it will be amply fdled by him, whose urbanity, whose gallant and gen- tlemanly bearing, whose stead v adherence to principle, and whose rare and accomplished powers in debate, are known to the Senate and to the countrv. I move that his credentials 10 114 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. be received, and that the oath of office be now administered to him. " In retiring, as I am about to do, forever, from the Senate, suffer me to express my heartfelt wishes that all the great and patriotic objects of the wise framers of our Constitution may be fulfilled ; that the high destiny designed for it may be fully answered ; and that its deliberations, now and hereafter, may eventuate in securing the prosperity of our beloved country, in maintaining its rights and honor abroad, and upholding its interests at home. I retire, I know, at a period of infinite distress and embarrassment. I wish I could take my leave of you under more favorable auspices ; but, without meaning, at this time, to say whether on any or on whom reproaches for the sad condition of the country should fall, I appeal to the Senate and to the world to bear testimony to my earnest and continued exertions to avert it, and to the truth that no blame can justly attach to me. "May the most precious blessings of heaven rest upon the whole Senate and each member of it, and may the labors of every one redound to the benefit of the nation and the advance- ment of his own fame and renown. And when you shall retire to the bosom of your constituents, may you receive that most cheering and ffratifvinsf of all human rewards — their cordial greeting of 'well done, good and faithful servant.' "And now, Mr. President, and senators, I bid you all a long, a lasting, and a friendly farewell." Mr. Crittenden was then duly qualified, and took his seat ; when Mr. Preston rose and said : what had just taken place was an epoch in their legislative history, and from the feeling which was evinced, he plainly saw that there was little disposition to attend to business. lie would therefore move that the Senate adjourn ; which motion was unanimously agreed to. "The feeling manifested on this occasion," says one of Mr. Clay's biographers, "both on the floor and in the galleries, was such as is rarely witnessed in a like assembly. The opponents of Mr. ClAY in the Senate, some of whom had been very bitter in their THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 115 hostility, seemed to be subdued and to give themselves up to the more generous feelings ; most of whom were seen crossing the floor, after the Senate had adjourned, and offering their bands to Mr. Clat. All were interested in observing this act on the part of Mr. Calhoun, and touched in noticing that both he and Mr. Clay were too much affected to make any conversation, and forced to retire without a single word." CHATTER XII. Mr. Clay is again candidate for the Presidency, and suffers renewed defeat, — Sorrow of his friends — War with Mexico — Acquisition of Territory — Embarrassing questions — Danger to the Union — Mr. Clay accepts a seat in the Senate — His heroic efforts to quiet the distraction of his country — It is the Chieftain's last battle — Disease advances — His death — His abilities as a statesman and orator — His characteristics as a man. The Whig party submitted, as they were compelled to do, but submitted indignantly, to the results arising from their ill-starred choice. Waiting with impatience for the termination of Presi- dent Tyler's misrule, they resolved that when they entered the next political contest, it should be with men whose principles were tried and true. Every consideration directed their choice to the patriot of Ashland. He certainly could not prove treach- erous to that system and to that party of which he himself was the founder. Propriety long before would have given to his claims the preference over those of every competitor. But the four years of disappointment had brought an abundant harvest of regrets. When, therefore, the Whig Convention met at Baltimore, in 1844, it was pervaded with but one sentiment. No rival claims were there. The popular voice had spoken decisively, and the convention was its faithful echo. There was no occasion for the usual balloting. Amid the tumultuous cheering, opportunity was hardly afforded to hear a resolution which was offered. It declared Mr. Clay the choice of the assembly, and was adopted upon the instant by acclamation. Theodore Frelinghuysen, a man of excellent qualities and unquestioned probity, was placed upon the tiekel with him for the Vice Presidency. With these (116) IwL, THE LIFE OF iii:m:y clay. 117 leaders, the Whigs -were sanguine of success. The possibility of defeat was hardly dreamed of. The canvassing went on with an enthusiasm akin to that of 1840. The Democrats had nominated, in opposition, a member of their party hardly known beyond his own neighborhood. With such a candidate, it was thought that the self-styled Democracy would inevitably suffer an overwhelming defeat. But the result proved their choice to be more politic than their opponents had imagined. In April, Mr. Clay published in the National Intelligencer a letter called, in reference to the place from which it was dated, the Raleigh letter. In that letter he took decided ground against the proposed annexation of Texas. But the Texas scheme was popular. The candor of Mr. Clay operated to his detriment. His opponent was more discreet. Obscurity had given him the advantage of not appearing committed to any decisive policy. He was determined not to compromise this advantage by any indiscretions of speech. The election went duly on. The returns, as they came in, indicated a close contest. There were abundant evidences, in some sections, of corruption. Mr. Clay, however, seemed in the ascendant. New York State, it was believed, had given him a majority. The Whigs assembled in the city of New York to celebrate their supposed victory. Cannons were fired ; universal rejoicing reigned, but all this festivity was doomed to a speedy termination. Later returns indicated that, by a defection from the Whig ranks, New York State was lost, and that Mr. Clay was defeated. The revulsion of feeling which attended the ascertainment of this fact can not be described. With many the feeling, for a time, was more like that from the loss of all earthly hopes, and the burial of all earthly friendships, than such as usually attends the result of a mere political contest. Letters poured in upon Mr. Clay, expressive of such feelings as are seldom enter- tained toward the unsuccessful politician. But it is not often that one stands in the attitude to the public, which Mr. Clay occupied. The politician was not so prominent in him, as the 113 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. patriot. The people regarded him, not so much as a statesman and legislator, as a public benefactor and friend. Mr. Clay was evidently deeply disappointed, but he bore his disappointment nobly. The Kentucky electors, after depositing their vote at Frankfort, their capital, waited upon him at Ash- land, to tender their regrets for his defeat. He came forth to meet them, and in reply to their address, said, with much feel- ing : " I will not affect indifference to the personal concern I had in the political contest just terminated ; but unless I am greatly self-deceived, the principal attraction to me of the office of President of the United States, arose out of the cherised hope that I mitrht be an humble instrument in the hands of Providence to accomplish public good. I desired to see the former purity of the General Government restored, and to see dangers and evils which I sincerely believed encompassed it, averted and remedied. I was anxious that the policy of the country, especially in the great department of domestic labor and industry, should be fixed and stable, and that all might know how to regulate and accom- modate their conduct. And, fully convinced of the wisdom of the public measures, which you have enumerated, I hoped to live to witness, and to contribute to, their adoption and establish- ment." Mr. Polk was inducted into office almost at the moment when, through the agency of President Tyler, the annexation of Texas to the United Stales was consummated. The war with Mexico, which Mr. Clay had predicted, soon followed. The feeble Mexicans were easily vanquished. The Americans penetrated to the heart of Mexico, and accomplished in effect, what, in terms of rhetorical bombast, they designated " reveling in the halls of the Montezumas." American valor brought the war to a speedy and successful conclusion, but in its results the contest was transferred from the plains of Mexico to the floors of Congress. The acquisi- tion of Territory brought with it embarrassing questions. In the extension of the borders of the Union, its stability was im- periled. The country was again brought into an emergency which demamled the services of the Great Pacificator. But, THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 119 meanwhile, an election had taken place. The friends of Mr. Clay desired to present him again for the suffrages of the people. But expediency prevailed over merit. The Mexican war had given eclat to the name of Taylor, and the statesman was com- pelled to give place to the chieftain. Mr. Clay bowed his head resignedly to the fresh disappoint- ment. The twenty years of reverses had not soured his nature. Injustice, detraction and blasted hopes, had not made him a hater of his kind. He was still the same ardent patriot that he had ever been, willing to bury considerations of self in his higher love for his country. Clouds were seen gathering over the prospects of the nation. His beloved State believed that the presence of her own Clay was needed in the legislative councils. The Legislature of Kentucky offered him a seat in the Senate of the United States, and, though aged, infirm and toil-worn, he patriotically accepted it. It was, indeed, a time when the country had need of its truest patriot. A complication of difficulties such as had never arisen in its darkest period confronted its statesmen, and alarmed its people. The question of Slavery, always a fearful one, pre- sented itself under new forms and a more than usually dangerous aspect. California, impatient of the tardiness of legislation, had adopted a State Constitution excluding Slavery, and demanded admission. Texas was involved in difficulties, relating to a boundary line with New Mexico. A debt which the new State had contracted, the United States were called upon to assume. The new Territories were waiting for the United States to define their position relative to Slavery. The North was demanding the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia. The South, loud in their complaints of the insecurity of their properly, demanded a renewed affirmation of the clause in the Constitution returning fugitives from labor. Mr. Clay presented resolutions of compromise, relating sever- ally to these formidable difficulties. His aged form appeared upon the Senate floor in something of its youthful erectness. His wasted cheek glowed again with the flush of excitement. 120 THE LIFE OF IIENKY CLAY. His eve flashed once more with that light, before which opposi- tion had ofien quailed. His voice assumed those seductive tones by which anger had repeatedly been disarmed. " Mr. President," he said, after reading and commenting upon the resolutions which he had drawn up, "you have before you the whole series of resolutions, the whole scheme of arrange- ment and accommodation of these distracting questions, which I have to offer, after having bestowed on these subjects the most anxious, intensely anxious, consideration ever since I have been in this body. How far it may prove acceptable to both or either of the parties on these great questions, it is not for me to say. I think it ought to be acceptable to both. There is no sacrifice of any principle, proposed in any of them, by either party. The plan is founded upon mutual forbearance, originating in a spirit of reconciliation and concession ; not of principles, but of mat- ters of feeling. At the North, sir, I know that from feeling, by many at least, cherished as being dictated by considerations of humanity and philanthropy, there exists a sentiment adverse to the institution of Slavery. "Sir, I might, I think, — although I believe this project con- tains about an equal amount of concession and forbearance on both sides, — have asked from the free States of the North a more liberal and extensive concession than should be asked from the slave States. And why, sir? With you, gentlemen Senators of the free States, what is it? An abstraction, a sentiment, — a sentiment, if you please, of humanity and philanthropy, — a noble sentiment, when directed rightly, with no sinister or party purposes ; an atrocious sentiment, — a detestable sentiment, — or rather the abuse of it, — when directed to the accomplishment of unworthy purposes. I said that I might ask from you larger and more expansive concessions than from the slave States. And why ? You are numerically more powerful than the slave States. Not that there is any difference, — for upon that subject I can not go along with the ardent expression of feeling by some of my friends coming from the same class of SLates from which I come, — not that there is any difference in valor, in prowess, in noble ami patriotic daring, whenever it is required for the safety THE LIFE OK HENRY CLAY. 121 and salvation of the country, between the people of one class of States and those of the other. You are, in point of numbers, however, greater ; and greatness and magnanimity should ever be allied. "But there are other reasons why concession upon such a subject as this should be more liberal, more expansive, coming from the free, than from the slave States. It is, as I remarked, a sentiment, a sentiment of humanity and philanthropy on your side. Ay, sir, and when a sentiment of that kind is honestly and earnestly cherished, with a disposition to make sacrifices to enforce it, it is a noble and beautiful sentiment; but, sir, when the sacrifice is not to be made by those who cherish that senti- ment and inculcate it, but by another people, in whose situation it is impossible, from their position, to sympathize and to share all and every thing that belongs to them, I must say to you, Senators from the free States, it is a totally different question. On your side it is a sentiment without sacrifice, a sentiment without danger, a sentiment without hazard, without peril, with- out loss. But how is it on the other side, to which, as I have said, a greater amount of concession ought to be made in any scheme of compromise ? " In the first place, sir, there is a vast and incalculable amount of property to be sacrificed, and to be sacrificed, not by your sharing in the common burdens, but exclusive of you. And this is not all. The social intercourse, habit, safety, property, life, everything is at hazard, in a greater or less degree, in the slave States. " Sir, look at the storm which is now raging before you, beat- ing in all its rage pitilessly on your family. They are in the South. But where are your families, where are your people, Senators from the free States ? They are safely housed, enjoy- ing all the blessings of domestic comfort, peace and quiet, in the bosoms of their own families. " Behold, Mr. President, that dwelling-house now wrapped in flames. Listen, sir, to the rafters and beams which fall in suc- cession, amid the crash ; and the flames ascending higher and higher as they tumble down. Behold those women and children 11 122 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. who are flying fi'om the calamitous scene, and with their shrieks and lamentations imploring the aid of high Heaven. Whose house is that ? Whose wives and children are they ? Yours in the free States ? No. You are looking on in safety and security, while the conflagration which I have described is raging in the slave States, and produced, not intentionally, by you, but pro- duced from the inevitable tendency of the measures which you have adopted, and which others have carried far beyond what you have wished. "In the one scale, then, we behold sentiment, sentiment, sentiment alone ; in the other, property, the social fabric, life, and all that makes life desirable and happy." To those who spurned the idea of compromise, Mr. Clay addressed himself in the following animated terms : " There are persons who are very wise in their own esteem, and who will reject all compromises ; but that is no reason why a compromise should not be attempted. I go for honorable compromise, when occasions call for it. Life itself is but a compromise, until the Great Destroyer finally triumphs. All legislation, all govern- ment, all society is formed upon the principle of mutual conces- sion, politeness, comity, courtesy ; upon these every thing is based. I bow to you to-day, because you bow to me. You are respectful to me, because I am respectful to you. Compromise is peculiarly appropriate between the members of a republic as of a common family. Compromises have this recommendation, that if you concede any thing, you have something conceded to you in return. Treaties are compromises made with foreign powers, which is not a case like this. Here, if you concede any thing, it is to your own brethren, — to your own family. Let him who elevates himself above humanity, above its weaknesses, its infirmities, its wants, its necessities, say, if he pleases, I never will compromise ; but let no one who is not above the frailties of our common nature, disdain compromises." The debate was continued through many months. The excite- ment, meanwhile, continued to increase, both in Congress and among the people. The terms of pacification, proposed by Mr. Clat, met with opposition from every quarter. Yet even from THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 123 such discouragement he borrowed some gleams of comfort. "When I brought forward these resolutions," he exclaimed, "I intended, so help me God, to propose a plan of doing equal and impartial justice to the South and to the North, so far as I could comprehend it, and I think it does yet. But how has this effort been received by the ultraists? Why, sir, at the North they cry out, — 'It is all concession to the South.' And, sir, what is the language of the South ? They say, — ' It is all concession to the North ;' and I assure you, Mr. President, it has reconciled me very much to my poor efforts, to find that the ultraists on the one hand and on the other, equally traduce the scheme I propose as conceding every thing to their opponents." On the twenty-eighth of February, new resolutions of com- promise were introduced by Mr. Bell of Tennessee. Upor motion of Mr. Foote of Mississippi, a committee of thirteen was appointed " to take Mr. Clay's and Mr. Bell's resolutions as a basis of compromise, and to report a bill or bills thereon." Of this committee Mr. Clay was chairman. On the eighth of May, they submitted their report. " They brought in three separate bills, covering most of the ground occupied by Mr. Clay's and Mr. Bell's resolutions; one for the admission of California, organizing the Territorial Governments, and determining the boundaries of Texas." " The second bill proposed enactments for the recovery of fugitive slaves ; and the third was framed to put an end to the slave trade in the District of Columbia." The bills, however, met with persistent opposition in Congress. They were also understood not to possess the favor of the Execu- tive. But, during the continuance of the discussion, General Taylor died. His successor, Mr. Fillmore, looked upon the measures designed to quiet the distraction of the Union with a more favoring eye. Mr. Clay, disregarding the weakness of age and the pains of incipient disease, battled on. His biographer, Mr. Colton, asserts, in his "Last Seven Years of Henry Clay," that "from the time he brought forward his resolution, the twenty-ninth of January, to the thirty-first of July, when the bill passed with nothing in it but the Territory of Utah, Mr. Clay had been on 124 THE LIFE OF SEEKS CLA.Y. his feet, in the debate, seventy times, — not always to say much, but frequently called out in some of his most forcible speeches. Every time that the subject of the bill was the order of the day, he was at his post, watching with intensity the action of the mind of the Senate, and embracing every opportunity to put forward the measure. It has been seen," he continues, "what opposition he had to*encounter, springing up in new forms, and at every stage. But the movement, which his own hand com- menced, never flagged, and the final vote, on the thirty-first of July, which had stricken every thing from the bill but a Terri- torial Government for Utah, and which seemed to be a defeat, was, nevertheless, a victory. For the Senate did not come to this conclusion, without having made up their minds to carry out in separate bills every thing proposed by the committee of thirteen, and this was perfectly understood. There was a nominal defeat and yet a glorious triumph. The irresistible influence of Mr. Clay, so long and so well sustained, had successfully combated faction in all its forms, and converted opposition into a reluctant auxiliary." But the great chieftain had fought his last battle. His inces- 6ant exertions wore upon a physical frame yielding to age. He had passed the threescore years and ten assigned to human life. He had stood valiantly at his post through half a century. He had been permitted to see the astonishing development of his beloved country. He had known her in infancy. It was also his privilege to behold her rejoicing in the strength and beauty of maturer life. But it had been granted him not only to see his country's greatness, but more perhaps than any other to advance it. Boasting of the exploits and fame of his country, he might also proudly add, "quorum magna 2^ars fui." The time drew near for him to pass away from the scene of his labors. Lingering yet a little while about the Senate cham- ber, visiting Newport to invigorate his jaded system, voyaging to Cuba and New Orleans, to relieve his distressing cough, reposing awhile in the domestic quiet of Ashland, a few une- ventful months passed away. Again he returned to Washington, and this time to die. He was able to appear but once in his place TIIE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. 125 in the Senate. Through the winter he continued feeble. Aa spring advanced he sank rapidly. Yet even in his sick chamber he found occasion to show his patriotism. The country was running wild with excitement in behalf of Hungary. Kossuth, by his "wonderful and fascinating eloquence," seemed about to unsettle the policy recommended by Washington. The voice which had been lifted up so eloquently in behalf of South American independence and the struggling Greeks, was now heard in friendly remonstrance. The dying statesman admitted the enthusiastic Hungarian to an interview. He addressed him with his usual courtesy, and even in terms of the highest com- pliment, but protested against the policy which he had been recommending to our people, and by a short and convincing argument, demonstrated to him its impracticability. This was Mr. Clat's last service to his country. It was generally known that he was laboring under a fatal disease. The nation was prepared gradually for its loss. Intelligence from Washington was daily looked for with melancholy interest. The calamity at last came. On the twenty-ninth of June, 1852, it was announced in the Senate chamber, that Henry Clat was no more. We have now gone through with the principal events in the political history of Mr. Clay, omitting the mention of those only which were either of temporary importance, or which would have interrupted the flow of the narrative at some interesting point. Among the last we may specify his glowing speeches upon the Greek revolution, and his bill providing for the distri- bution among the several States of the proceeds arising from the sale of public lands. It remains only to indicate briefly his prominent characteristics as a statesman, as an orator, and as a man. In regard to his abilities in the first relation, it may be thought by some unnecessary to say much, because time is a better commentator upon the wisdom of political measures than any 126 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. historian. Since, however, the excellence of this world is seldom absolute, we trust that we may be indulged in determin- ing his relative position. In enumerating our statesmen, were we, like the sacred chronicler, to class by themselves thirty of the most eminent, we might, after recounting their exploits and specifying the chief among them, significantly add, as does the sacred writer : Yet these attained not unto the first three. Among all our public men during the last half century, Clay, Calhoun and Webster, confessedly occupied a position by themselves. Viewed as statesmen it may be easy, standing where we do, to point out their errors. Small genius is required for that. It : ,s another question whether any others in the same circumstances would have done as well. They failed in some of their plans, unquestionably, and were in error in respect to others, but what statesman was ever infallible ? Estimating them by their capabilities and by their molding influence upon the country, which we conceive to be the correct method, we must place them very high in the scale of statesmen. If asked to decide which possessed in the highest degree the qualities of a leader and the ability to direct in legislation, we should promptly give the preference to Mr. Clay. And yet his power as a statesman is to be measured rather by what he was capable of doing, than by what he actually accomplished. His efforts, during nearly the whole of the last half of his career, were in the face of a powerful and triumphant opposition. Some of his favorite plans were possibly pushed too far. Yet upon the question of a National Bank, if he erred, he erred with the best and wisest of the country, with Madison and Calhoun, and the majority of the leading minds. As a parly leader, his abilities were of the highest order. We know that he was sometimes charged with imperiousness and an obstinacy in the pursuit of his own plans, but in this fact, so far from seeing in it a fault, we recognize the very foundation of his excellence. Resoluteness and inflexibility are generally looked upon as imperious, and yet they are the first and last essentials to any success in politics. There must be no THE LIFE OK HENRY CLAY. 127 feebleness, no vacillation in dealing with masses of men, espe- cially with wily political opponents. The merit of Mr. Clay's promptness was particularly evident in the war of 1812, as seen in contrast with the wavering inde- cision of those who desired war, but dared not venture upon it. This quality, indeed, caused him to be looked to in every emer- gency as the champion of his party. But graining that there was something of imperiousness in his manner, it was combined with a gallant and chivalrous bearing, which made men delight to acknowledge him leader, and to bo proud of his championship. There seems to be a species of fascination about those who move men powerfully. Napoleon had it. Henry Clay was endowed with it. No man in this country has ever possessed the quality in so eminent a degree. If we come to the question of patriotism, no one ever doubted him there. In some instances, and in respect to some measures, he may be thought to have been led astray by it ; but if so, it was a noble error, — a failing which leaned to virtue's side. It is bv the conflict of qualities and of men, that effects are produced in this world. The earth is kept in its orbit by the force of opposite attractions. It describes a course through the heavens which is a compromise between the centripetal and projectile forces. So is it often with respect to the statesmanship of men. No one man, be he ever so great, carries perfectly his {mint; he is balanced by others, who vary as widely as himself from the mark, but by the counter influences of the two, the de- sirable result is insured. Every country where exists any thing which may be dignified by the name of statesmanship, possesses two parties, a conservative and a radical, and between the two, and only bv the conflict of the two, is the golden mean attained. As a siatesman, we then rank Mr. Clay high among the fore- most, notwithstanding political opponents have said that all which he, by slow degrees and infinite toil constructed, has been overthrown, before he is hardly cold in his grave. As an orator, Henry Clay, we are persuaded, occupies the first rank. Oratory with him was that spontaneous, wonderful trifl which it was with Lord Chatham and Patrick Henry. In 128 THE LIFE OF HEKEY CLAY. those qualities which move men, he surpassed, immeasurably, his two great rivals, Webster and Calhoun. He never, perhaps, in any parliamentary effort, came up to the mark of Webster's reply to Hayne, but on all ordinary occasions, there could be no comparison. While Webster was almost uniformly dull, Clay was always animated and interesting. His sensibilities were keen and powerful, easily moved, and impetuous as an ocean storm. Webster, on the other hand, was, on ordinary occasions, cold and phlegmatic. And yet Clay, to produce an effect, never de- scended to vulgarity. He was always above demagogism and the low tricks of the politician. He despised such methods to obtain success, although one of the most ambitious of men. He was a proud-spirited, high-toned gentleman, and his oratory very seldom revealed him in any other light. He was one of the few men who could sincerely say, "I would rather be right than be President." To convey a clear idea of his eloquence is impossible. Like that of Chatham and Patrick Henry, it must live only in tradi- tion. In his published speeches, the reader searches in vain for the spell which bound his hearers. Like that of every great natural orator, it existed in his gestures, his matchless voice, his dilating form, his attitudes, and the glances of his enkindled eye. These are things which are beyond the power of the re- porter ; and yet these are the things in which reposed the hidings of his power. His style as a writer, is, however, very creditable. It is always clear, vigorous, direct and not often merely declamatory. Still, we are left to regret that he has not left behind him such monuments of his power, as did our colossal Webster. In the clear, polished, classid prose of the Marshfield statesman, we have a worthy index of his intellect. We can measure him with satisfactory accuracy, and feel assured that we are acquainted with his mental greatness. It is no! so with Clay. II.' has left nothing to tell adequately the story of his power. As a man, IIenkv Clay's character was eminently striking and attractive. He was gallant, witty, ready, and self-possessed. His social affections were strong and lively. The death of his THE LIFE OF IIEN-RY CLAY. 129 children affected him to swooning. His personal friends were devoted to the last degree. A large sum was raised among them, to lift off the incumbrances from his estate, and with the greatest delicacy transferred to his account. No public man, since Washington, has received, in this country, such testimonials of esteem, or has drawn out so much the love of the people. He excited, wherever he went in his travels, an en- thusiasm such as a prince or an emperor might hopelessly envy. The fascination of his manners and conversation was almost equal to that of his eloquence ; and this is not the testimony of his partial and unostentatious countrymen only, but of titled and courtly foreigners. Lord Morpeth, in his " Travels in America," savs, "I heard Mr. Clay in the Senate once, but every one told me that he was laboring under feebleness and exhaustion, so that I could only perceive the great charm in the tones of his voice. I think this most attractive quality was still more per- ceivable in private intercourse, as I certainly never met any pub- lic man, either in his countvy or in mine, always excepting Mr. Canning, who exercised such evident fascination over the minds and affections of his friends and followers as Henry Clay. I thought his society most attractive, easy, simple, and genial with great natural dignity. If his countrymen made better men Presidents, I should applaud their virtue in resisting the spell of his eloquence and attractions." But the sagacious statesman, the captivating orator, and the chivalrous man exists now, so far as we are concerned, only in his deeds and in history. He has bequeathed to us his fame, and in return we can talk only of columns and statues to his memorv. Vain oblation ! in respect to which one of Kentucky's sons,* unsurpassed by any other in eloquence, utters these im- | assioned sentiments : — " The friends of Mr. Clay meditate the construction of a mon- ument, to mark the spot where repose the remains of that frail tenement, which once held in his fiery soul. It will be honor- able to them, and will form a graceful ornament to the green * Thomas F. Marshall. 130 THE LIFE OF HENRY CLAY. woods which surround the city of which ho had himself been so long the living ornament ; but it. will be useless to him or his fame. He trusted neither himself nor fame to mechanical hands or perishable materials. ' Exeg'it monumentum ]^eren)iius aere.' They may lay their pedestals of granite — they may roar then- polished columns till they pierce and flout the skies — they may cover their marble pillars all over with the blazonry of his deeds, the trophies of his triumphant genius, and surmount them with images of his form wrought bv the cunningest hands — it mat- O 0*0 ters not — he is not there. The prisoned eagle has burst the bars, and soared away from strife, and conflict, and calumny. He is not dead — he lives. I mean not the life eternal in yon other world of which religion teaches, but here on earth he lives, the life which men call fame, that life the hope of which forms the solace of high ambition, which cheers and sustains the brave and wise and good, the champions of truth and human- kind, through all their labors — thatlife ishisbeyond all chance or change, growing, expansive, quenchless as time and human memory. He needs no statue — he desired none. It was the image of his soul he wished to perpetuate, and he has stamped it himself in lines of flame upon the souls of his countrymen. Not all the marbles of Carrara, fashioned by the chisel of An- gelo into the mimicry of breathing life, could convey to the senses a likeness so perfect of himself as that which he has left upon the minds of men. He carved his own statue, he built his own monument. In youth he laid the base broad as his whole country, that it might well sustain the mighty structure he had designed. He labored heroically through life on the colossal shaft. In 1850, the last year of the first half of the nineteenth century, he prepared the healing measures which bear his name, as the capital well proportioned and in perfect keeping with the now finished column, crowned his work, saw that it was good and durable, sprang to its lofty and commanding summit, and gazing from that lone height upon a horizon which embraced all coming time, with eternity for his background, and the eyes of the whole world riveted upon his solitary figure, consented there and thus to die." SPEECHES, ETC. ON DOMESTIC MANUFACTURES. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, APRIL 6, 1810. Mr. Clay Tras first elected to the United States Senate, to fill a vacancy for a single session, in 1806. During the year 1807, he delivered an able speech on Internal Improvement, -which has not been preserved. In 1809, the Legislature of Kentucky again elected him United States Senator, and in the following remarks, he declared himself in favor of the policy of encouraging Domestic Manufactures, by the adoption of a suitable Protective Tariff. His name, thus early, became identified, by his first two speeches in Congress, with these two branches of national policy, ■which he after- ward called the "American System." This is the first of Mr. Clay's speeches on record, during his Congressional career. Mr. President : The local interest of the quarter of the country, which I have the honor to represent, will apologize for the trouble I may give you on this occasion. My colleague has proposed an amendment to the bill before you, instructing the Secretary of the Navy, to provide supplies of cordage, sail-cloth, hemp, etc., and to give a preference to those of American growth and manufacture. It has been moved bv the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lloyd) to strike out this part of the amendment ; and, in the course of the discussion which has arisen, remarks have been made on the general policy of promoting manufactures. The propriety of this policy is, perhaps, not very intimately connected with the subject before us ; but it is, nevertheless, within the ( 131) 132 SPEECHES OF HEXKY CLAY. legitimate and admissible scope of debate. Under this impres- sion I offer my sentiments. In inculcating the advantages of domestic manufactures, it never entered the head, I presume, of any one, to change the habits of the nation from an agricultural to a manufacturing community. No one, I am persuaded, ever thought of con- verting the plowshare and the sickle into the spindle and the shuttle. And yet this is the delusive and erroneous view too often taken of the subject. The opponents of the manufacturing system transport themselves to the establishments of Manchester and Birmingham, and, dwelling on the indigence, vice, and wretchedness prevailing there, by pushing it to an extreme, argue that its introduction into this country will necessarily be attended by the same mischievous and dreadful consequences. But what is the fact? That England is the manufacturer of a great part of the world ; and that, even there, the numbers thus employed bear an inconsiderable proportion to the whole mass of popula- tion. Were we to become the manufacturers of other nations, effects of the same kind might result. But if we limit our efforts, by our own wants, the evils apprehended would be found to be chimerical. The invention and improvement of machinery, for which the present age is so remarkable, dispensing in a great degree with manual labor ; and the employment of those persons, who, if we were engaged in the pursuit of agriculture alone, would be either unproductive, or exposed to indolence and im- morality ; will enable us to supply our wants without withdraw- ing our attention from agriculture — that first and greatest source of national wealth and happiness. A judicious American farmer, in the household way, manufactures whatever is requisite for his family. He squanders but little in the gewgaws of Europe. He presents in epitome, what the nation ought to be in e.rtenso. Their manufactories should bear the same proportion, and effect the same object in relation to the whole community, which the part of his household employed in domestic manufacturing, bears to the whole family. It is certainly desirable, that the exports of the country should continue to be the surplus production of tillage, and not become those of manufacturing establishments. ON DOMESTIC MANUFACTURES. 133 But it is important to diminish our imports ; to furnish ourselves with clothing, made by our own industry ; and to cease to be dependent, for the veiy coats we wear, upon a foreign and per- haps inimical country. The nation that imports its clothing from abroad is but little less dependent than if it imported its bread. The fallacious course of reasoning uro-ed ajrainst domestic manufactures, namely, the distress and servitude produced by those of England, would equally indicate the propriety of aban- doning agriculture itself. Were you to cast your eyes upon the miserable peasantry of Poland, and revert to the days of feudal vassalage, you might thence draw numerous arguments, of the kind now under consideration, against the pursuits of the hus- bandman ! What would become of commerce, the favorite theme of some gentlemen, if assailed with this sort of weapon? The fraud, perjury, cupidity and corruption, with which it is unhap- pily too often attended, would at once produce its overthrow. In short, sir, take the black side of the picture, and every human occupation will be found pregnant with fatal objections. The opposition to manufacturing institutions recalls to my recollection the case of a gentleman, of whom I have heard. He had been in the habit of supplying his table from a neighboring cook, and confectioner's shop, and proposed to his wife a reform, in this particular. She revolted at the idea. The sight of a scullion was dreadful, and her delicate nerves could not bear the clattering of kitchen furniture. The gentleman persisted in his design ; his table was thenceforth cheaper and better supplied, and his neighbor, the confectioner, lost one of his best customers. In like manner dame Commerce will oppose domestic manufac- tures. She is a flirting, flippant, noisy jade, and if we are gov- erned by her fantasies, we shall never put off the muslins of India and the cloths of Europe. But I trust that the yeomanry of the country, the true and genuine landlords of this tenement, called the United States, disregarding her freaks, will persevere in reform, until the whole national family is furnished by itself with the clothing necessary for its own use. It is a subject no less of curiosity than of interest, to trace the 134 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. prejudices in favor of foreign fabrics. In our colonial condition, we were in a complete state of dependence on the parent country, as it respected manufactures, as well as commerce. For many years after the war, such was the partiality for her productions, in this country, that a gentleman's head could not withstand the influence of solar heat, unless covered with a London hat ; his feet could not bear the pebbles, or frost, unless protected by London shoes ; and the comfort or ornament of his person was only consulted when his coat was cut out by the shears of a tailor "just from London." At length, however, the wonderful dis- covery has been made, that it is not absolutely beyond the reach of American skill and ingenuity, to provide these articles, com- bining with equal elegance greater durability. And I entertain no doubt, that, in a short time, the no less important fact will be developed, that the domestic manufactories of the United States, fostered by Government, and aided by household exertions, are fully competent to supply us with at least every necessary article of clothing. I therefore, sir, for one (to use the fashionable cant of the day), am in favor of encouraging them, not to the extent to which they are carried in England, but to such an extent as will redeem us entirely from all dependence on foreign countries. There is a pleasure — a pride (if I may be allowed the expression, and I pity those who can not feel the sentiment), in being clad in the productions of our own families. Others may prefer the cloths of Leeds and of London, but give me those of Humphreysville. Aid may be given to native institutions in the form of bounties and of protecting duties. But against bounties it is urged, that you tax the whole for the benefit of a part only of the commu- nity ; and in opposition to duties it is alleged, that you make the interest of one part, the consumer, bend to the interest of another part, the manufacturer. The sufficiency of the answer is not always admitted, that the sacrifice is merely temporary, being ultimately compensated by the greater abundance and superiority of the article produced by the stimulus. But, of all practicable forms of encouragement, it might have been expected, that the one under consideration would escape opposition, if every thing ON DOMESTIC MANUFACTURES. 135 proposed in Congress were not doomed to experience it. What is it? The bill contains two provisions — one prospective, antici- pating the appropriation for clothing for the army, and the amendment proposes extending it to naval supplies, for the year 1811 — and the other, directing a preference to be given to home manufactures and productions, whenever it can be done without material detriment to the public service. The object of the first is, to authorize contracts to be made beforehand, with manufac- turers, and by making advances to them, under proper security, to enable them to supply the articles wanted, in sufficient quantity. When it is recollected that they are frequently men of limited capitals, it will be acknowledged that this kind of assistance, bestowed with prudence, will be productive of the best results. It is, in fact, only pursuing a principle long acted upon, of advancing to contractors with Government, on account of the magnitude of their engagements. The appropriation con- templated to be made for the year 1811, maybe restricted to such a sum as, whether we have peace or war, we must neces- sarily expend. The discretion is proposed to be vested in offi- cers of high confidence, who will be responsible for its abuse, and who are enjoined to see that the public service receives no material detriment. It is stated, that hemp is now very high, and that contracts, made under existing circumstances, will be injurious to Government. But the amendment creates no obliga- tion upon the Secretray of the Navy, to go into market at this precise moment. In fact, by enlarging his sphere of action, it admits of his taking advantage of a favorable fluctuation, and getting a supply below the accustomed price, if such a fall should occur prior to the usual annual appropriation. I consider the amendment, under consideration, of the first importance, in point of principle. It is evident, that whatever doubt may be entertained, as to the general policy of the manu- facturing system, none can exist, as to the propriety of our being able to furnish ourselves with articles of the first necessity, in time of war. Our maritime operations ought not, in such a state, to depend upon the casualties of foreign supply. It is not necessary that they should. With very little encouragement 136 SPEECHES OF IIEXEY CLAY. from Government, I believe we shall not want a pound of Russia hemp. The increase of the article in Kentucky has been rapidly great. Ten years ago there were but two rope manufactories in the State. Now there are about twenty, and between ten and fifteen of cotton bagging ; and the erection of new ones keeps pace with the annual augmentation of the quantity of hemp. Indeed, the western country alone, is not only adequate to the supply of whatever of this article is requisite for our OAvn con- sumption, but is capable of affording a surplus for foreign markets. The amendment proposed possesses the double recom- mendation of encouraging, at the same time, both the manufac- ture and the growth of hemp. For by increasing the demand for the wrought article, you also increase the demand for the raw material, and consequently present new incentives to its cultivator. The three great subjects that claim the attention of the national legislature, are the interests of agriculture, commerce, and man- ufactures. We have had before us, a proposition to afford a manly protection to the rights of commerce, and how has it been treated ? Rejected ! You have been solicited to promote agri- culture, by increasing the facilities of internal communication, through the means of canals and roads ; and what has been done ? Postponed ! We are now called upon to give a trifling support to our domestic manufactures, and shall we close the circle of congressional inefficiency, by adding this also to the catalogue ? ON EENEWING THE CHARTER OF THE FIRST BANK OF THE U. STATES. IX THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, 1811. The following speech will furnish the reader with a knowledge of the reasons, which induced Mr. Clay to oppose the re-charter of the First United States Bank. Mr. President : When the subject involved in the motion now under considera- tion was depending before the other branch of the Legislature, a disposition to acquiesce in their decision was evinced. For although the committee who reported this bill, had been raised many weeks prior to the determination of that House, on the proposition to re-charter the bank, except the occasional reference to it of memorials and petitions, we scarcely ever heard of it. The rejection, it is true, of a measure brought before either branch of Congress, does not absolutely preclude the other from taking up the same proposition ; but the economy of our time, and a just deference for the opinions of others, would seem to recommend a delicate and cautious exercise of this power. As this subject, at the memorable period when the charter was granted, called forth the best talents of the nation, as it has, on various occasions, undergone the most thorough investigation, and as we can hardly expect that it is susceptible of receiving any further elucidation, ic was to be hoped that we should have ]0 (1^7) 138 SPEECIIES OF HENRY CLAY. been spared useless debate. This was the most desirable, because there are, I conceive, much superior claims upon us, for every hour of the small portion of the session yet remaining to us. Under the operation of these motives, I had resolved to give a silent vote, until I felt myself bound, by the defying manner of the arguments advanced in support of the renewal, to obey the paramount duties I owe my country and its constitution ; to make one effort, however feeble, to avert the passage of what appears to me a most unjustifiable law. After my honorable friend from Virginia (Mr. Giles), had instructed and amused us, with the very able and ingenious argument, which he delivered on yesterday, I should have still forborne to trespass on the Senate, but for the extraordinary character of his speech. He discussed both sides of the question, with great ability and eloquence, and certainly demonstrated, to the satisfaction of all who heard him, both that it was constitutional and unconstitutional, highly proper and improper, to prolong the charter of the bank. The honor- able gentleman appeared to me in the predicament in which the celebrated orator of Virginia, Patrick Henry, is said to have been once placed. Engaged in a most extensive and lucrative practice of the law, he mistook, in one instance, the side of the cause in which he was retained, and addressed the court and jury in a very masterly and convincing speech, in behalf of his antagonist. His distracted client came up to him, while he was thus em- ployed, and, interrupting him, bitterly exclaimed, "You have undone me ! You have ruined me !" " Never mind, give your- self no concern," said the adroit advocate ; and, turning to the court and jury, continued his argument, by observing, "may it please your honors, and you, gentlemen of the jury, I have been stating to you what I presume my adversary may urge on his side. I will now show you how fallacious his reasonings, and groundless his pretensions, are." The skillful orator proceeded, satisfactorily rotated every argument he had advanced, and gained his cause! — a success with which 1 trust the exertion of my honorable friend will on this occasion be crowned. It has been said, by the honorable gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Crawford), that iliis has 1 n made a party question; ON' TEE BASK GHABTBB. 139 although the law incorporating the bank was passed prior to the formation of parties, and when Congress was not biased by party prejudices. (Mr. Crawford explained. He did not mean, that it had been made a party question in the Senate. His allu- sion was elsewhere.) I do not think it altogether fair, to refer to the discussions in the House of Representatives, as gentlemen belonging to that body have no opportunity of defending them- selves here. It is true that this law was not the effect, but it is no less true that it was one of the causes, of the political divi- sions in this country. And if, during the agitation of the pres- ent question, the renewal has, on one side, been opposed on party principles, let me ask if, on the other, it has not been advocated on similar principles ? Where is the Macedonian phalanx, the opposition, in Congress ? I believe, sir, I shall not incur the charge of presumptuous prophecy, when I predict we shall not pick up from its ranks one single straggler ! And if, on this occasion, my w r orthy friend from Georgia has gone over into the camp of the enemy, is it kind in him to look back upon his former friends, and rebuke them for the fidelity with which they adhere to their old principles ? I shall not stop to examine how far a representative is bound by the instructions of his constituents. That is a question be- tween the giver and receiver of the instructions. But I must be permitted to express my surprise at the pointed difference which has been made between the opinions and instructions of State Legislatures, and the opinions and details of the deputations with which we have been surrounded from Philadelphia. While the resolutions of those Legislatures, — known, legitimate, consti- tutional and deliberative bodies, — have been thrown into the background, and their interference regarded as officious; these delegations from self-created societies, composed of nobody knows whom, have been received by the committee, with the \umost complaisance. Their communications have been treasured up with the greatest diligence. Never did the Delphic priests collect with more holy care the frantic expressions of the agitated Pythia, or expound them with more solemnity to the astonished Grecians, than has the committee gathered the. opinions and 140 SPEECHES OF IIKNRY CLAY. testimonies of these deputes, and, through the gentleman from Massachusetts, pompously detailed them to the Senate ! Phila- delphia has her immediate representatives, capable of expressing her wishes, upon the floor of the other house. If it be improper for States to obtrude upon Congress their sentiments, it is much more highly so for the unauthorized deputies of fortuitous con- gregations. The first singular feature that attracts attention in this bill, is the new and unconstitutional veto which it establishes. The Constitution has required only, that after bills have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, they shall be presented to the President, for his approval or rejection ; and his determin- ation is to be made known in ten days. But this bill provides, that when all the constitutional sanctions are obtained, and when, according to the usual routine of legislation, it ought to be considered as a law, it is to be submitted to a new branch of the legislature, consisting of the President and twenty-four Directors of the Bank of the United States, holding their sessions in Phila- delphia ; and if they please to approve it, why then it is to become a law! And three months (the term allowed by out- law of May last, to one of the great belligerents, for revoking his edicts, after the other shall have repealed his) are granted them to decide whether an act of Congress shall be the law of the land or not ! — an act which is said to be indispensably necessary to our salvation, and without the passage of which, universal distress and bankruptcy are to pervade the country. Remember, sir, that the honorable gentleman from Georgia, has contended that this charter is no contract. Does it, then, become the representatives of the nation, to leave the nation at the mercy of a corporation? Ought the impending calamities to be left to the hazard of a contingent remedy? This vagrant power to erect a bank, after having wandered throughout the whole Constitution, in quest of some congenial spot to fasten upon, has been at length located by the gentleman from Georgia on that provision which authorizes Congress to lay and collect taxes, etc. In 1791, the power is referred to one part of the instrument; in 1811, to another. Sometimes it is ON THE BANS CHABTEB. 141 alleged to be deducible from the power to regulate commerce. Hard pressed here, it disappears, and shows itself under the grant to coin money. The sagacious Secretary of the Treasury, in 1791, pursued the wisest course ; he has taken shelter behind general high-sounding and imposing terms. He has declared, in the preamble to the act establishing the bank, that it will be very conducive to the successful conducting of the national finances ; will tend to give facility to the obtaining of loans, and will ha productive of considerable advantage to trade and indus- try in general. No allusion is made to the collection of taxes. What is the nature of this Government ? It is emphatically Federal, vested with an aggregate of specified powers for general purposes, conceded by existing sovereignties, who have them- selves retained Avhat is not so conceded. It is said that there are cases in which it must act on implied powers. This is not controverted, but the implication must be necessary, and obvi- ously flows from the enumerated power with which it is allied. The power to charter companies is not specified in the grant, and I contend is of a nature not transferable by mere implication. It is one of the most exalted attributes of sovereignty. In the exercise of this gigantic power we have seen an East India com- pany created, which has carried dismay, desolation and death, throughout one of the largest portions of the habitable world, — a company which is, in itself, a sovereignly, which has subverted empires and set up new dynasties, and has not only made war, but war against its legitimate sovereign ! Under the influence of this power, we have seen arise a South Sea company, and a Mississippi company, that distracted and convulsed all Europe, and menaced a total overthrow of all credit and confidence, and universal bankruptcy. Is it to be imagined that a power so vast would have been left bv the wisdom of the Constitution to doubtful inference? It has been alleged that there are many instances, in the Constitution, where powers in their nature incidental, and which would have necessarily been vested along with the principal, are, nevertheless, expressly enumerated ; and the power " to make rules and regulations for the government of the land and naval forces," which, it is said, is incidental to the 14:2 SPEECHES OF 1IKXKY CLAY. power to raise armies and provide a navy, is given as an example. What does this prove ? How extremely cautious the convention were to leave as little as possible to implication. In all cases where incidental powers are acted upon, the principal and inci- dental ought to be congenial with each other, and partake of a common nature. The incidental power ought to be strictly sub- ordinate and limited to the end proposed to be attained by the specified power. In other words, under the name of accom- plishing one object which is specified, the power implied ought not to be made to embrace other objects, which are not specified in the Constitution. If, then, you could establish a bank, to collect and distribute the revenue, it ought to be expressly restricted to the purpose of such collection and distribution. It is mockery, worse than usurpation, to establish it for a lawful object, and then to extend it to other objects which are not lawful. In deducing the power to create corporations, such as I have described it, from the power to collect taxes, the relation and condition of principal and incident are prostrated and destroyed. The accessory is exalted above the principal. As well might it be said, that the great luminary of day is an accessory, a satel- lite to the humblest star that twinkles forth its feeble light in the firmament of heaven ! Suppose the Constitution had been silent as to an individual department of this Government, could you, under the power to Jevy and collect taxes, establish a judiciary ? I presume not ; but if you could derive the power by mere implication, could you vest it with any other authority than to enforce the collection of the revenue ? A bank is made for the ostensible purpose of aiding 1 in the collection of the revenue, and while it is em>ar> - ed in this, th<' most inferior and subordinate of all its functions, it is made to diffuse itself throughout society, and to influence all the great operations of credit, circulation and commerce. Like the Virginia justice, you tell the man whose turkey had been Stolen, that your bonks of precedent furnish no form for his case, but that you v\ill grant him a precept to search for a cow, and when looking for that he may possibly find his turkey ! You Bay to this corporation, we can not authorize you to discount, (o ON THE BANK CHARTER. 1-13 emit paper, to regulate commerce, etc. No ! Our book has no precedents of that kind. But then we can authorize you to collect the revenue, and, while occupied with that, you may do whatever else you please ! What is a corporation, such as the bill contemplates? It is a 6plendid association of favored individuals, taken from the mass of society, and invested with exemptions and surrounded by im- munities and privileges. The honorable gentleman from Massa- chusetts (Mr. Lloyd) has said, that the original law, establishing the bank, was justly liable to the objection of vesting in that in- stitution an exclusive privilege, the faith of the government being pledged, that no other bank should be authorized during its existence. This objection, he supposes, is obviated by the bill under consideration ; but all corporations enjoy exclusive privi- leges ; that is, the corporators have privileges which no others possess ; if you create fifty corporations instead of one, you have only fifty privileged bodies instead of one. I contend, that the States have the exclusive power to regulate contracts, to declare the capacities and incapacities to contract, and to provide as to the extent of responsibility of debtors to their creditors. If Con- gress have the power to erect an artificial body, and say it shall be endowed with the attributes of an individual ; if you can be- stow on this object of your own creation the ability to contract, may you not, in contravention of State rights, confer upon slaves, infants, and femes covert the ability to contract? And if you have the power to say, that an association of individuals shall be responsible for their debts only in a certain limited degree, what is to prevent an extension of a similar exemption to individuals ? Where is the limitation upon this power to set up corporations ? You establish one in the heart of a State, the basis of whose capital is money. You may erect others whose capital shall consist of land, slaves, and personal estates, and thus the whole property within the jurisdiction of a State might be absorbed by these political bodies. The existing bank contends that it is beyond the power of a State to tax it, and if this pretension be well founded, it is in the power of Congress, bv chartering com- panies, to dry up all the sources of State revenue. Georgia has 144 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. undertaken, it is true, to levy a tax on the branch within her jurisdiction, but this law, now under a course of litigation, is considered as invalid. The United States own a great deal of land in the Slate of Ohio ; can this government, for the purpose of creating an ability to purchase it, charter a company ? Aliens are forbidden, I believe, in that State, to hold real estate ; could you, in order to multiply purchasers, confer upon them the capacity to hold land, in derogation of the local law ? I imagine this will be hardly insisted upon ; and yet there exists a more obvious cpnnection between the undoubted power, which is pos- sessed by this government, to sell its land, the means of exe- cuting that power by increasing the demand in the market, than there is between this bank and the collection of a tax. This gov- ernment has the power to levy taxes, to raise armies, provide a navy, make war, regulate commerce, coin money, etc., etc. It would not be difficult to show as intimate a connection between a corporation, established for any purpose whatever, and some one or other of those great powers, as there is between the reve- nue and the Bank of the United States. Let us inquire into the actual participation of this bank in the collection of the revenue. Prior to the passage of the act of 1800, requiring the collectors of those ports of entry, at which the principal bank, or any of its offices, are situated, to deposit with them the custom-house bonds, it had not the smallest agency in the collection of the duties. During almost one moiety of the period to which the existence of tins institution was limited, it was nowise insirumental in the collection of that revenue, to which it is now become indispensable ! The collec- tion, previous to 1800, was made entirely by the collectors; and even at present, where there is one port of entry, at which this bank is employed, there are eight or ten at which the collection is made as it was before 1800. And, sir, what does this bank or its branches, where resort is had to it? It does not adjust with the merchant the amount of duty, nor take his bond; nor, if the bond is not paid, coerce the payment by distress or otherwise. In fact, it Las no active agency whatever in the collection. Its operalion is merely passive; that is, if the obligor, after his bond ON THE BANK CHARTER. 1^5 is placed in the bank, discharges it, all is very well. Such is the mighty aid afforded by this tax-gatherer, without which the government can not get along ! Again, it is not pretended that the very limited assistance which this institution does in truth render, extends to any other than a single species of tax, that is, duties. In the collection of the excise, the direct and other inter- nal taxes, no aid was derived from any bank. It is true, in the collection of those taxes, the former did not obtain the same indul- gence which the merchant receives in paying duties. But what obliges Congress to give credit at all ? Could it not demand prompt payment of the duties ? And, in fact, does it not so de- mand in many instances ? Whether credit is given or not, is a matter merely of discretion. If it be a facility to mercantile operations (as I presume it is) it ought to be granted. But I deny the right to engraft upon it a bank, which you would not otherwise have the power to erect. You can not create the neces- sity of a bank, and then plead that necessity for its establishment. In the administration of the finances, the bank acts simply as a payer and receiver. The Secretary of the Treasury has money in New- York, and wants it in Charleston ; the bank will furnish him with a check, or bill, to make the remittance, which any merchant would do just as well. I will now proceed to show by fact, actual experience, not theoretic reasoning, but by the records of the Treasury them- selves, that the operations of that department may be as well conducted without, as with this bank. The delusion has con- sisted in the use of certain high-sounding phrases, dextrously used on the occasion ; " the collection of the revenue," " the ad- ministration of the finance," "the conducting of the fiscal affairs of the government," the usual language of the advocates of the bank, extort express assent, or awe into acquiescence, without inquiry or examination into its necessity. About the commence- ment of this year there appears, by the report of the Secretary of the Treasury of the seventh of January, to have been a little upward of two millions and four hundred thousand dollars in the treasury of the United States ; and more than one-third of this whole sum was in the vaults of local banks. In several instances, 13 146 SPEECHES OF HEXRY CLAY. where opportunities existed of selecting the bank, a preference has been given to the State Bank, or at least a portion of the de- posits has been made with it. In New- York, for example, there were deposited with the Manhattan Bank one hundred and eighty-eight thousand and six hundred and seventy dollars, although a branch bank is in that city. In this District, one hun- dred and fifteen thousand and eighty dollars were deposited with the Bank of Columbia, although here also is a branch bank, and yet the State banks are utterly unsafe to be trusted ! If the money, after the bonds are collected, is thus placed with these banks, I presume there can be no difficulty in placing the bonds them- selves there, if they must be deposited with some bank for col- lection ; which I deny. Again, one of the most important and complicated branches of the Treasury Department, is the management of our landed system. The sales have, in some years, amounted to upward of half a million of dollars, and are generally made upon credit, and yet no bank whatever is made use of to facilitate the collec- tion. After it is made, the amount, in some instances, has been deposited with banks, and, according to the Secretary's Report, which I have before adverted to, the amount so deposited, was, in January, upward of three hundred thousand dollars, not one cent of which was in the vaults of the Bank of the United States, or in any of its branches, but in the Bank of Pennsylvania, its branch at Pittsburg, the Marietta Bank, and the Kentucky Bank. Upon the point of responsibility, I can not subscribe to the opinion of the Secretary of the Treasury, if it is meant that the ability to pay the amount of any deposits which the Government may make, under any exigency, is greater than that of the State banks ; that the accountability of a ramified institu- tion, whose affairs are managed by a single head, responsible for all its members, is more simple than that of a number of inde- pendent and unconnected establishments, I shall not deny ; but, with regard to safety, I am strongly inclined to think it is on the side of the local banks. The corruption or misconduct of the parent, or any of its branches, may bankrupt or destroy the whole system, and the loss of the Government in that event, will ON THE BANK CHARTER. 147 be of the deposits made with each ; whereas, in the failure of one State Bank, the loss will be confined to the deposit in the vault of that bank. It is said to have been a part of Burr's plan to seize on the branch bank, at New Orleans. At that period, large sums, important from La Vera Cruz, are alleged to have been deposited with it, and if the traitor had accomplished the design, the Bank of the United States, if not actually bankrupt, might have been constrained to stop payment. It is urged by the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lloyd), that as this nation advances in commerce, wealth, and popula- tion, new energies will be unfolded, new wants and exigencies will arise, and hence he infers that powers must be implied from the Constitution. But, sir, the question is, shall we stretch the instrument to embrace cases not fairly within its scope, or shall we resort to that remedy, by amendment, which the Constitution prescribes ? Gentlemen contend, that the construction which they give to the Constitution, has been acquiesced in by all parties and under all administrations ; and they rely particularly on an act, which passed in 1804, for extending a branch to New Orleans; and another act of 1807, for punishing those who should for^e or utter forged paper of the bank. With regard to the first law, passed, no doubt, upon the recommendation of the Treasury Department, I would remark, that it was the extension of a branch to a Territory, over which Congress possesses the power of legislation almost uncontrolled, and where, without any constitutional impediment, charters of incorporation may be granted. As to the other act, it was passed no less for the benefit of the community than the bank ; to protect the ignorant and unwary from counterfeit paper, purporting to have been emitted by the bank. When gentlemen are claiming the ad- vantage supposed to be deducible from acquiescence, let me inquire what they would have had those to do, who believed the establishment of a bank an encroachment upon State rights. Were they to have resisted, and how ? By force ? Upon the change of parties, in 1 800, it must be well recollected, that the greatest calamities were predicted as a consequence of that event. 148 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. Intentions were ascribed to the new occupants of power, of viola- ting the public faith, and prostrating national credit. Under such circumstances, that they should act with great circumspec- tion was quite natural. They saw in full operation a bank, chartered by a Congress who had as much right to judge of their constitutional powers, as their successors. Had they revoked the law which gave it existence, the institution would, in all probability, have continued to transact business notwith- standing. The judiciary would have been appealed to, and, from the known opinions and predilections of the judges then composing it, they would have pronounced the act of incorpora- tion, as in the nature of a contract, beyond the repealing power of any succeeding legislature. And, sir, what a scene of confusion would such a state of things have presented ; an act of Congress, which was law in the statute book, and a nullity on the judicial records ! Was it not the wisest to wait the natural dissolution of the corporation, rather than accelerate that event by a repealing law involving so many delicate con- siderations ? When gentlemen attempt to carry this measure upon the ground of acquiescence or precedent, do they forget that We are not in Westminster Hall ? In courts of justice, the utility of uniform decision exacts of the judge a conformity to the adjudi- cation of his predecessor. In the interpretation and administra- tion of the law, this practice is wise and proper, and without it, every thing depending upon the caprice of the judge, we should have no security for our dearest rights. It is far otherwise when applied to the source of legislation. Here no rule exists but the Constitution, and to legislate upon the ground, merely, that our predecessors thought themselves authorized, under similar cir- cumstances, to legislate, is to sanctify error and perpetuate usurpation. But if we are to be subjected to the trammels of precedent, I claim, on the other hand, the benefit of the restric- tions under which the intelligent judge cautiously receives them. It is an established rule, that to give to a previous adjudication any effect, the mind of the judge who pronounced it must have been awakened to the subject, and it must have been a deliberate ON TIIE BANK CHARTER. 149 opinion formed after full argument. In technical language, it must not have been sub silentio. Now the acts of 1804 and 1 807, relied upon as pledges for the re-chartering of this company, passed not only without any discussions whatever of the constitutional power of Congress to establish a bank, but, I venture to say, without a single member having had his attention drawn to this question. I had the honor of a seat in the Senate when the latter law passed, probably voted for it, and I declare, with the utmost sincerity, that I never once thought of that point, and I appeal confidently to every honor- able member who was then present, to say if that was not his situation. This doctrine of precedents, applied to the Legislature, appears to me to be fraught with the most mischievous consequences. The great advantage of our system of government overall others, is, that we have a written Constitution defining its limits, and prescribing its authorities ; and that, however, for a time, faction may convulse the nation, and passion and party prejudices sway its functionaries, the season of reflection will recur, when, calmly retracing their deeds, all aberrations from fundamental principle will be corrected. But once substitute practice for principle ; the exposition of the Constitution for the text of the Constitution, and in vain shall we look for the instrument in the instrument itself ! It will be as diffused and intangible as the pretended Constitution of England ; and must be sought for in the statute book, in the fugitive journals of Congress, and in the reports of the Secretary of the Treasury ! What would be our condition, if we were to take the interpretations given to that sacred book, which is, or ought to be, the criterion of our faith, for the book itself? We should find the Holy Bible buried beneath the interpretations, glosses and comments of councils, synods and learned divines, which have produced swarms of intolerant and furious sects, partaking less of the mildness and meekness of their origin, than of a vindictive spirit of hostility toward each other! They ought to afford us a solemn warning to make that Constitution, which we have sworn to support, our invariable guide. * 150 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. I conceive, then, sir, that we were not empowered by the Constitution, nor bound by any practice under it, to renew the charter of this bank, and I might here rest the argument. But as there are strong objections to the renewal on the score of expediency, and as the distresses which will attend the dissolu- tion of the bank have been greatly exaggerated, I will ask for your indulgence for a few moments longer. That some temporary inconvenience will arise, I shall not deny ; but most ground- lessly have the recent failures in New York been attributed to the discontinuance of this bank. As well might you ascribe to that cause the failures of Amsterdam and Hamburg, of London and Liverpool. The embarrassments of commerce, the seques- trations in France, the Danish captures ; in fine, the belligerent edicts are the obvious sources of these failures. Their imme- diate cause is the return of bills upon London, drawn upon the faith of unproductive or unprofitable shipments. Yes, sir, the protests of the notaries of London, not those of New York, have occasioned these bankruptcies. The power of a nation is said to consist in the sword and the purse. Perhaps, at last, all power is resolvable into that of the purse, for with it you may command almost every thing else. The specie circulation of the United States is estimated, by some calculators, at ten millions of dollars, and if it be no more, one moiety is in the vaults of this bank. May not the time arrive, when the concentration of such a vast portion of the circulating medium of the country in the hands of any corporation, will be dangerous to our liberties ? By whom is this immense power wielded ? By a body, that, in derogation of the great principle of all our institutions, responsibility to the people, is amenable only to a few stockholders, and they chiefly foreigners. Suppose an attempt to subvert this Government, would not the traitor first aim, by force or corruption, to acquire the treasure of this com- pany ? Look at it in another aspect. Seven tenths of its capital are in the' hands of foreigners, and these foreigners chiefly English subjects. We are possibly on the eve of a rupture with that nation. Should such an event occur, do you apprehend that the English Premier would experience any difficulty in ON THE BANK CHARTER. 151 obtaining the entire control of this institution ? Republics, above all other Governments, ought most seriously to guard against foreign influence. All history proves, that the internal dissen- sions excited by foreign intrigue have produced the downfall of almost every free government that has hitherto existed ; and yet, gentlemen contend that we are benefited by the possession of this foreign capital ! If we could have its use, without its attending abuse, I should be gratified also. But it is in vain to expect the one without the other. Wealth is power, and, under whatsoever form it exists, its proprietor, whether he lives on this or the other side of the Atlantic, will have a proportionate influence. It is argued, that our possession of this English capital gives us a great influence over the British Government. If this reasoning be sound, we had belter revoke the interdiction as to aliens holding land, and invite foreigners to engross the whole property, real and personal, of the country. We had better, at once, exchange the condition of independent proprie- tors for that of stewards. We should then be able to govern foreign nations, according to the reasoning of the gentlemen on the other side. But let us put aside this theory and appeal to the decisions of experience. Go to the other side of the Atlantic and see what has been achieved for us there, by Englishmen holding seven tenths of the capital of this bank. Has it released from galling and ignominious bondage one solitary American seaman, bleeding under British oppression ? Did it prevent the unmanly attack upon the Chesapeake ? Did it arrest the promulgation, or has it abrogated the orders in council, — those orders which have given birth to a new era in commerce ? In spite of all its boasted effect, are not the two nations brought to the very brink of war ? Are we quite sure, that, on this side of the water, it has had no effect favorable to British interests. It has often been stated, and although I do not know that it is susceptible of strict proof, I believe it to be a fact, that this bank exercised its influence in support of Jay's treaty; and may it not have contributed to blunt the public sentiment, or paralyze the efforts of this nation against British agression ? DO 152 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. The Duke of Northumberland is said to be the most consider- able stockholder in the Bank of the United States. A late Lord Chancellor of England, beside other noblemen, was a large stockholder. Suppose the Prince of Essling, the Duke of Cadore, and other French dignitaries, owned seven eighths of the capital of this bank, should we witness the same exertions (I allude not to any made in the Senate) to re-charter it? So far from it, would not the danger of French influence be resounded throughout the nation ? I shall, therefore, give my most hearty assent to the motion for striking out the first section of the bill. ON THE UNITED STATES BANK QUESTION. ADDRESS TO IIIS CONSTITUENTS AT LEXINGTON, JUNE 3, 1816. Mr. Clay delivered a speech in the Senate of the United States, in 1811, in -which he opposed the re-charter of the first Bank of the United States. In the year 1816, he advocated a bill introduced by Mr. Calhoun of South-Carolina, for incorporating a similar institution. This bill passed both Houses of Congress, and was signed by President Madison.* The following address, in which Mr. Clay explains to electors of the Congres- sional district of Kentucky, which he represented, the reasons for his change of opinion on the subject of a National bank, will satisfy all candid persons, of his sincerity and patriotism, on both occasions. "On one subject, that of the Bank of the United States, to which at the late session of Congress he gave his humble sup- port, Mr. Clay felt particularly anxious to explain the grounds on which he had acted. This explanation, if not due to his own character, the State, and the district to which he belonged, had a right to demand. It would have been unnecessary, if his observations, addressed to the House of Representatives, pend- ing the measure, had been published ; but they were not pub- lished, and why they were not published he was unadvised. "When he was a member of the Senate of the United States, he was induced to oppose the renewal of the charter to the old Bank of the United States by three general considerations. The first was, that he was instructed to oppose it by the Legislature of the State. What were the reasons that operated with the * Thi9 speech was never published. ( 153) 15-4 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. Legislature, in o-ivinc{ the instruction, he did not know. He has understood from members of that body, at the time it was given, that a clause, declaring that Congress had no power to grant the charter, was stricken out ; from which it might be inferred, either that the Legislature did not believe a bank to be unconsti- tutional, or that it had formed no opinion on that point. This in- ference derives additional strength from the fact, that, although the two late senators from this State, as well as the present senators, voted for a National bank, the Legislature, which must have been well apprised that such a measure was in contemplation, did not again interpose, either to protest against the measure itself, or to censure the conduct of those senators. From this silence on the part of a body which has ever fixed a watchful eye upon the proceedings of the general government, he had a right to believe, that the Legislature of Kentucky saw, without dissatisfaction, the proposal to establish a national bank ; and that its opposition to the former one was upon grounds of expediency, applicable to that corporation alone, or no longer existing. But when, at the last session, the question came up as to the establishment of a national bank, being a member of the House of Representatives, the point of inquiry with him, was, not so much what was the opinion of the Legislature, although undoubtedly the opinion of a body so respectable would have great weight with him under any circumstances, as, what were the sentiments of his immediate constituents. These he believed to be in favor of such an insti- tution from the following circumstances : Iu the first place, his predecessor (Mr. Hawkins) voted for a national bank, without the slightest murmur of discontent. Secondly, during the last fall, when he was in his district, he conversed freely with many of his constituents upon that subject, then the most common topic of conversation, and all, without a single exception, as far as he recollected, agreed that it was a desirable if not the only efficient remedy for the alarming evils in the currency of the country. And, lastly, during the session, he received many letters from his constituents, prior to the passage of the bill, all of which concurred, he believed, without a solitary exception, in advising the measure. So far, then, from being instructed by ON THE BANK QUESTION. 155 his district to oppose the bank, he had what was perhaps tanta- mount to an instruction to support it — ihe acquiescence of his constituents in the vote of their former representative, and the communications, oral and written, of the opinions of many of them in favor of a bank. "The next consideration which induced him to oppose the renewal of the old charter, was, that he believed the corporation had, during a portion of the period of its existence, abused its powers and sought to subserve the views of a political party. Instances of its oppression, for that purpose, were asserted to have occurred at Philadelphia and at Charleston ; and, although denied in Congress by the friends of the institution, during the discussions on the application for the renewal of the charter, they were, in his judgment, satisfactorily made out. This oppression, indeed, was admitted in the House of Representatives, in the debate on the present bank, by a distinguished member of that party which had so warmly espoused the renewal *of the old charter. It mav be said, what securitv is there, that the new bank will not imitate this example of oppression ? He answered, the fate of the old bank, warning all similar institutions to shun politics, with which they ought not to have any concern ; the existence of abundant competition, arising from the great multi- plication of banks ; and the precautious which are to be found in the details of the present bill. " A third consideration upon which he acted in 1811, was, that as the power to create a corporation, such as was proposed to be continued, was not specifically granted in the Constitution, and did not then appear to him to be necessary to cany into effect any of the powers which were specifically granted, Congress was not authorized to continue the bank. The Constitution, he said, contained powers delegated and prohibitory, powers expressed and constructive. It vests in Congress all powers necessary to give effect to the enumerated powers — all that may be necessary to put into motion and activity the machine of Gov- ernment which it constructs. The powers that may be so neces- sary are deducible by construction. They are not defined in the Constitution. Thev are, from their nature, indefinable. When 156 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. the question is in relation to one of these powers, the point ot inquiry should be, is its exertion necessary to carry into effect any of the enumerated powers and objects of the general govern- ment? With regard to the degree of necessity, various rules have been, at different times, laid down ; but, perhaps, at last, there is no other than a sound and honest judgment exercised, under the checks and control which belong to the Constitution and to the people. "The constructive powers being auxiliary to the specifically granted powers, and depending for their sanction and existence upon a necessity to give effect to the latter, which necessity is to be sought for and ascertained by a sound and honest discretion, it is manifest that this necessity may not be perceived, at one time, and under one state of things, when it is perceived at another time, under a different state of things. The Constitution, it is true, never changes ; it is always the same ; but the force of circumstances and the lights of experience may evolve to the fallible persons charged with its administration, the fitness and necessity of a particular exercise of constructive power to-day, which they did not see at a former period. " Mr. Clay proceeded to remark, that when the application was made to renew the old charter of the Bank of the United States, such an institution did not appear to him to be so neces- sary to the fulfillment of any of the objects specifically enume- rated in the Constitution, as to justify Congress in assuming, by construction, a power to establish it. It was supported mainly upon the ground that it was indispensable to the treasury opera- tions. But the local institutions in the several States were at that time in prosperous existence, confided in by the commu- nity, having a confidence in each other, and maintaining an intercourse and connection the most intimate. Many of them were actually employed by the Treasury to aid thai department, in a part of its fiscal arrangements ; and they appeared to him to be fully capable of affording to it all the facility that it ought to desire in all of them. They superseded, in his judgment, the necessity of a national institution. But how stood the case in 181G. when he was called upon again to examine the pi wer of ON THE BANK QUESTION. 157 the general government to incorporate a national bank ? A total change of circumstances -was presented ; events of the utmost magnitude had intervened. "A general suspension of specie payments had taken place, and this had led to a train of consequences of the most alarming nature. He beheld, dispersed over the immense extent of the United States, about three hundred banking institutions, enjoy- ing in different degrees the confidence of the public, shaken as to them all, under no direct control of the general government, and subject to no actual responsibility to the State authorities. These institutions were emitting the actual currency of the United States ; a currency consisting of a paper, on which they neither paid interest nor principal, while it was exchanged for the paper of the community, on which both were paid. He saw these insti- tutions in fact exercising what had been considered, at all times and in all countries, one of the highest attributes of sovereignty, the regulation of the current medium of the country. They were no longer competent to assist the Treasury in either of the great operations of collection, deposit, or distribution, of the public revenues. In fact, the paper which they emitted, and which the Treasury, from the force of events, found itself con- strained to receive, was constantly obstructing the operations of that department. For it would accumulate where it was not wanted, and could not be used where it was wanted for the pur- poses of Government, without a ruinous and arbitrary brokerage. Every man who paid or received from the Government, paid or received as much less than he ought to have done as was the difference between the medium in which the payment was effected and specie. Taxes were no longer uniform. In New- England, where specie payments have not been suspended, the people were called upon to pay larger contributions than where they were suspended. In Kentucky, as much more was paid by the people in their taxes than was paid, for example, in the State of Ohio, as Kentucky paper was worth more than Ohio paper. "It appeared to Mr. Clay, that, in this condition of things, the general government could depend no longer upon these local 158 SPEECHES OF IIENRY CLAY. institutions, multiplied and multiplying daily ; coming into existence by the breath of eighteen State sovereignties, some of which by a single act of volition had created twenty or thirty at a time. Even if the resumption of specie payments could have been anticipated, the general government remaining passive, it did not seem to him that the general government ought longer to depend upon these local institutions exclusively for aid in its operations. But he did not believe it could be justly so antici- pated. It was not the interest of all of them that the renewal of specie payments should take place, and yet, without concert between all or most of them it could not be effected. With regard to those disposed to return to a regular state of things, great difficulties might arise, as to the time of its commencement. " Considering, then, that the state of the currency was such that no thinking man could contemplate it without the most serious alarm ; that it threatened general distress, if it did not ultimately lead to convulsion and subversion of the government ; it appeared to him to be the duty of Congress to apply a remedy, if a remedy could be devised. A National bank, with other auxiliary measures, was proposed as that remedy. Mr. Clav said, he determined to examine the question with as little preju- dice as possible arising from his former opinion. He knew that the safest course to him, if he pursued a cold, calculating pru- dence, was to adhere to that opinion, right or wrong. He was perfectly aware, that if he changed, or seemed to change it, he should expose himself to some censure. But, looking at the sub- ject with the light shed upon it by events happening since the commencement of the war, he could no longer doubt. A bank appeared to him not only necessary, but indispensably neces- sary, in connection with another measure, to remedy the evils of which all were but too sensible. He preferred, to the sugges- tions of the pride of consistency, the evident interests of the com- munity, and determined to throw himself upon their candor and justice. That which appeared to him in 181 1, under the state of things then existing, not to be necessary to the general gov- ernment, seemed now to be necessary, under the present state of things. Had he then foreseen what now exists, and no ON THE BANK QUESTION. 159 objection had lain against the renewal of the charter other than that derived from the Constitution, he should have voted for the renewal. "Other provisions of the Constitution, but little noticed, if noticed at all, on the discussions in Congress in 1811, would seem to urge that body to exert all its powers to restore to a sound state the money of the country. That instrument confers upon Congress the power to coin money, and to regulate the value of foreign coins ; and the States are prohibited to coin money, to emit bills of credit, or to make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts. The plain inference is, that the subject of the general currency was intended to be submitted exclusively to the general government. In point of fact, however, the regulation of the general currency is in the hands of the State governments, or, which is the same thing, of the banks created by them. Their paper has every quality of money, except that of being made a tender, and even this is im- parted to it by some States, in the law by which a creditor must receive it, or submit to a ruinous suspension of the payment of his debt. It was incumbent upon Congress to recover the con- trol which it had lost over the general currency. The remedy called for, was one of caution and moderation, but of firmness. Whether a remedy directly acting upon the banks and their paper thrown into circulation, was in the power of the general government or not, neither Congress nor the community were prepared for the application of such a remedy. An indirect remedy, of a milder character, seemed to be furnished by a National bank. Going into operation, with the powerful aid of the Treasury of the United States, he believed it would be highly instrumental in the renewal of specie payments. Conpled with the other measure adopted by Congress for that object, he believed the remedy effectual. The local banks must follow the example which the national bank would set them, of redeeming their notes by the payment of specie, or their notes will be dis- credited and put down. "If the Constitution, then, warranted the establishment of a bank, other considerations, beside those already mentioned, 160 SPEECHES OF HENKY CLAY. strongly urged it. The want of a general medium is every- where felt. Exchange varies continually, not only between different parts of the Union, but between different parts of the same cit} r . If the paper of a national bank were not redeemed in specie, it would be much better than the current paper, since, although its value in comparison with specie might fluctuate, it would afford a uniform standard. "If political power be incidental to banking corporations, there ought, perhaps, to be in the General Government some counterpoise to that which is exerted by the States. Such a counterpoise might not, indeed, be so necessary, if the States exercised the power to incorporate banks equally, or in propor- tion to their respective populations. But that is not the case. A single State has a banking capital equivalent, or nearly so, to one fifth of the whole banking capital of the United States. Four States combined, have the major part of the banking capital of the United States. In the event of any covulsion, in which the distribution of banking institutions might be important, it may be urged, that the mischief would not be alleviated by the creation of a National bank, since its location must be within one of the States. But in this respect the location of the bank is extremely favorable, being in one of the middle States, not likely from its position, as well as its loyalty, to concur in any scheme for sub- verting the Government. And a sufficient securitv against such contingency is to be found in the distribution of branches in different States, acting and re-acting upon the parent institution, and upon each other." ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT. IN TIIK HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MARCII 13, 1818. The views of Henry Clay, upon the subject of Internal Improvements, may be learned from the following able speech, delivered by him in the House of Representatives, March 13, 1818. I have been anxious to catch the eye of the chairman for a few moments, to reply to some of the observations which have fallen from various gentlemen. I am aware that, in doing this, I risk the loss of what is of the utmost value, — the kind favor of the House, wearied as its patience is, by this prolonged debate. But when I feel what a deep interest the Union at large, and particularly that quarter of it whence I come, has, in the decision of the present question, I can not omit any oppor- tunity of earnestly urging upon the House the propriety of retaining the important power which this question involves. It will be recollected that if, unfortunately, there should be a ma- jority both against the abstract proposition asserting the power, and against its practical execution, the power is gone forever, — the question is put at rest, so long as the Constitution remains as it is ; and with respect to any amendment, in this particular, I confess I utterly despair. It will be borne in mind, that the bill which passed Congress on this subject, at the last session, was rejected by the late President of the United States ; that at the commencement of the present session, the President communi- cated his clear opinion, after every effort to come to a different conclusion, that Congress does not possess the power contended 1 4 c 'ci ) 162 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. for, and called upon us to take up the subject, in the shape of an amendment to the Constitution ; and, moreover, that the pre- decessor of the present and late Presidents, has also intimated his opinion, that Congress does not possess the power. With the great weight and authority of the opinions of these distin- guished men against the power, and with the fact, solemnly- entered upon the record, that this House, after a deliberate review of the ground taken by it at the last session, has decided against the existence of it (if such, fatally, shall be the decision), the power, I repeat, is gone, — gone forever, unless restored by an amendment of the Constitution. With regard to the practi- cability of obtaining such an amendment, I think it altogether out of the question. Two different descriptions of persons, entertaining sentiments directly opposed, w T ill unite and defeat such an amendment ; one embracing those who believe that the Constitution, fairly interpreted, already conveys the power; and the other, those who think that Congress has not and ought not to have it. As a large portion of Congress, and probably a majority, believes the power to exist, it must be evident, if I am right in supposing that any considerable number of that majority w T ould vote against an amendment which they do not believe necessary, that any attempt to amend would fail. Considering, as I do, the existence of the power as of the first importance, not merely to the preservation of the union of the States, para- mount as that consideration ever should be over all others, but to the prosperity of every great interest of the country, agricul- ture, manufactures, commerce, in peace and in war, it becomes us solemnly, and deliberately, and anxiously, to examine the Constitution, and not to surrender it, if fairly to be collected from a just interpretation of that instrument. With regard to the alarm sought to be created, as to the nature of the power, by bringing up the old theme of " State Rights," I would observe, that if the illustrious persons just referred to are against us in the construction of the Constitution, they are on our side as to the harmless and beneficial character of the power. For it is not to be conceived, that each of them would have recommended an amendment to the Constitution, if they ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT. 163 believed that the possession of such a power, by the General Government, would be detrimental, much less dangerous, to the independence and liberties of the States. What real ground is there for this alarm ? Gentlemen have not condescended to show how the subversion of the rights of the States is to follow from the exercise of the power of internal improvements by the General Government. We contend for the power to make roads and canals, to distribute the intelligence, force and productions of the country, through all its parts ; and for such jurisdiction only over them, as is necessary to their preservation from wanton injury and from gradual decay. Suppose such a power is sus- tained and in full operation ; imagine it to extend to every canal made, or proposed to be made, and to every post road ; how inconsiderable and insignificant is the power in a political point of view, limited, as it is, with regard to place and to purpose, when contrasted with the great mass of powers retained by the State sovereignties ! What a small subtraction from the mass ! Even upon these roads and canals, the State governments, according to our principles, will still exercise jurisdiction over every possible case arising upon them, whether of crime or of contract, or any other human transaction, except only what immediately affects their existence and preservation. Thus defined, thus limited, and stripped of all factitious causes of alarm, I will appeal to the candor of gentlemen to say, if the power really presents any thing frightful in it ? With respect to post roads, our adversaries admit the right of way in the General Government. There have been, however, on this question, some instances of conflict, but they have passed away without any serious difficulty. Connecticut, if I have been rightly informed, disputed, at one period, the right of passage of the mail on the Sabbath. The general government persisted in the exercise of the right, and Connecticut herself, and every body else, have acquiesced in it. That there are two classes of powers in the Constitution, I believe has never been controverted by an American politician. We can not foresee and provide specifically for all contingencies. Man and his language are both imperfect. Hence the existence 16i SPEECHES OF HENBY CLAY. of construction, and of constructive powers. Hence also the rule, that a giant of the end is a grant of the means. If you amend the Constitution a thousand times, the same imperfection •of our nature and our language will attend our new works. There are two dangers to which we are exposed. The one is, that the general government may relapse into the debility which existed in the old confederation, and finally dissolve from the want of cohesion. The denial to it of powers plainly conferred, or clearly necessary and proper to execute the conferred powers, may produce this effect. And I think, with great deference to the gentleman on the other side, this is the danger to which their principles directly tend. The other danger, that of consolida- tion, Is, by the assumption of powers not granted nor incident to granted powers, or the assumption of powers which have been withheld or expressly prohibited. This was the danger of the period of 1798-9. For instance, that, in direct contradiction to a prohibitory clause of the Constitution, a sedition act was passed ; and an alien law Avas also passed, in equal violation of the spirit, if not of the express provisions of the Constitution. It was by such measures that the federal party (if parties might be named), throwing off the vail, furnished to their adversaries the most effectual ground of opposition. If they had not passed those acts, I think it highly probable that the current of power would have continued to flow in the same channel ; and the change of parties in 1801, so auspicious to the best interests of the country, as I believe, would never have occurred. 1 bei>- the commit tee — 1 entreat the true friends of the confed- erated union of these Slates — to examine this doctrine of State rights, and see to what abusive, if not dangerous consequences, it may lead, to whal extent it has been carried, and how it lias varied by the same State at different times. My doctrine is, that the States, as States, have no right to oppose the execution of the powers which the General Govern- ment asserts. Any State has undoubtedly the right to express its opinion, in the form of resolution or otherwise, and to pro- ceed, by Constitutional means, to redress any real or imaginary grievance; but it has no right to withhold its military aid, when ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT. 1G5 called upon by the high authorities of the general government, much less to obstruct the execution of a law regularly passed. To suppose the existence of such an alarming right, is to sup- pose, if not disunion itself, such a state of disorder and confu- sion as must inevitably lead to it. Greatly as I venerate the State which gave me birth, and much as I respect the judges of its supreme court, several of •whom are my personal friends, I am obliged to think that some of the doctrines which that State has recently held concerning State lights, are fraught with much danger. If those doctrines had been asserted during the late war, a large share of the public disapprobation which has been given to Massachusetts would have fallen to Virginia. What are these doctrines ? The courts of Virginia assert, that they have a right to determine on the Constitutionality of any law or treaty of the United States, and to expound them according to their own views, even if they should vary from the decision of the supreme court of the United States. They assert more — that from their decision there can be no appeal to the supreme court of the United States : and that there exists in Congress no power to frame a law, obliging the court of the State, in the last resort, to submit its decision to the supervision of the supreme court of the United States ; or, if I do not misunderstand the doctrine, to withdraw from the State tribunal, controversies involving the laws of the United States, and to place them before the Federal Judiciary. I am a friend, a true friend, to State rights; but not in all cases as they are asserted. The States have their appointed orbit; so has the Union ; and each should be confined within its fair, legitimate, and Constitutional sphere. We should equally avoid that subtle process of argument which dissipates into air the powers of this Government, and that spirit of encroachment which would snatch from the State, powers not delegated to the general government. We shall thus escape both the dangers I have noticed — that of relapsing into the alarming weakness of the confederation, which is described as a mere rope of sand ; and also that other, perhaps not the greatest danger, consolidation. No man deprecates more than I do, the idea of consolidation ; yet, between separation and 1G6 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. consolidation, painful as would be the alternative, I would greatly prefer the latter. I have contended, that the power to construct post roads is expressly granted in the power to establish post roads. If it be, there is an end of the controversy ; but if not, the next inquiry is, whether that power may be fairly deduced, by implication, from any of the special grants of power. To show that the power is expressly granted, I rnig"ht safely appeal to the argu- ments already used, to prove that the word establish, in this case, can mean only one thine- — the right of making. Several o-entle- men have contended, that the word has a different sense ; and one has resorted to the preamble of the Constitution, to show that the phrase " to establish justice," there used, does not con- vey the power of creation. If the word "establish" is there to be taken in the sense which gentlemen claim for it, that of adop- tion or designation, Congress could have a choice only of sys- tems of justice pre-existing. Will any gentleman contend, that we are obliged to take the Justinian code, the Napoleon code, the code of civil, or the code of common or canon law ? Establish- ment means in the preamble, as in other cases, construction, formation, creation. Let me ask, in all cases of crime, which are merely malum prohibitum, if you do not resort to construc- tion, to creating when you make the offense ? By your laws denouncing certain acts as criminal offenses, laws which the good of society requires you to pass, and to adapt to our peculiar condition, you do construct and create a system of rules, to be administered by the judiciary. But gentlemen say, that the word can not mean make; that you would not say, for exam- ple, to establish a ship, to establish a chair. In ihe application of this, as of all other terms, you must be guided by the nature of the subject; and if it can not properly be used in all cases, it does not follow that it can not be in any. And when we take into consideration, that, under the old articles of confederation, Congress had over (lie subject of post roads just as much power as gentlemen allow to the existing Government, that it was the general scope and spirit of the new Constitution to enlarge the powers of the general government, and that, in feet, in this very ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT. 167 clause, the power to establish post-offices, which was a one pos- sessed by the former government, I think that I may safely con- sider the argument, on this part of the subject, as successfully maintained. With respect to military roads, the concession that they may be made when called for by the emergency, is admit- ting that the Constitution conveys the power. And we may safely appeal to the judgment of the candid and enlightened, to decide between the wisdom of these two constructions, of which one requires you to wait for the exercise of your power until the arrival of an emergency, which may not allow you to exert it, and the other, without denying you the power, if you can exer- cise it during the emergency, claims the right of providing beforehand against the emergency. One member has stated what appeared to him a conclusive argument against the power to cut canals, that he had understood that a proposition, made in the convention to insert such a power, was rejected. To this argument more than one sufficient answer can be made. In the first place, the fact itself has been denied, and I have never yet seen any evidence of it. But, suppose that the proposition had been made and overruled, unless the motives of the refusal to insert it are known, gentlemen are not authorized to draw the inference that it was from hostility to the power, or from a desire to withhold it from Congress. May not one of the objections be, that the power was fairly to be inferred from some of the specific grants of power, and that it was therefore not necessary to insert the proposition ; that to adopt it, indeed, might lead to weaken or bring into doubt other incidental powers not enumerated? A member from New- York (Mr. Storrs), whose absence I regret on this occasion, not only on account of the great aid which might have been expected from him, but from the cause of that absence, has informed me, that, in the convention of that State, one of the objections to the Constitution by the anti-federalists was, that it was understood to convey to the General Government the power to cut canals. How often, in the course of the proceedings of this House, do we reject amend- ments, upon the sole ground that they are not necessarv, the prin- ciple of the amendment being already contained in the proposition. 16S SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. I refer to the Federalist, for one moment, to show that the only notice taken of that clause of the Constitution which relates to post roads, is favorable to my construction. The power, that book says, must always be a harmless one. I have endeavored to show, not only that it is perfectly harmless, but that every exercise of it must be necessarily beneficial. Nothing which tends to facilitate intercourse among- the States, says the Feder- alist, can be unworthy of the public care. What intercourse ? Even if restricted on the narrowest theory of gentlemen on the other side, to the intercourse of intelligence, they deny that to us, since they will not admit that we have the power to repair or improve the way, the right of which they yield us. In a more liberal and enlarged sense of the word, it will comprehend all those various means of accomplishing the object, which are cal- culated to render us a homogeneous people — one in feeling, in interest, and affection ; as we are one in our political relation. Is there not a direct and intimate relation between the poAver to make war, and military roads and canals? It is in A r ain that the convention have confided to the general government the tre- mendous pow r er of declaring war ; have imposed upon it the duty to employ the whole physical means of the nation to render the war, whatever may be its character, successful and glorious ; if the power is withheld of transporting and distributing those means. Whether we refer to our own experience, or that of other countries, we can not fail to perceive the great value of military roads. Those great masters of the world, the Romans, how did they sustain their power so many centuries, diffusing law, and liberty, and intelligence all around thorn? They made per- manent military roads ; and among the objpets of interest which Europe now presents are the remains of those Roman roads, which are shown to the curious inquirer. If there were no other monu- ment remaining 1 of the sagacity and of the illustrious deeds of the unfortunate captive of Saint Helena, the internal improvements which he made, the road from Hamburg to Basle, would per- petuate his memory to future ages. In making these allusions, let me not be misunderstood. I do not desire to see military roads established for the purpose of conquest, but of defense; ON INTEKNAL UtFBOVEMENT. 169 and as a part of that preparation which should bo made in a season of peace for a season of Avar. I do not wish to see this country ever in that complete state of preparation for war, for which some contend ; that is, that we should con- stantly have a large standing army, well disciplined, and always ready to act. Some principles drawn from political economists have been alluded to, and we are advised to leave things to themselves, upon the ground that, when the condition of society is ripe for internal improvements, — that is, when capital can be so invested with a fair prospect of adequate remuneration, they will be exe- cuted by associations of individuals, unaided by Government. With my friend from South Carolina (Mr. Lowndes), I concur in this as a general maxim ; and I also concur with him that there are exceptions to it. The foreign policy which I think this country ought to adopt, presents one of tiiose exceptions. It would perhaps be better for mankind, if, in the intercourse between nations, all would leave skill and industry to their un- stimulated exertions. But this is not done ; and if other powers will incite the industry of their subjects, and depress that of our citizens, in instances where they may come into competition, we must imitate their selfish example. Hence the necessity to pro- tect our manufactures. In regard to internal improvements, it does not follow, that they will always be constructed whenever they will afford a competent dividend upon the capital invested. It may be true generally, that in old countries, where there is a great accumulation of surplus capital, and a consequent low rate of interest, they will be made. But, in a new countrv, the con- dilion of society may be ripe for public works long before there is, in the hands of individuals, the necessary accumulation of capital to effect them ; and, beside, there is generally, in such a country, not only a scarcity of capital, but such a multiplicity of profitable objects presenting themselves, as to distract the judgment. Further ; the aggregate benefit resulting to the whole society, from a public improvement, may be such as to amply justify the investment of capital in its execution, and yet that benefit may be so distributed among different and distant 15 170 SPEECHES OF IIEKKY CLAY. persons, that they can never be got to act in concert. The turn- pike roads wanted to pass the Alleghany mountains, and the Delaware and Chesapeake canal, are objects of this description. Those who will be most benefited by these improvements, reside at a considerable distance from the sites of them ; many of those persons never have seen and never will see them. How is it possible to regulate the contributions, or to present to individuals so situated a sufficiently lively picture of their real interests, to get them to make exertions in effectuating the object, commen- surate with their respective abilities ? I think it very possible that the capitalist, who should invest his money in one of these objects, might not be reimbursed three per centum annually upon it ; and yet society, in various forms, might actually reap fifteen or twenty per centum. The benefit resulting from a turnpike road, made by private associations, is divided between the capi- talist who receives his tolls, the lands through which it passes, and which are augmented in their value, and the commodities whose value is enhanced by the diminished expense of trans- portation. A combination, upon any terms, much less a just combination, of all those interests, to effect the improvement, is impracticable. And if you await the arrival of the period when the tolls alone can produce a competent dividend, it is evident that you will have to suspend its execution long after the general interests of society would have authorized it. Again, improvements made by private associations, are gene- rally made by local capital. But ages must elapse before there will be concentrated in certain places, where the interests of the whole community may call for improvements, sufficient capital to make them. The place of the improvement, too, is not always the most interested in its accomplishment. Other parts of the Union, — the whole line of the seaboard, — are quite as much, if not more interested, in the Delaware and Chesapeake canal, as the small tract of country through which it is proposed to pass. The same observation will apply to turnpike roads pass- ing through the Allei>hanv mountains. Sometimes the interest of the place of the improvement is adverse to the improvement and to the general interest. I would cite Louisville, at the rapids ON INTERNAL IMl'KOVEMKNT. 171 of the Ohio, as an example, whose interest will probably be more promoted by the continuance, than the removal of the obstruc- tion. Of all the modes in which a government can employ its surplus revenue, none is more permanently beneficial than that of internal improvement. Fixed to the soil, it becomes a durable part of the land itself, diffusing comfort, and activity, and ani- mation on all sides. The first direct effect is on the agricultural community, into whose pockets comes the difference in the ex- pense of transportation between good and bad ways. Thus, if the price of transporting a barrel of flour by the erection of the Cumberland turnpike should be lessened two dollars, the pro- ducer of the article would receive that two dollars more now than formerly. But, putting aside all pecuniary considerations, there may be political motives sufficiently powerful alone to justify certain internal improvements. Does not our country present such ? How are they to be effected, if things are left to themselves ? I will not press the subject further. I am but too sensible how much I have abused the patience of the committee by trespassing so long upon its attention. The magnitude of the question, and the deep interest I feel in its rightful decision, must be my apology. We are now making the last effort to establish our power, and I call on the friends of Congress, of this House, or the true friends of State rights (not charging others with intending to oppose them), to rally round the Constitution, and to support by their votes, on this occasion, the legitimate powers of the Legislature. If we do nothing this session but pass an abstract resolution on the subject, I shall, under all circum- stances, consider it a triumph for the best interests of the coun- try, of which posterity will, if we do not, reap the benefit. I trust, that by the decision which shall be given, we shall assert, uphold and maintain, the authority of Congress, notwithstanding all that has been or may be said against it. OX THE GREEK REVOLUTION. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JANUARY 20, 1824. Mr. Clay sympathized warmly with the Greeks, in their struggles fop independence. The fearful atrocities upon the isle of Scio had excited the abhorrence of the whole civilized world against the Turks. Mr. Clay took occasion, January 20, 1824, to express his feelings upon the subject, in the House of Representatives, in the following terms : In rising, let me state distinctly the substance of the original proposition of the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Webster), with that of the amendment of the gentleman from South Caro- lina (Mr. Poinsett). The resolution proposes a provision of the means to defray the expense of deputing a commissioner or agent to Greece, whenever the President, who knows, or ought to know, the disposition of all the European powers, Turkish or Christian, shall deem it proper. The amendment goes to with- hold any appropriation to that object, but to make a public declaration of our sympathy with the Greeks, and of our good wishes for the success of their cause. And how has this simple, unpretending, unambitious, this harmless proposition been treated in debate ? It has been argued as if it offered aid to the Greeks ; as if it proposed the recognition of the independence of their government; as a measure of unjustifiable interference in the internal affairs of a foreign State, and, finally, as war. And they who thus argue the question, while they absolutely surren- der themselves to the illusions of their own fervid imaginations, and depict, in glowing terms, the monstrous and alarming con- sequences which are to spring out of a proposition so simple, (mi ON THE GREEK REVOLUTION. 173 impute to us, who are its humble advocates, quixotism, quixot- ism ! While they are taking the most extravagant and bound- less range, and arguing any thing and every thing but the question before the committee, they accuse us of enthusiasm, of giving the reins to excited feeling, of being transported by our imaginations. No, sir, the resolution is no proposition for aid, nor for recognition, nor for interference, nor for war. Mr. Chairman, is it not extraordinary that for these two suc- cessive years the President of the United States should have been freely indulged, not only without censure, but with universal applause, to express the feelings which both the resolution and the amendment proclaim, and yet, if this house venture to unite with him, the most awful consequences are to ensue? From Maine to Georgia, from the Atlantic ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, the sentiment of approbation has blazed with the rapidity of electricity. Everywhere the interest in the Grecian cause is felt with the deepest intensity, expressed in every form, and increases with every new day and passing hour. And are the repre- sentatives of the people alone to be insulated from the common moral atmosphere of the whole land ? Shall we shut our- selves up in apathy, and separate ourselves from our country, from our constituents, from our chief magistrate, from our principles ? The measure has been most unreasonably magnified. Gentle- men speak of the watchful jealousy of the Turk, and seem to think the slightest movement of this body will be matter of seri- ous speculation at Constantinople. I believe that neither the sublime porte, nor the European allies, attach any such exag- gerated importance to the acts and deliberations of this body. The Turk will, in all probability, never hear of the names of the gentlemen who either espouse or oppose the resolution. It cer- tainly is not without a value ; but that value is altogether moral ; it throws our little tribute into the vast stream of public opinion, which sooner or later must regulate the physical action upon the great interests of the civilized world. But, rely upon it, the Ottoman is not about to declare war against us because this unoffending proposition has been offered by my honorable friend 174 SPEECHES OF IIENRY CLAY. from Massachusetts, whose name, however distinguished and eminent he may be in our own country, has probably never reached the ears of the sublime porte. The allied powers are not going to be thrown into a state of consternation, because we appropriate some two or three thousand dollars to send an agent to Greece. The question has been argued as if the Greeks would be ex- posed to still more shocking enormities by its passage ; as if the Turkish cimeter would be rendered still keener, and dyed deeper and yet deeper in Christian blood. Sir, if such is to be the effect of the declaration of our sympathy, the evil has been already produced. That declaration has been already publicly and solemnly made by the chief magistrate of the United States, in two distinct messages. It is this document which commands at home and abroad the most fixed and universal attention ; which is translated into all the foreign journals ; read by sovereigns and their ministers ; and, possibly, in the divan itself. But our reso- lutions are domestic, for home consumption, and rarely, if ever, meet imperial or royal eyes. The President, in his messages, after a most touching representation of the feelings excited by the Greek insurrection, tells you that the dominion of the Turk is gone forever ; and that the most sanguine hope is entertained that Greece will achieve her independence. . "Well, sir, if this be the fact, if the allied powers themselves may, possibly, before we again assemble in this hall, acknowledge that independence, is it not fit and becoming in this House to make provision that our President shall be among the foremost, or at least not among the last, in that acknowledgement ? So far from this resolution being likely to whet the vengeance of the Turk against his Grecian viclims, I believe its tendency will be directly the reverse. Sir, with all his unlimited power, and in all the eleva- tion of his despotic throne, he is at last but man, made as we are, of flesh, of muscle, of bone and sinew. He is susceptible of pain, and can feel, and has felt the uncalculating valor of American freemen in some of his dominions. And when he is made to understand that the Executive of this Government is sustained by the representatives of the people ; that our entire ON THE GBEEK KKVoLUTION. 175 political fabric, base, column and entablature, rulers and people, with heart, soul, mind and strength, are all on the side of the gallant people whom he would crush, he will be more likely to restrain than to increase his atrocities upon suffering and bleed- ing Greece. It has been said, that the proposed measure will be a departure from our uniform policy with respect to foreign nations ; that it will provoke the wrath of the holy alliance; and that it will, in effect, be a repetition of their own offense, by an unjustifiable interposition in the domestic concerns of other powers. No, sir, not even if it authorized, which it does not, an immediate recog- nition of Grecian independence. What has been the settled and steady policy and practice of this Government, from the days of Washington to the present moment ? In the case of France, the father of his country and his successors received Genet, Fouchet, and all the French ministers who followed them, whether sent from king, convention, anarchy, emperor, or king again. The rule we have ever followed has been this : to look at the state of the fact, and to recognize that government, be it what it might, which was in actual possession of sovereign power. When one government is overthrown, and another is established on its ruins, without embarrassing ourselves with any of the principles involved in the contest, we have ever acknowledged the new and actual government as soon as it had undisputed existence. Our simple inquiry has been, is there a government de facto? We have had a recent and memorable example. When the allied ministers retired from Madrid, and refused to accompany Ferdi- nand to Cadiz, ours remained, and we sent out a new minister, who Bought at that port to present himself to the constitutional king. Why ? Because it was the government of Spain, in fact. Did the allies declare war against us for the exercise of this incontestable attribute of sovereign tv ? Did thev even transmit a:iv diplomatic note, complaining of our conduct? The line of our European policy has been so plainly described, that it is impossible to mistake it. We are to abstain from all interference in their disputes, to take no part in their contests, to make no entangling alliances with anv of them ; but to assert and exercise 170 SPEECHES OF HENEY CLAV. our indisputable right of opening and maintaining diplomatic intercourse with any actual sovereignty. Surely, sir, we need no long or learned lectures about the nature of government, and the influence of property or ranks on society. We may content ourselves with studying the true char- acter of our own people ; and with knowing thai the interests are ^confided to us of a nation capable of doing and suffering all things for its liberty. Such a nation, if its rulers be faithful, must be invincible. I well remember an observation made to me by the most illustrious woman * of the age, if not of her sex. All history showed, she said, that a nation was never conquered. No, sir, no united nation, that resolves to be free, can be con- quered. And has it come to this? Are we so humbled, so low, so debased, that we dare not express our sympathy for suffering Greece ; that we dare not articulate our detestation of the brutal excesses of which she has been the bleedine; victim, lest we might offend some one or more of their imperial and royal majesties ? If gentlemen are afraid to act rashly on such a subject, suppose, Mr. Chairman, that we unite in an humble petition, addressed to their majesties, beseeching them, that of their gracious conde- scension, they would allow us to express our feelings and our sympathies. How shall it run? "We, the representatives of the free people of the United States of America, humbly approach the thrones of your imperial and royal majesties, and supplicate that, of your imperial royal clemency" — I can not go through the disgusting recital ; my lips have not yet learned to pronounce the sycophantic language of a degraded slave ! Are we so mean, so base, so despicable, that we may not. attempt to express our horror, utter our indignation, at the most brutal and atrocious Avar that ever stained earth or shocked high heaven ; at the fero- cious deeds of a savage and infuriated soldiery, stimulated and urged on bv the clergy of a fanatical and inimical religion, and rioting in all the excesses of blood and butchery, at the mere details of which the heart sickens and recoils? If the great body of Christendom can look on calmly and * Madame do Stael. ON THE GREEK REVOLUTION. 177 coolly, while all this is perpetrated on a Christian people, in its own immediate vicinity, in its very presence, lei ns at least evince, that one of its remote extremities is susceptible of sensibility to Christian -wrongs, and capable of sympathy for Christian suffer- ings ; that in this remote quarter of the world, there are hearts not vet closed against compassion for human woes, that can pour out their indignant feelings at the oppression of a people endeared to us by every ancient recollection, and every modern tie. Sir, attempts have been made to alarm the committee, by the dangers to our commerce in the Mediterranean ; and a wretched invoice of figs and opium has been spread before us to repress our sensi- bilities and to eradicate our humanity. Ah ! sir, " what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul," or what shall it avail a nation to save the whole of a miserable trade, and lose its liberties ? On the subject of the other independent American States, hitherto it has not been necessary to depart from the rule of our foreign relations, observed in regard to Europe. Whether it will become us to do so or not, will be considered when we take up another resolution, lying on the (able. But we may not only adopt this measure ; we may go further ; we may recognize the government in the Morea, if actually independent, and it will be neither war, nor cause of Avar, nor any violation of our neutrality. Beside, sir, what is Greece to the allies ? A part of the domin- ions of any of them ? By no means. Suppose the people in one of the Philippine isles, or any other spot still more insulated and remote, in Asia or Africa, were to resist their former rulers, and set up and establish a new government, are we not to recog- nize them, in dread of the holy allies? If they are going to interfere, from the clanger of the contagion of the example, here is the spot, our own favored land, where the} 7 must strike. This government, you, Mr. Chairman, and the body over which you preside, are the living and cutting reproach to allied despotism. If we are to offend them, it is not by passing this resolution. We are daily and hourly giving them cause of war. It is here. and in our free institutions, that they will assail us. They will attack us because you sit beneath that canopy, and we are freely 178 SPEECHES OF IIEXRY CLAY. debating and deliberating upon the great interests of freemen, and dispensing the blessings of free government. They will strike, because we pass one of those bills on your table. The passage of the least of them, by our free authority, is more gall- ing to despotic powers, than would be the adoption of this so much dreaded resolution. Pass it, and what do you do ? You exercise an indisputable attribute of sovereignty, for which you are responsible to none of them. You do the same when you perform any other legislative function ; no less. If the allies object to this measure, let them forbid us to take a vote in this House ; let them strip us of every attribute of independent gov- ernment ; let them disperse us. Will gentlemen attempt to maintain that, on the principles of the law of nations, those allies would have cause of war ? If there be any principle which has been settled for ages, any which is founded in the very nature of things, it is that every indepen- dent State has the clear right to judge of the fact of the existence of other sovereign powers. I admit that there may be a state of inchoate initiative sovereignty, in which a new government, just struggling into being, can not be said yet perfectly to exist. But the premature recognition of such new government can give offense justly to no other than its ancient sovereign. The right of recognition comprehends the right to be informed ; and the means of information must, of necessity, depend upon the sound discretion of the party seeking it. You may send out a commis- sion of inquiry, and charge it with a provident attention to your own people and your own interests. Such will be the character of the proposed agency. It will not necessarily follow, that any public functionary will be appointed by the President. You merely grant the means by which the Executive may act when he thinks proper. What does he tell you in his message ? That Greece is contending for her independence ; that all sympathize with her ; and that no power has declared against her. Pass this resolution, and what is the reply which it conveys to him ? "You have sent us grateful intelligence; we feel warmly for Greece, and we grant you money, that, when you shall think it proper, when the interests of this nation shall not be jeoparded, ON THE GREEK REVOLUTION. 179 you may depute a eommissionel• or public agent to Greece." The whole responsibility is then left where the Constitution puts it. A member in his place may make a speech or proposi- tion, the House may even pass a vote, in respect to our foreign affairs, which the President, with the whole field lying full before him, would not deem it expedient to effectuate. But, sir, it is not for Greece alone that I desire to see this measure adopted. It will give to her but little support, and that purely of a moral kind. It is principally for America, for the credit and character of our common country, for our own un- sullied name, that I hope to see it pass. Mr. Chairman, what appearance on the page of history would a record like this exhibit? — "In the month of January, in the year of our Lord and Saviour, 1824, while all European Christendom beheld, with cold and unfeeling indifference, the unexampled wrongs and inexpressible misery of Christian Greece, a proposition was made in the Congress of the United Slates, almost the sole, the last, the greatest depository of human hope and human freedom, the representatives of a gallant nation, containing a million of free- men ready to fly to arms, while the people of that nation were spontaneously expressing its deep-toned feeling, and the whole continent, by one simultaneous emotion, was rising, and solemnly and anxiously supplicating and invoking high heaven to spare and succor Greece, and to invigorate her arms in her glorious cause, while temples and Senate Houses were alike resounding with one burst of generous and holy sympathy ; in the year of our Lord and Saviour, that Saviour of Greece and of us ; a pro- position was offered in the American Congress to send a mes- senger to Greece, to inquire into her state and condition, with a kind expression of our good wishes and our sympathies — and it was rejected !" Go home, if you can ; go home, if you dare, to your constituents, and tell them that you voted it down ; meet, if you can, the appalling countenances of those who sent you here, and tell them that you shrank from the declaration of your own sentiments ; that you can not tell how, but that some unknown dread, some indescribable apprehension, some inde- finable danger, drove you from your purpose ; that the spectres 180 SPEECHES OF IIENRY CLAY. of cimeters, and crowns, and crescents, gleamed before you and alarmed you ; and that you suppressed all the noble feelings prompted by religion, by liberty, by national independence, and by humanity. I can not bring myself to believe that such will be the feeling of a majority of the committee. But, for myself, though every friend of the cause should desert it, and I be left to stand alone with the gentleman from Massachusetts, I will give to his resolution the poor sanction of my unqualified appro- bation. ON AMERICAN INDUSTRY. IN THE IIOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MARCII 30 AND 31, 1824. In the following speech, delivered in the House of Representatives, March 30th and 31st, 1824, the reader will find one of Mr. Clat's ablest efforts in behalf of the American Protective System. The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Barbour) has embraced the occasion produced by the proposition of the gentleman from Tennessee to strike out the minimum price in the bill on cotton fabrics, to express his sentiments at large on the policy of the pending measure ; and it is scarcely necessary for me to say that he has evinced his usual good temper, ability, and decorum. The parts of the bill are so intermingled and interwoven together, that there can be no doubt of the fitness of this occasion to exhibit its merits or its defects. It is my intention, with the permission of the committee, to avail myself also of this opportu- nity, to present to its consideration those general views, as they appear to me, of the true policy of this country, which impe- riously demand the passage of this bill. I am deeply sensible, Mr. Chairman, of the high responsibility of my present situation. But that responsibility inspires me with no other apprehension than that I shall be unable to fulfill my duty with no other soli- citude than that I may, at least, in some small degree, contribute to recall my country from the pursuit of a fatal policy, which appears to me inevitably to lead to its impoverishment and ruin. I do feel most awfully this responsibility. And, if it were allow- able for us, at the present day, to imitate ancient examples, I would invoke the aid of the Most High. I would anxiously and C181) 182 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. fervently implore His divine assistance ; that He would be gra- ciously pleased to shower on my country His richest blessings ; and that He would sustain, on this interesting occasion, the humble individual who stands before Him, and lend him the power, moral and physical, to perform the solemn duties which now belong to his public station. Two classes of politicians divide the people of the United States. According to the system of one, the produce of foreign industry should be subjected to no other impost than such as may be necessary to provide a public revenue ; and the produce of American industry should be left to sustain itself, if it can, with no other than that incidental protection, in its competition, at home as well as abroad, with rival foreign articles. According to the system of the other class, while they agree that the imposts should be mainly, and may under any modification be safely, relied on as a fit and convenient source of public revenue, they would so adjust and arrange the duties on foreign fabrics as to afford a gradual but adequate protection to American industry, and lessen our dependence on foreign nations, by securing a cer- tain and ultimately a cheaper and better supply of our own wants from our own abundant resources. Both classes are equally sincere in their respective opinions, equally honest, equally patriotic, and desirous of advancing the prosperity of the country. In the discussion and consideration of these opposite opinions, for the purpose of ascertaining which has the support of truth and reason, we should, therefore, exercise every indulgence, and the greatest spirit of mutual moderation and forbearance. And, in our deliberations on this great question, we should look fear- lessly and truly at the actual condition of the country, retrace the causes which have brought us into it, and snatch, if possi- ble, a view of the future. We should, above all, consult expe- rience — the experience of other nations, as well as our own — as our truest and most unerring iruide. In casting our eyes around us, the most prominent circum- stance which fixes our attention, and challenges our deepest regret, is the general distress which pervades the whole country. It is forced upon us by numerous facts of the most incontestable ON AMERICAN INDUSTRY. 183 character. It is indicated by the diminished exports of native produce ; by the depressed and reduced state of our foreign navigation ; by our diminished commerce ; by successive un- thrashed crops of grain, perishing in our barns and barn-yards for the want of a market ; by the alarming diminution of the cir- culating medium ; by the numerous bankruptcies, not limited to the trading classes, but extending to all orders of society ; by a universal complaint of the want of employment, and a conse- quent reduction of the wages of labor; by the ravenous pursuit after public situations, not for the sake of their honors and the performance of their public duties, but as a means of private subsistence ; by the reluctant resort to the perilous use of paper money ; by the intervention of legislation in the delicate relation between debtor and creditor ; and, above all, by the low and depressed state of the value of almost every description of the whole mass of the property of the nation, which has, on an average, sunk not less than about fifty per centum within a few years. This distress pervades every part of the Union, every class of society ; all feel it, though it may be felt, at different places, in different degrees. It is like the atmosphere which surrounds us — all must inhale it, and none can escape it. In some places it has burst upon our people, without a single miti- gating circumstance to temper its severity. In others, more fortunate, slight alleviations have been experienced in the ex- penditure of the publie revenue, and in other favoring causes. A few years ago, the planting interest consoled itself with its happy exemptions, but it has now reached this interest also, which experiences, though with less severity, the general suf- fering. It is most painful to me to attempt to sketch or to dwell on the gloom of this picture. But I have exaggerated nothing. Perfect fidelity to the original would have authorized me to have thrown on deeper and darker hues. And it is the duty of the statesman, no less than that of the physician, to survey, with a penetrating, steady, and undismayed eye, the actual condition of the subject on which he would operate ; to probe to the bottom the diseases of the body politic, if he would apply efficacious remedies. We have not, thank God, suffered in any great ISi BPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. decree for food. But distress, resulting from the absence of a supply of the mere physical wants of our nature, is not the only nor perhaps the keenest distress, to -which we may be exposed. Moral and pecuniary suffering is, if possible, more poignant. It plunges its victim into hopeless despair. It poisons, it paralyzes, the spring and source of all useful exertion. Its unsparing action is collateral as well as direct. It falls with inexorable force at the same time upon the wretched family of embarrass- ment and insolvency, and upon its head. They are a faithful mirror, reflecting back upon him, at once, his own frightful image, and that, no less appalling, of the dearest objects of his affection. What is the cause of this wide-spreading distress, of this deep depression, which we behold stamped on the public countenance ? We are the same people. We have the same country. We can not arraign the bounty of Providence. The showers still fall in the same grateful abundance. The sun still casts his genial and vivifying influence upon the land ; and the land, fertile and diversified in its soils as ever, yields to the industrious cultivator, in boundless profusion, its accustomed fruits, its richest treasures. Our vigor is unimpaired. Our industry has not relaxed. If ever the accusation of wasteful ex- travagance could be made against our people, it can not now be justly preferred. They, on the contrary, for the few last years, at least, have been practicing the most rigid economy. The causes, then, of our present affliction, whatever they may be, are human causes, and human causes not chargeable upon the people, in their private and individual relations. What, again I would ask, is the cause of the unhappy condi- tion of our country, which I have faintly depicted ? It is to be found in the fact that, during almost the whole existence of this Government, we have shaped our industry, our navigation, and our commerce, in reference to an extraordinary war in Europe, and to foreign markets, which no longer exist ; in the fact, that we have depended too much upon foreign sources of supply, and excited too little the native ; in the fact that, while we have cul- tivated, with assiduous care, our foreign resources, we have suffered those at home to wither, in a state of neglect and aban- ON AMERICAN INDUSTRY. 185 donment. The consequence of the termination of the war of Europe has been, the resumption of European commerce, Eu- ropean navigation, and the extension of European agriculture and European industry, in all its branches. Europe, therefore, has no longer occasion, to any thing like the same extent as that she had during her wars, for American commerce, American navigation, the produce of American industry. Europe, in commotion, and convulsed throughout all her members, is to America no longer the same Europe as she is now, tranquil, and watching with the most vigilant attention all her own peculiar interests, without regard to the operation of her policy upon us. The effect of this altered state of Europe upon us has been, to circumscribe the employment of our marine, and greatly to reduce the value of the produce of our territorial labor. The further effect of this twofold reduction has been, to decrease the value of all property, whether on the land or on the ocean, and which I suppose to be about fifty per centum. And the still further effect has been, to diminish the amount of our circulating medium, in a proportion not less, by its transmission abroad, or its withdrawal by the banking institutions, from a necessity which they could not control. The quantity of money, in whatever form it may be, which a nation wants, is in proportion to the total mass of its wealth, and to the activity of that wealth. A nation that has but little wealth, has but a limited want of money. In stating the fact, therefore, that the total wealth of the country has diminished, within a few years, in a ratio of about fifty per centum, we shall, at once, fully comprehend the inevitable reduc- tion which must have ensued in the total quantity of the circu- lating medium of the country. A nation is most prosperous when there is a gradual and untempting addition to the ao-o-re- gate of its circulating medium. It is in a condition tlie most adverse, when there is a rapid diminution in the quantity of the circulating medium, and a consequent depression in the value of property. In the former case, the wealth of individuals insensibly increases, and income keeps ahead of expenditure. But in the latter instance, debts have been contracted, enffaere- ments made, and habits of expense established, in reference to 16 186 SPEECHES OP Ili:XRY CLAY. the existing state of wealth and of its representative. When these come to be greatly reduced, individuals tind their debts still existing, their engagements unexecuted, and their habits inveterate. They see themselves in the possession of the same property, on which, in good faith, they had bound themselves. But that property, without their fault, possesses no longer the same value ; and hence discontent, impoverishment, and ruin arise. Let us suppose, Mr. Chairman, that Europe was again the theater of such a general war as recently raged throughout all her dominions, — such a state of the war as existed in her greatest exertions and in our greatest prosperity ; instantly there would arise a greedy demand for the surplus produce of our industry, for our commerce, for our navigation. The languor which now prevails in our cities, and in our seaports, would give way to an animated activity. Our roads and rivers would be crowded with the produce of the interior. Everywhere Ave should witness excited industry. The precious metals would reflow from abroad upon us. Banks, which have maintained their credit, would revive their business ; and new banks would be established to take the place of those which have sunk beneath the general pressure. For it is a mistake to suppose that they have produced our present adversity ; they may have somewhat atrirravated it, but they were the. effect and the evidence of our prosperity. Prices would again get xip ; the former value of property would be restored. And those embarrassed persons who have not been already overwhelmed by the times, would suddenly find, in the augmented value of their property, and the renewal of their business, ample means to extricate them- selves from all their difficulties. The greatest want of civilized society is, a market for the sale and exchange of the surplus of the produce of the labor of its members. This market may exist at home or abroad, or both ; but it must exist somewhere, if society prospers; and. wherever it does exist, it should bo competent to the absorption of the entire surplus of production. It is most desirable that there should be both a home and a foreign market. But, with respect to their relative superiority, I can not entertain a doubt The home market i* first in order, ON AMERICAN INDUSTRY. 187 and paramount in importance. The object of the bill under con- sideration, is, to create this home market, and to lay the founda- tions of a genuine American policy. It is opposed ; and it is incumbent upon the partisans of the foreign policy (terms which I shall use without any invidious intent), to demonstrate that the foreign market is an adequate vent for the surplus produce of our labor. But is it so ? First, foreign nations can not, if they would, take our surplus produce. If the source of supply, no matter of what, increases in a greater ratio than the demand for that supply, a glut of the market is inevitable, even if we sup- pose both to remain perfectly unobstructed. The duplication of our population takes place in terms of about twenty-five years. The term will be more and more extended as our numbers mul- tiply. But it will be a sufficient approximation to assume this ratio for the present. We increase, therefore, in population, at the rate of about four per centum per annum. Supposing the increase of our production to be in the same ratio, we should, every succeeding year, have of surplus produce, four per centum more than that of the preceding year, without taking into the account the differences of seasons which neutralize each other. If, therefore, we are to rely upon the foreign market exclusively, foreign consumption ought to be shown to be increasing in the same ratio of four per centum per annum, if it be an adequate vent for our surplus produce. But, as I have supposed the measure of our increasing production to be furnished by that of our increasing population, so the measure of their power of consumption must be determined by that of the increase of their population. Now, the total foreign population, who con- sume our surplus produce, upon an average, do not double their aggregate number in a shorter term than that of about one hundred years. Our powers of production increase then, in a ratio four times greater than their powers of consumption. And hence their utter inability to receive from us our surplus produce. The policy of all Europe is adverse to the reception of our agricultural produce, so far as it comes into collision with its own ; and under that limitation we are absolutely forbid to enter $ 1S8 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. their ports, except under circumstances which deprive them of all value as a steady market. The policy of all Europe rejects those great staples of our country, which consist of objects of human subsistence. The policy of all Europe refuses to receive from us any thing- but those raw materials of smaller value, essen- tial to their manufactures, to which they can give a higher value, with the exception of tobacco and rice, which they can not produce. Even Great Britain, to which we are its best customer, and from which we receive nearly one-half in value of our whole imports, will not take from us articles of subsistence produced in our country cheaper than can be produced in Great Britain. In adopting this exclusive policy, the States of Europe do not inquire what is best for us, but what suits themselves respec- tively ; they do not take jurisdiction of the question of our inter- ests, but limit the object of their legislation to that of the con- servation of their own peculiar interests, leaving us free to prose- cute ours as we please. They do not guide themselves by that romantic philanthropy, which we see displayed here, and which invokes us to continue to purchase the produce of foreign indus- try, without regard to the state or prosperity of our own, that foreigners may be pleased to purchase the few remaining articles of ours, which their restricted policy lias not yet absolutely ex- cluded from their consumption. "What sort of a figure would a member of the British Parliament have made, what sort of a reception would his opposition have obtained, if he had remon- strated against the passage of the corn-law, by which British consumption is limited to the bread-stuffs of British production, to the entire exclusion of American, and stated, that America could not and would not buy British manufactures, if Britain did not buy American flour ? Both the inability and the policy of foreign powers, then, forbid us to rely upon the foreign market, as being an adequate vent for the surplus produce of American labor. Our agricultural, is our greatest interest. Ii oughl ever to be predominant. All others should bend to it. And, in consider- ing what is for its advantage, we should contemplate it in all its varieties, of planting, fanning, and grazing. Can we do nothing ON AMERICAN INDUSTRY. 189 to invigorate it ; nothing to correct the errors of the past, and to brighten the still more unpromising prospects which lie before us ? We have seen, I think, the causes of- the distresses of the country. We have seen, that an exclusive dependence upon the foreign market must lead to still severer distress, to impoverish- ment, to ruin, We must then change somewhat our course. We must give a new direction to some portion of our industry. We must speedily adopt a genuine American policy. Still cher- ishing the foreign market, let us create also a home market, to give further scope to the consumption of the produce of Amer- ican industry. Let us counteract the policy of foreigners, and withdraw the support which we now give to their industry, and stimulate that of our own country. It should be a prominent object with wise legislators, to multiply the vocations and extend the business of society, as far as it can be done, by the protec- tion of our interests at home, against the injurious effects of foreign legislation. Suppose we were a nation of fishermen, or of skippers, to the exclusion of every other occupation, and the Legislature had the power to introduce the pursuits of agricul- ture and manufactures, would not our happiness be promoted by an exertion of its authority? All the existing employments of society — the learned professions — commerce — agriculture — are now overflowing. We stand in each other's way. Hence the want of employment. Hence the eager pursuit after public stations, which I have before glanced at. I have been again and again shocked, during this session, by instances of solicita- tion for places, before the vacancies existed. The pulse of incumbents who happen to be taken ill, is not marked with more anxiety by the attending physicians, than by those who desire to succeed them, though with very opposite feelings. Our old friend, the faithful sentinel, who has stood so long at out- door, and the gallantry of whose patriotism deserves to be noticed, because it was displayed when that virtue was most rare and most wanted, on a memorable occasion in this unfortu- nate city, became indisposed some weeks ago. The first intelli- gence which I had of his dangerous illness, was by an applica- tion for his unvaeated place. I hastened to assure myself of the 190 SPEECIIES OF HENKY CLAY. extent of his danger, and was happy to find that the eagerness of succession outstripped the progress of disease. By creating a new and extensive business, then, we should not only give em- ployment to those who want it, and augment the sum of national wealth, by all that this new business would create, but we should meliorate the condition of those who are now enoao-ed in existing employments. In Europe, particularly in Great Britain, their large standing armies, large navies, large even on their peace arrangement, their established church, afford to their population employments which, in that respect, the happier constitution of our government does not tolerate but in a very limited degree. The peace establishments of our army and our navy, are ex- tremely small, and I hope ever will be. We have no established church, and I trust never shall have. In proportion as the enterprise of our citizens in public employments is circum- scribed, should we excite and invigorate it in private pursuits. The creation of a home market is not only necessary to pro- cure for our agriculture a just reward of its labors, but it is indispensable to obtain a supply of our necessary wants. If we can not sell, we can not buy. That portion of our population (and we have seen that it is not less than four-fifths), which makes comparatively nothing that foreigners will buy, has nothing to make purchases with from foreigners. It is in vain that we are told of the amount of our exports supplied by the planting interest. They may enable the planting interest to sup- ply all its wants : but they bring no ability to the interests not planting ; unless, which can not be pretended, the planting inter- est was an adequate vent for the surplus produce of the labor of all other interests. It is in vain to tantalize us with the orealer O cheapness of foreign fabrics. There must be an ability to pur- chase, if an article be obtained, whatever maybe the price, high or low, at which it is sold. And a cheap article is as much beyond the grasp of him who has no means to buy, as a high one. Even if it were true that the American manufacturer would supply consumption at dearer rates, it is better to have his fabrics than the unattainable foreign fabrics; because it is better to be ill supplied than not supplied at all. A coar-e coat, which ON AMERICAN INDUSTRY. 191 will communicate warmth and cover nakedness, is better than no coat. The superiority of the home market results, first, from its steadiness and comparative certainty at all times ; secondly, from the creation of reciprocal interest ; thirdly, from its greater security ; and, lastly, from an ultimate and not distant augmenta- tion of consumption (and consequently of comfort), from in- creased quantity and reduced prices. But this home market, highly desirable as it is, can only be created and cherished by the protection of our own legislation against the inevitable pros- tration of our industry, which must ensue from the action of foreign policy and legislation. The effect and the value of this domestic care of our own interests will be obvious from a few facts and considerations. Let us suppose that half a million of persons are now employed abroad in fabricating, for our con- sumption, those articles, of which, by the operation of this bill, a supply is intended to be provided within ourselves. That half a million of persons are, in effect, subsisted by us ; but then- actual means of subsistence are drawn from foreign agriculture. If we could transport them to this country, and incorporate them in the mass of our own population, there would instantly arise a demand for an amount of provisions equal to that which would be requisite for their subsistence throughout the whole year. That demand, in the article of flour alone, would not be less than the quantity of about nine hundred thousand barrels, beside a proportionate quantity of beef, and pork, and other articles of subsistence. But nine hundred thousand barrels of flour ex- ceeded the entire quantity exported last year, by nearly one hundred and fifty thousand barrels. What activity would not this give, what cheerfulness Avould it not communicate, to our now dispirited farming interest! But if, instead of these five hundred thousand artisans emigrating from abroad, we give by this bill employment to an equal number of our own citizens, now engaged in unprofitable agriculture, or idle, from the want of business, the beneficial effect upon the productions of our farming labor would be nearly doubled. The quantity would be diminished by a subtraction of the produce from the labor of all those who should be diverted from its pursuits to manufacturing 192 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. industry, and the value of the residue would be enhanced, both by that diminution and the creation of the home market, to the extent supposed. And the honorable gentleman from Virginia may express any apprehensions which he entertains, that the plow will be abandoned, and our fields remain unsown. For, under all the modifications of social industry, if you will secure to it a just reward, the greater attractions of agriculture will give to it that proud superiority which it has always maintained. But, according to the opponents of the domestic policy, the proposed system will force capital and labor into new and reluct- ant employments ; we are not prepared, in consequence of the high price of wages, for the successful establishment of manu- factures, and we must fail in the experiment. We have seen, that the existing occupations of our society, those of agriculture, commerce, navigation, and the learned professions, are over- flowing with competitors, and that the want of employment is severely felt. Now what does this bill propose ? To open a new and extensive field of business, in which all that choose may enter. There is no compulsion upon any one to engage in it. An option only is given to industry, to continue in the present unprofitable pursuits, or to embark in a new and promis- ing one. The effect will be, to lessen the competition in the old branches of business, and to multiply our resources for increas- ing: our comforts, and augmenting the national wealth. The alleged fact of the high price of wages is not admitted. The truth is, that no class of society suffers more, in the present stagnation of business, than the laboring class. That is a neces- sary effect of the depression of agriculture, the principal business of the community. The wages of able-bodied men vary from five to eight dollars per month, and such has been the want of employment, in some parts of the Union, that instances have not been unfrequent, of men working merely for the means of pres- ent subsistence. If the waires for labor here and in England are compared, they will be found not to be essentially different. I agree with the honorable gentleman from Virginia, that high wages are a proof of national prosperity; Ave differ only in the means bv which (hat desirable end shall be attained. But, if ON AMEKICAN INDUSTRY. 193 the fact were true, that the wages of labor are high, I deny the correctness of the argument founded upon it. The argument assumes, that natural labor is the principal element in the busi- ness of manufacture. That was the ancient theory. But the valuable inventions and vast improvements in machinery, which have been made within a few past years, have produced a new era in the arts. The effect of this change, in the powers of pro- duction, may be estimated, from what I have already stated in relation to England, and to the triumphs of European artificial labor over the natural labor of Asia. In considering the fitness of a nation for the establishment of manufactures, Ave must no longer limit our views to the state of its population, and the price of wages. All circumstances must be regarded, of which that is, perhaps, the least important. Capital, ingenuity in the con- struction and adroitness in the use of machinery, and the posses- sion of the raw materials, are those which deserve the greatest consideration. All these circumstances (except that of capital, of which there is no deficiency), exist in our country in an eminent degree, and more than counterbalance the disadvantage, if it really existed, of the lower wages of labor in Great Britain. The dependence upon foreign nations for the raw material of any great manufacture, has been ever considered as a discouraging fact. The state of our population is peculiarly favorable to the most extensive introduction of machinery. We have no preju- dices to combat, no persons to drive out of employment. The pamphlet, to which we have had occasion so often to refer, in enumerating the causes which have brought in England their manufactures to such a state of perfection, and which now enable them, in the opinion of the writer, to defy all competition, does not specify, as one of them, low wages. It assigns three, — first, capital ; secondly, extent and costliness of machinery ; and thirdly, steady and persevering industry. Notwithstanding the concurrence of so many favorable causes, in our country, for tho introduction of the arts, we are earnestly dissuaded from making the experiment, and our ultimate failure is confidently predicted. Why should we fail ? Nations, like men, fail in nothing which they boldly attempt, when sustained by virtuous purpose and 17 194 SPEECHES OF IIEXRY CLAY. firm resolution. I am not 'willing to admit this depreciation of American skill and enterprise. I am not willing- to strike before an effort is made. All our past history exhorts us to proceed, and inspires us with animating hopes of success. Past predic- tions of our incapacity have failed, and present predictions will not be realized. At the commencement of this Government, we were told that the attempt would be idle to construct a marine adequate to the commerce of the country, or even to the business of its coasting 1 trade. The founders of our Government did not listen to these discouraging counsels ; and, behold the fruits of their just comprehension of our resources. Our restrictive policy was denounced, and it "was foretold that it -would utterly disappoint all our expectations. But our restrictive policy has been eminently successful ; and the share which our navigation now enjoys in the trade with France, and with the British West India islands, attests its victory. What were not the dishearten- ing predictions of the opponents of the late -war? Defeat, dis- comfiture and disgrace, were to be the certain, but not the worst effect of it. Here, again, did prophecy prove false ; and the energies of our country, and the valor and the patriotism of our people, carried us gloriously through the 'war. We are now, and ever will be, essentially an agricultural people. Without a material change in the fixed habits of the country, the friends of this measure desire to draw to it, as a powerful auxiliary to its industry, the manufacturing arts. The difference between a nation with and without the arts may be conceived, by the dif- ference between a keelboat and a steamboat, combating the rapid torrent of the Mississippi. How slow does the former ascend, hugging the sinuosities of the shore, pushed on by her hardy and exposed crew, now throwing themselves in vigorous concert on their oars, and then seizing the pendant boughs of overhang- ing trees; she seems hardly to move ; and her scanty cargo is scarcely worth the transportation ! With what ease is she not passed by the steamboat, laden with the riches of all quarters of the world, with a crew of gay, cheerful and protected pas- sengers, now dashing into the midst of the current, or gliding through the eddies near the shore ! Nature herself seems to ON AMERICAN INDUSTRY. 195 survey, with astonishment, the passing wonder, and, in silent submission, reluctantly to own the magnificent triumphs, in her own vast dominion, of Fulton's immortal genius. But it is said that, wherever there is a concurrence of favorable circumstances, manufactures will arise of themselves, without protection ; and that we should not disturb the natural proo-ress of industry, but leave things to themselves. If all nations would modify their policy on this axiom, perhaps it would be better for the common good of the whole. Even then, in conse- quence of natural advantages and a greater advance in civiliza- tion and in the arts, some nations would enjoy a state of much higher prosperity than others. But there is no universal legis- lation. The globe is divided into different communities, each seeking to appropriate to itself all the advantages it can, without reference to the prosperity of others. Whether this is right or not, it has always been, and ever will be the case. Perhaps the care of the interests of one people is sufficient for all the wisdom of one Legislature ; and that it is anion"' nations as anion"- indi- viduals, that the happiness of the whole is best secured by each attending to its own peculiar interests. The proposition to be maintained by our adversaries is, that manufactures, without protection, will in due time spring up in our country, and sus- tain themselves, in a competition with foreign fabrics, however advanced the arts, aud whatever the degree of protection may be in foreign countries. Now I contend, that this proposition is refuted by all experience, ancient and modern, and in every country. If I am asked, why unprotected industry should not succeed in a struggle with protected industry, I answer, the fact has ever been so, and that is sufficient ; I reply, that uni- form experience evinces that it can not succeed in such an unequal contest, and that is sufficient. If we speculate on the causes of this universal truth, we may differ about them. Still the indisputable fact remains. And we should be as unwise in not availing ourselves of the guide which it furnishes, as a man would be who should refuse to bask in the rays of the sun, because he could not agree with Judge Woodward as to the nature of the substance of that planet, to which we are indebted 196 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. for heat and light. If I were to attempt to particularize the causes which prevent the success of the manufacturing arts, without protection, I should say that they are, first, the obduracy of fixed habits. No nation, no individual, will easily change an established course of business, even if it be unprofitable ; and least of all is an agricultural people prone to innovation. With what reluctance do they not adopt improvements in the instru- ments of husbandry, or in modes of cultivation ! If the farmer makes a good crop, and sells it badly ; or makes a bad crop ; buoyed up by hope he perseveres, and trusts that a favorable change of the market, or of the seasons, will enable him, in the succeeding year, to repair the misfortunes of the past. Secondly, the uncertainty, fluctuation, and unsteadiness of the home market, when liable to an unrestricted influx of fabrics from all foreign nations ; and thirdly, the superior advance of skill, and amount of capital, which foreign nations have obtained, by the protection of their own industry. From the latter, or from other causes, the unprotected manufactures of a country are exposed to the danger of being crushed in their infancy, either by the design or from the necessities of foreign manufacturers. Gentlemen are incredulous as to the attempts of foreign merchants and manu- facturers to accomplish the destruction of ours. Why should they not make such attempts? If the Scottish manufacturer, by surcharging our market, in one year, with the article of cotton bagging, for example, should so reduce the price as to discourage and put down the home manufacture, he would secure to himself the monopoly of the supply. And now, having the exclusive possession of the market, perhaps for a long term of years, he might be more than indemnified for his first loss, in the subse- quent rise in the price of the article. What have we not seen under our own eyes ! The competition for the transportation of the mail, between this place and Baltimore, so excited, that to obtain it, an individual offered, at great loss, to carry it a whole year for one dollar ! His calculation, no doubt, was, that by driving his competitor off the road, and securing to himself the carriage of the mail, he would be afterward able to repair his original loss by new contracts with the department. But the ON AMERICAN INDUSTRY. 197 necessities of foreign manufacturers, without imputing to them any sinister design, may oblige them to throw into our markets the fabrics which have accumulated on their hands, in conse- quence of obstruction in the ordinary vents, or from over-calcu- lation ; and the forced sales, at losing prices, may prostrate our establishments. From this view of the subject, it follows, that, if we would place the industry of our country upon a solid and unmistakable foundation, we must adopt the protecting policy, which has everywhere succeeded, and reject that which would abandon it, which has everywhere failed. The principle of the system under consideration, has the sanc- tion of some of the best and wisest men in all aires, in foreign countries as well as in our own. — of the Edwards, of Henry the Great, of Elizabeth, of the Colberts, abroad ; of our Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, at home. But it comes recom- mended to us by a higher authority than any of these, illustrious as they unquestionably are, — by the master-spirit of the age, — that extraordinary man, who has thrown the Alexanders and the Caesars infinitely further behind him than they stood in advance of the most eminent of their predecessors, — that singular man, who, whether he was seated on his imperial throne, deciding the fate of nations, and allotting kingdoms to the members of his family, with the same composure, if not the same affection, as that with which a Virginia father divides his plantations among his children, or on the miserable rock of St. Helena, to which he was condemned by the cruelty and the injustice of his unworthy victors, is equally an object of the most intense admiration. He appears to have comprehended, with the rapidity of intuition, the true interests of a State, and to have been able, by the turn of a single expression, to develop the secret springs of the policy of cabinets. We find that Las Casas reports him to have said : "He opposed the principles of economists, which he said were correct in theory though erroneous in their application. The political constitution of different States, continued he, must ren- der these principles defective ; local circumstances continually call for deviations from their uniformity. Duties, he said, which were so severely condemned by political economists, should not, 198 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. it is true, be an object to the Treasury ; they should be the guarantee and protection of a nation, and should correspond -with the nature and the objects of its trade. Holland, which is desti- tute of productions and manufactures, and which was a trade only of transit and commission, should be free of all fetters and barriers. France, on the contrary, which is rich in every sort of production and manufactures, should incessantly guard against the importations of a rival, who might still continue superior to her, and also against the cupidity, egotism, and indif- ference of mere brokers. "I have not fallen into the error of modern systematizers," said the Emperor, "who imagine that all the wisdom of na- tions is centered in themselves. Experience is the true wisdom of nations. And what does all the reasoning of economists amount to? They incessantly extol the prosperity of England, and hold her up as our model ; but the Custom House system is more burdensome and arbitrary in England than in any other country. They also condemn prohibitions ; yet it was England set the example of prohibitions ; and they are in fact necessary with regard to certain objects. Duties can not adequately sup- ply the place of prohibitions ; there will always be found means to defeat the object of the legislator. In France, we are still very far behind on these delicate points, which are still unperceived or ill understood by the mass of society. Yet, what advance- ment have we not made ; what correctness of ideas has been introduced by my gradual classification of agriculture, industry, and trade ; objects so distinct in themselves, and which present so great and positive a graduation ! "First. Agriculture; the soul, the first basis, of the empire. "Second. Industry; the comfort and happiness of the popu- lation. "Third. Foreign trade; the superabundance, the proper ap- plication, of the surplus of agriculture and industry." I will trouble the committee with only one other quotation, which I shall make from Lowe ; and from hearing which, the committee must share with me in the mortification which I felt on perusing it. That author says, " It is now above forty years OX AMERICAN DSTDUSTBY. 199 since the United States of America were definitely separated from us, and since, their situation has afforded a proof that the benefit of mercantile intercourse may be retained, in all its extent, with- out the care of governing, or the expense of defending, these once regretted provinces." Is there not too much truth in this observation ? By adhering to the foreign policy, which I have been discussing, do we not remain essentially British, in every thinar but the form of our government? Are not our interests, our industry, our commerce, so modified as to swell British pride, and to increase British power? Mr. Chairman, our confederacy comprehends, within its vast limits, great diversity of interests; agricultural, planting, farm- ing, commercial, navigating, fishing, manufacturing. No one of these interests is felt in the same degree, and cherished with the same solicitude, throughout all parts of the Union. Some of them are peculiar to particular sections of our common country. But all these great interests are confided to the pro- tection of one government — to the fate of one ship ; and a most gallant ship it is, with a noble crew. If Ave prosper, and are happy, protection must be extended to all ; it is due to all. It is the great principle on which obedience is demanded from all. If our essential interests can nut find protection from our own Gov- ernment against the policy of foreign power-, where are they to gel it ? We did not unite for sacrifice, but for preservation. The inquiry should be, in reference to the great interests of every sec- tion of the Union (I speak not of the minute subdivisions), what would be done for those interests if that section stood alone and separated from the residue of the republic ? If the promotion of those interests would not injuriously affect any other section, then every thing should be done for them, which would be done if it formed a distinct government. If they come into absolute collision with the interests of another section, a reconciliation, if possi- ble, should be attempted, by mutual concession, so as to avoid a sacrifice of the prosperity of either to that of the other. In such a case, all should not be done for one which would be done, if it were separated and independent, but something ; and, in devising the measure, the good of each part and of the whole, should be 200 SPEECHES OF IIEXRY CLAY. carefully consulted. This is the only mode by which we can preserve, in full vigor, the harmony of the whole Union. The South entertains one opinion, and imagines that a modification of the existing policy of the country, for the protection of American industry, involves the ruin of the South. The North, the East, the West, hold the opposite opinion, and feel and contemplate, in a longer adherence to the foreign policy, as it now exists, their utter destruction. Is it true, that the interests of these o-reat sections of our country are irreconcilable with each other? Are we reduced to the sad and afflicting dilemma of determining which shall fall a victim to the prosperity of the other? Hap- pily, I think, there is no such distressing alternative. If the North, the West, and the East, formed an independent State, unassociated with the South, can there be a doubt that the restrictive system would be carried to the point of prohibition of every foreign fabric of which they produce the raw material, and which they could manufacture ? Such would be their policv, if they stood alone ; but they are fortunately connected with the South, which believes its interests to require a free admission of foreign manufactures. Here then is a case of mutual concession, for fair compromise. The bill under consideration presents this compromise. It is a medium between the absolute exclusion and the unrestricted admission of the produce of foreign industry. It sacrifices the interest of neither section to that of the other ; neither, it is true, gets all that it wants, nor is subject to all that it fears. But it has been said that the South obtains nothing in this compromise. Does it lose any thing ? is the first question. I have endeavored to prove that it does not, by showing that a mere transfer is effected in the source of the supply of iis con- sumption from Europe to America ; and that the loss, whatever it may be, of the sale of its great staple in Europe, is compen- sated by the new market created in America. But does the South really gain nothing in this compromise ? The consump- tion of the other sections, though somewhat restricted, is still left open by this bill, to foreign fabrics purchased by Southern staples. So far as its operation is beneficial to the South, and prejudicial to the industry of the other sections, and that is the ON AMERICAN INDUSTRY. 201 point of mutual concession. The South will also gain by the extended consumption of its great staple, produced by an in- creased capacity to consume it in consequence of the establish- ment of the home market. But the South can not exert its industry and enterprise in the business of manufactures ! Why not? The difficulties, if not exaggerated, are artificial, and may, therefore, be surmounted. But can the other sections embark in the planting occupations of the South ? The obstructions which forbid them are natural, created by the immutable laws of God, and, therefore, unconquerable. Other and animating considerations invite us to adopt the policy of this system. Its importance, in connection with the general defense in time of Avar, can not fail to be duly estimated. Need I recall to our painful recollection the sufferings, for the want of an adequate supply of absolute necessaries, to which the defenders of their country's rights and our entire population, were subjected during the late war? Or to remind the com- mittee of the great advantage of a steady and unfailing source of supply, unaffected alike in war and in peace ? Its importance, in reference to the stability of our Union, that paramount and greatest of all our interests, can not fail warmly to recommend it, or at least to conciliate the forbearance of every patriot bosom. Now our people present the spectacle of a vast assemblage of jealous rivals, all eagerly rushing to the seaboard, jostling each other in their way, to hurry off to glutted foreign markets the perishable produce of their labor. The tendency of that policy, in conformity to which this bill is prepared, is to transform these competitors into friends and mutual customers; and, by the reciprocal exchanges of their respective productions, to place the confederacy upon the most solid of all foundations, the basis of common interest. And is not Government called upon, by every stimulating motive, to adapt its policy to the actual condition and extended growth of our great republic. At the commence- ment of our constitution, almost the whole population of the United States was confined between the Allejjhanv mountains and the Atlantic ocean. Since that epoch, the western part of New- York, of Pennsvlvania. of Virginia, all the western States and 202 SPEECHES OF IIEXRY CLAY. Territories, have been principally peopled. Prior to that period we had scarcely any interior. An interior has sprung up, as it were, by enchantment, and along with it new interests and new relations, requiring the parental protection of Government. Our policy should be modified accordingly, so as to comprehend all, and sacrifice none. And are we not encouraged by the success of past experience, in respect to the only article which has been adequately protected ? Already have the predictions of the friends of the American system, in even a shorter lime than their most sanguine hopes could have anticipated, been com- pletely realized in regard to that article ; and consumption is now better and more cheaply supplied with coarse cottons, thau it was under the prevalence of the foreign system. Even if the benefits of the policy were limited to certain sec- tions of our country, would it not be satisfactory to behold American industry, wherever situated, active, animated, and thrifty, rather than persevere in a course which renders us sub- servient to foreign industry? But these benefits are twofold, direct and collateral, and, in the one shape or the other, they will diffuse themselves throughout the Union. All parts of the Union will participate, more or less, in both. As to the direct benefit, it is probable that the North and the East will enjoy the largest share. But the West and the South will also participate in them. Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Richmond, will divide with the northern capitals the business of manufacturing. The latter city unites more advantages l*>r its successful prosecution than any place I know; Zanesville, in Ohio, only excepted. And where the direct benefit does not accrue, that will be enjoyed of supplying the raw material ami provisions for the consump- tion of artisans. Is it not most desirable to put at rest and pre- vent the annual recurrence of this unpleasanl subject, so well fitted, by the various interests to which it appeals, to excite irritation and to produce discontent ? Can that be effected by iis rejection ? Behold the mass of petitions which lie on our table, earnestly and anxiously entreating the protecting interpo- sition of Congress against the ruinous policy which we are pur- suing. Will these petitioners, comprehending all orders of ON AMERICAN INDUSTRY. 203 society, entire States and communities, public companies and private individuals, spontaneously assembling, cease in their humble prayers by your lending- a deaf ear ? Can you expect that these petitioners and others, in countless numbers, that will, if you delay the passage of this bill, supplicate your mercy, should contemplate their substance gradually withdrawn to for- eign countries, their ruin slow, but certain and as inevitable as death itself, without one expiring effort? You think the measure injurious to you ; we believe our preservation depends upon its adoption. Our convictions, mutually honest, are equally strong. What is to be done ? I invoke that saving spirit of mutual con- cession under which our blessed Constitution was formed, and under which alone it can be happily administered. I appeal to the South — to the high-minded, generous, and patriotic South — with which I have so often co-operated, in attempting to sustain the honor and to vindicate the rights of our country. Should it not offer, upon the altar of the public good, some sacrifice of its peculiar opinions ? Of what does it complain ? A possible temporary enhancement in the objects of consumption. Of what do we complain ? A total incapacity, produced by the foreign policy, to purchase, at any price, necessary foreign objects of consumption. In such an alternative, inconvenient only to it, ruinous to us, can we expect too much from southern mag- nanimity ? The just and confident expectation of the passage of this bill has flooded the country with recent importations of foreign fabrics. If it should not pass, they will complete the work of destruction of our domestic industry. If it should pass, they will prevent any considerable rise in the price of foreign commodities, until our own industry shall be able to supply competent substitutes. To the friends of the tariff I would also anxiously appeal. Every arrangement of its provisions does aot suit each of you; you desire some further alterations ; you would make it perfect. You want what you will never get. Nothing human is perfect. And I have seen, with great surprise, a piece signed by a mem- ber of Congress, published in the National Intelligencer, stating that this bill must be rejected, and a judicious tariff brought in 204 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. as its substitute. A. judicious tariff! No member of Congress could have signed that piece ; or, if he did, the public ought not to be deceived. If this bill do not pass, unquestionably no other can pass at this session, or probably during this Congress. And who will go home and say that he rejected all the benefits of this bill, because molasses has been subjected to the enormous additional duty of five cents per gallon ? I call, therefore, upon the friends of the American policy, to yield somewhat of their own peculiar wishes, and not to reject the practicable in the idle pursuit after the unattainable. Let us imitate the illustrious example of the framers of the Constitution, and, always, remem- bering that whatever springs from man partakes of his imperfec- tions, depend upon experience to suggest, in future, the necessary amendments. We have had great difficulties to encounter. First, the splendid talents which are arrayed in this House against us. Second, we are opposed by the rich and powerful in the land. Third, the executive government, if any, affords us but a cold and equivo- cal support. Fourth, the importing and navigating interest, I verily believe, from misconception, are adverse to us. Fifth, the British factors and the British influence are inimical to our success. Sixth, long established habits and prejudices oppose us. Seventh, the reviewers and literary speculators, foreign and do- mestic. And, lastly, the leading presses of the country, includ- ing the influence of that which is established in this city, and sustained by the public purse. From some of these or other causes, the bill may be post- poned, thwarted, defeated. But the cause is the cause of the country, and it must and will prevail. It is founded in the interests and affections of the people. It is as native as the granite deeply imbosomed in our mountains. And, in conclu- sion, I would pray God, in his infinite mercy, to avert from our country the evils which are impending over it, and, by enlight- ening our councils, to conduct us into that path which leads to riches, to greatness, to glory. ADDRESS TO LA FAYETTE. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DECEMBER 10, 1824. " In the year 1824, General La Fayette visited the United States, as the guest of the nation, and was 'welcomed with the most gratifying testimonies of affection and respect by the whole American people, in behalf of whose rights and liberty he had so gallantly fought, and performed other im- portant services during the revolutionary war. After visiting various parts of the United States, he was received at the city of Washington, with distinguished honors, by the people and the public authorities, and on the tenth of December, 1824, he was introduced to the House of Repre- sentatives, by a committee appointed for that purpose. The General, being conducted to the sofa placed for his reception, the Speaker (Mr. Clay) addressed him in the following words:" General : The House of Representatives of the United States, impelled alike by its own feelings, and by those of the whole American people, could not have assigned to me a more gratifying duty than that of presenting to you cordial congratulations upon the occasion of your recent arrival in the United States, in compli- ance with the wishes of Congress, and to assure you of the very high satisfaction which your presence affords on this early theater of your glory and renown. Although but few of the members who compose this body shared with you in the war of our revo- lution, all have, from impartial history, or from faithful tradition, a knowledge of the perils, the sufferings, and the sacrifices, which you voluntarily encountered, and the signal services, in America and in Europe, which you performed for an infant, a distant, and an alien people ; and all feel and own the very great (205) 206 speeches of henry clay. extent of the obligations under which you have placed our country. But the relations in -which you have ever stood to the United States, interesting and important as they have been, do not constitute the only motive of the respect and admiration which the House of Representatives entertain for you. Your consistency of character, your uniform devotion to regulated liberty, in all the vicissitudes of a long and arduous life, also commands its admiration. Duringr all the recent convulsions of Europe, amid, as after the dispersion of, every political storm, the people of the United States have beheld you, true to your old principles, firm and erect, cheering and animating with your well-known voice, the votaries of liberty, its faithful and fearless champion, ready to shed the last drop of that blood which here you so freely and nobly spilled, in the same holy cause. The vain wish has been sometimes indulged, that Providence would allow the patriot, after death, to return to his country, and to contemplate the intermediate changes which had taken place ; to view the forests felled, the cities built, the mountains leveled, the canals cut, the highways constructed, the progress of the arts, the advancement of learning, and the increase of popula- tion. General, your present visit to the United States, is a real- ization of the consoling object of that wish. You are in the midst of posterity. Everywhere, you must have been struck with the great changes, physical and moral, which have occurred since you left us. Even this very city, bearing a venerated name, alike endeared to you and to us, has since emerged from the forest which then covered its site. In one respect you behold us unaltered, and this is in the sentiment of continued devotion to liberty, and of ardent affection and profound gratitude to your departed friend, the father of his country, and to you, and to your illustrious associates in the field and in the cabinet, for the multiplied blessings which surround us, and for the very privi- lege of addressing you, which I now exercise. This sentiment, now fondly cherished by more than ten millions of people, will be transmitted, with unabated vigor, down the tide of time, through the countless millions who are destined to inhabit this continent, to the latest posterity. THE AMERICAN SYSTEM, ETC. DELIVERED AT CINCINNATI, AUGUST 3, 1S30. "There are few, if any, among the numerous addresses with which Mr. Clay has favored the country, on the policy of the Government, and the true interests of the people, which more richly deserve careful consid- eration, than the following speech, delivered at the mechanics' festival, in the Apollonian garden, on the third of August, 1830. It embraces almost every exciting topic of the time, including the American system, re-charter of the United States Bank, and nullification. "The eighth toast. — 'Our valued guest — It is his highest eulogium, that the name of Hexby Clay is inseparably associated with the best interests of the country, as their asserter and advocate.' " Mr. President and Fellow- Citizens : In rising to make the acknowledgments which are due from me, for the sentiment which has been just drunk, and for the honors which have been spontaneously rendered to me on my approach, and during my visit to this city, I feel more than ever the incompetency of all language adequately to express the grate- ful feelings of my heart. Of these distinguished honors, crowned heads themselves might well be proud. They indeed possess a value far surpassing that of any similar testimonies which could be offered to the chief of an absolute government. There, they are, not unfrequently, tendered by reluctant subjects, awed by a sense of terror, or impelled by a spirit of servility. Here, in this land of equal laws and equal liberty, they are presented to a private fellow-citizen, possessing neither office nor power, nor enjoying any rights and privileges which are not common to every member of the community. Power could not buy, nor deter them. And, what confers an estimable value on them to ( 207) 208 SPEECHES OF 1IENUY CLAY. me — w hat makes them alone worthy of you, or more acceptable to their object, is, that they are offered, not to the man, but to the public principles and public interests, which you are pleased to associate with his name. On this occasion, too, they emanate from one of those great productive classes which form the main pillars of public liberty, and public prosperity. I thank you, fellow-citizens, most cordially, for these endearing proofs of your friendly attachment. They have made an impression of gratitude on my heart, which can never be effaced, during the residue of my life. I avail myself of this last opportunity of being present at any large collection of my fellow-citizens of Ohio, during my present visit, to express my respectful acknowledgments for the hospitality and kindness with which I have been everywhere received and entertained. Throughout my journey, undertaken solely for private pur- poses, there has been a constant effort on my side, to repress, and, on that of my fellow-citizens of Ohio to exhibit, public man- ifestations of their affection and confidence. It has been marked by a succession of civil triumphs. I have been escorted from village to village, and have everywhere found mvself surrounded by large concourses of my fellow-citizens, often of both sexes, greeting and welcoming me. Nor should I do justice to my feelings, if I confined the expression of my obligations to those only with whom I had the happiness to agree, on a late public event. They are equally due to the candid and liberal of those from whom it was my misfortune to differ on that occasion, for their exercise toward me of all the rights of hospitality and neighborlv courtesy. It is true, that in one or two of the towns through which I passed, I was informed, that attempts were made, by a few political zealots, to dissuade portions of my fellow-citizens from visiting and saluting me. These zealots seemed to apprehend, that an invading army was about to enter the town ; that it was necessary to sound the bells, to beat the drums, to point the cannon, and to make all needful preparations for a resolute assault, and a gallant defense. They were accord- ingly seen in the streets, and at public places, beating up for recruits, and endeavoring to drill their men. But I believe there THE AMERICAN SYSTEM, ETC. 209 were only a few who were awed by their threats, or seduced by their bounty, to enlist in such a cause. The great body of those who thought differently from me, in the instance referred to, re- mained firm and immovable. They could not comprehend that it was wrono- to extend to a stranger from a neighboring State, the civilities which belong to social life. They could not com- prehend that it was right to transform political differences into deadly animosities. Seeing that varieties in the mode of worship- ing the great Ruler of the universe did not disturb the harmony of private intercourse, they could not comprehend the propriety of extendiiu>- to mortal man a sacrifice which is not offered to our immortal Father, of all the friendly and social feelings of our nature, because we could not all agree as to the particular exer- cise of the elective franchise. As independent and intelligent freemen, they would not consent to submit to an arrogant usurpa- tion which assumed the right to control their actions, and to regulate the feelings of their hearts, and thev scorned with indisj- O O 'J O nation, to yield obedience to the mandates of would-be dictators. To quiet the apprehensions of these zealots, I assure them, that I do not march at the head of any military force ; that I have neither horse, foot, nor dragoon, and thai I travel with my friend Charles (a black boy, residing in my family, for whom I feel the same sort of attachment that I do for my own children), without sword, pistol or musket ! Another species of attempted embar- rassment has been practiced by an individual of this city. About an hour before I left my lodgings for this spot, he caused a packet to be left in my room by a little boy, who soon made his exit. Upon opening it, I looked at the signature, and that was enough for me. It contained a long list of interrogatories, which I was required publicly to answer. I read only one or two of them. There are some men whose contact is pollution. I can recognize no right in the person in question to catechise me. I can have no intercourse with one who is a disgrace to the gallant and generous nation from which he sprang. I can not stop to be thus interrogated by a man whose nomination to a paltry office, wa= rejected by nearly the unanimous vote of the Senate; T must be excused if, when addressing my friends, the 10 210 SPEECHES OF HERBS CLAY. mechanics of Cincinnati, I will not speak from his notes. On the renewal of the charter of the present Bank of the United States, which I believe formed the subject of one or two of these interrogatories, I will say a few words for your, not his sake. I will observe, in the first place, that I am not in favor of such a bank as was recommended in the message of the President of the United States, at the commencement of the last session of Congress ; that, with the committee of the two Houses, I concur in thinking it would be an institution of a dangerous an d alarm- insf character; and that, fraught as it would be with the most corrupting tendencies, it might be made powerfully instrumental in overturning oiir liberties. As to the existing bank, I think it has been generally administered, and particularly of late years, with great ability and integrity ; that it has fulfilled all the rea- sonable expectations of those who constituted it; and, with the same committees, I think it has made an approximation toward the equalization of the currency, as great as is practicable. Whether the charter ought to be renewed or not, near six years hence, in my judgment, is a question of expediency to be decided by the then existing state of the country. It will be necessary at that time, to look carefully at the condition both of the bank and of the Union. To ascertain if the public debt shall, in the meantime, be paid off, what effect that will produce ? What will be our then financial condition ? what that of local banks, the state of our commerce, foreign and domestic, as well as the concerns of our currency generally? I am, therefore, not now prepared to say, whether the charter ought, or ought not, to be renewed on the expiration of its present term. The bank may become insolvent, and may hereafter forfeit all pretensions to a renewal. The question is premature. I may not be alive to form any opinion upon it. It belongs to posterity, and if they would have the goodness to decide for us some of the perplexing and practical questions of the present day, we might be disposed to decide that remote question for thorn. As it is, it ought to be indefinitely postponed. With respect to the American system, which demands your undivided approbation, and in regard to which you are pleased Till: AMERICAN SYSTEM, ETC. 211 to estimate much too highly my service, its great object is to secure the independence of our county, to augment its wealth, and to diffuse the comforts of civilization throughout society. That object, it has been supposed, can be best accomplished by introducing, encouraging, and protecting the arts among us. It may be called a system of real reciprocity, under the operation of which one citizen or one part of the country, can exchange one description of the produce of labor, with another citizen or another part of the country, for a different description of the pro- duce of labor. It is a system which develops, improves, and perfects the capabilities of our common country, and enables us to avail ourselves of all the resources with which Providence has blest us. To the laboring classes it is invaluable, since it in- creases and multiplies the demands for their industry, and gives them an option of employments. It adds power and strength to our Union, by new ties of interest, blending and connecting together all its parts, and creating an interest with each in the prosperity of the whole. It secures to our own country, whose skill and enterprise, properly fostered and sustained, can not be surpassed, those vast profits which are made in other countries by the operation of converting the raw material into manufac- tured articles. It naturalizes and creates within the bosom of our country, all the arts ; and, mixing the farmer, manufacturer, mechanic, artist, and those engaged in other vocations, together, admits of those mutual exchanges, so conducive to the pros- perity of all and every one, free from the perils of sea and war j — a ll this it effects, while it nourishes and leaves a fair scope to foreign trade. Suppose we were a nation that clad ourselves, and made all the implements necessary to civilization, but did not produce our own bread, which we brought from foreign countries, although our own was capable of producing it, under the influ- ence of suitable laws of protection, ought not such laws to bo enacted ? The case supposed is not essentially different from the real state of things which led to the adoption of the American system. That system has had a wonderful success. It has more than realized all the hopes of its founders. It has completely falsified 212 SPEECHES OF IIENJBY (LAY. all the predictions of its opponents. It has increased the wealth, and power, and population of the nation. It has diminished the price of articles of consumption, and has placed them within the reach of a far greater number of our people than could have found means to command them, if they had been manufactured abroad instead of at home. But it is useless to dwell on the argument in support of this beneficent system before this audience. It will be of more con- sequence here to examine some of the objections which are still urged against it, and the means which are proposed to sub- vert it. These objections are now principally confined to its operation upon the great staple of cotton wool ; and they are urged with most vehemence in a particular Slate. If the objec- tions are well founded, the system should be modified, as far as it can consistently with interest in other parts of the Union. If they are not well founded, it is to be hoped they will be finally abandoned. In approaching the subject, I have thought it of importance to inquire, what was the profit made upon capital employed in the culture of cotton, at its present reduced price. The result has been information, that it nets from seven to eighteen per cent, per annum, varying according to the advantage of situation, and the degree of skill, judgment and industry, applied to the production of the article. But the lowest rate of profit, in the scale, is more than tie- greatest amount which is made on capital employed in the farming portions of the Union. If the cotton planter have any just complaint against the ex- pediency of the American system, it must be founded on the fact, that lie either sells less of his staple, or sells at lower prices, or purchases for consumption, articles at dearer rates, or of worse qualities, in consequence of that system, than he would do, if it did not exist. [{ lie would neither sell more of his staple, uor sell it at better price-, nor could purchase better or cheaper articles for consumption, provided the system did not exist, then he has no cause, on the score of its burdensome operation, to complain of the system, but must look to other sources for the grievances which he supposes afflict him. THE AMERICAN SYSTEM, ETC. 213 As respects the sale of his staple, it would be indifferent to the planter, whether one portion of it was sold in Europe, and the other in America, provided the aggregate of both were equal to all that he could sell in one market, if he had but one, and provided he could command the same price in both cases. The double market would, indeed, be something better for him, because of its greater security in time of war as well as in peace, and because it would be attended with less perils and less charges. If there be an equal amount of the raw material manufactured, it must be immaterial to the cotton planter, in the sale of the article, whether there be two theaters of the manufacture, one in Europe and the other in America, or but one in Europe ; or if there be a difference, it will be in favor of the two places of manufacture, instead of one, for reasons already assigned, and others that will be hereafter stated. 1c could be of no advantage to the cotton planter, if all the cotton, now manufactured both in Europe and America, was manufactured exclusively in Europe, and an amount of cotton fabrics should be brought back from Europe, equal to both what is now brought from there, and what is manufactured in the United States, together. While he would gain nothing, the United States would lose the profit and employment resulting from the manufacture of that portion which is now wrought up by the manufacturers of the United States. Unless, therefore, ic can be shown, that, by the reduction of import duties, and the overthrow of the American system, and by limiting the manufacture of cotton to Europe, a greater amount of the raw material would be consumed than is at pres- ent, it is difficult to see what interest, so far as respects the sale of that staple, the cotton planter has in the subversion of that svstem. If a reduction of duties would admit of larger invest- ments in British or European fabrics of cotton, and their subse- quent importation into this country, this additional supply would take the place, if consumed, of an equal amount of American manufactures, and consequently would not augment the general consumption of the raw material. Additional importation does not necessarily imply increased consumption, especially when it 214 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. is effected by a policy which would impair the ability to purchase and consume. Upon the supposition just made, of a restriction to Europe of the manufacture of cotton, would more or less of the article bo consumed than now is ? More could not be, unless, in conse- quence of such a monopoly of the manufacture, Europe could sell more than she now does. But to what countries could she sell more ? She gets the raw material now unburdened by any duties except such moderate ones as her policy, not likely to be changed, imposes. She is enabled thereby to sell as much of the manufactured article as she can iind markets for in the States within her own limits, or in foreign countries. The destruction of the American manufacture would not induce her to sell cheaper, but might enable her to sell dearer, than she now does. The ability of those foreign countries, to purchase and consume, would not be increased by the annihilation of our manufactures, and the monopoly of European manufacture. The probability is, that those foreign countries, by the fact of that monopoly, and some consequent increase of price, would be worse and dearer supplied than they now are, under the operation of a competition between America and Europe in their supply. At most, the United States, after the transfer from their Terri- tory to Europe, of the entire manufacture of the article, could not consume, of European fabrics from cotton, a greater amount than they now derive from Europe, and from manufactures within their own limits. But it is confidently believed, that the consumption of cotton fabrics, on the supposition which has been made, within the United States, would be much less than it is at present. It would be less, because the American consumer would not possess the means or ability to purchase as much of the Euro- pean fabric as he now does to buy the American. Europe pur- chases but little of the produce of the northern, middle, and western regions of the United Slates. The staple productions of those regions are excluded from her consumption by her policy, or by her native supplies of similar productions. The effect, therefore, of obliging the inhabitants of those regions to depend THE AMERICAN SYSTEM, ETC. 215 upon the cotton manufactures of Europe for necessary supplies of the article, would be alike injurious to them, and to the cotton grower. They would suffer from their inability to supply their wants, and there would be a consequent diminution of the con- sumption of cotton. By the location of the manufacture in the United States, the quantity of cotton consumed is increased, and the more numerous portion of their inhabitants, who would not be otherwise sufficiently supplied, are abundantly served. That this is the true state of things, I think, can not be doubted by any reflecting and unprejudiced man. The establishment of manufactures within the United States, enables the manufacturer to sell to the farmer, the mechanic, the physician, the lawyer, and all who are engaged in other pursuits of life ; and these, in their turns, supply the manufacturer with subsistence, and what- ever else his wants require. Under the influence of the pro- tecting policy, many new towns have been built, and old ones enlarged. The population of these places draw their subsistence from the farming interest of our country, their fuel from our forests and coal mines, and the raw materials from which they fashion and fabricate, from the cotton planter and the mines of our country. These mutual exchanges, so animating and invig- orating to the industry of the people of the United States, could not possibly be effected between America and Europe, if the latter enjoyed the monopoly of manufacturing. It results, therefore, that, so far as the sale of the great South- ern staple is concerned, a greater quantity is sold and consumed, and consequently better prices are obtained, under the operation of the American system, than would be without it. Does that system oblige the cotton planter to buy dearer or worse articles of consumption than he could purchase, if it did not exist? The same cause of American and European competition, which enables him to sell more of the produce of his industry, and at better prices, also enables him to buy cheaper and better articles for consumption. It can not be doubted, that the tend- ency of the competition between the European and American manufacturer, is to reduce the price and improve the quality of their respective fabrics, whenever they come into collision. This 216 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. is the immutable law of all competition. If the American manu- facture were discontinued, Europe would then exclusively furnish those supplies which are now derived from the establishments in both continents ; and the first consequence would be, an aug- mentation of the demand, beyond the supply, equal to what is now manufactured in the United states, but which, in the con- tingency supposed, would be wrought in Europe. If the de- struction of the American manufactures were sudden, there would be a sudden and probably a considerable rise in the European fabrics. Although, in the end, they might be again reduced, it is not likely that the ultimate reduction of the prices would be to such rates as if both the workshops of America and Europe remained sources of supply. There would also be a sudden reduction in the price of the raw material, in conse- quence of the cessation of American demand. And this reduc- tion would be permanent, if the supposition be correct, that there would be a diminution in the consumption of cotton fabrics, arising out of the inability, on the part of large por- tions of the people of the United States, to purchase those of Europe. That the effect of competition between the European and American manufacture, has been to supply the American con- sumer with cheaper and better articles, since the adoption of the American system, notwithstanding the existence of causes which have obstructed its fair operation, and retarded its full develop- ment, is incontestable. Both the freeman and the slave are now better and cheaper supplied than they were prior to the existence of that system. Cotton fabrics have diminished in price, and been improved in their texture, to an extent that it is difficult for the imagination to keep pace with. Those partly of cotton and partly of wo, ,1 are also better and cheaper supplied. The same observation is applicable to those which are exclusively wrought of wool, iron, or glass. In short, it is believed that there is not one item of the tariff inserted for the protection of native indus-- try, which has not fallen in price. The American competition has tended to keep down the European rival fabric, and the European has tended to lower the American. THE AMERICAN SYSTEM, ETC. 217 Of what then can the South Carolina planter justly complain in the operation of this system? What is there in it which justifies the harsh and strong epithets which some of her politi- cians have applied to it? What is there in her condition, which warrants their assertion, that she is oppressed by a government to which she stands in the mere relation of a colony ? She is oppressed by a great reduction in the price of manu- factured articles of consumption. She is oppressed by the advantage of two markets for the sale of her valuable staple, and for the purchase of objects required by her wants. She is oppressed by better prices for that staple than she could command, if the system to which they object did not exist. She is oppressed by the option of purchasing cheaper and better articles, the produce of the hands of American freemen, instead of dearer and worse articles, the produce of the hands of British subjects. She is oppressed by the measures of a government in which she has had, for many years, a larger proportion of power and influence, at home and abroad, than any State in the whole Union, in comparison with the population. A glance at the composition of the Government of the Union, will demonstrate the truth of this last proposition. In the Senate of the United States, South Carolina having the presiding officer, exercises nearly one sixteenth, instead of one twenty-fourth part of both its legislative and executive functions. In both branches of Congress, some of her citizens now occupy, as chairmen of committees, the most important and influential stations. In the Supreme Court of the United States, one of her citizens being a member, she has one seventh part, instead of about one twentieth, her equal proportion of the whole power vested in that tribunal. Until within a few months, she had nearly one third of all the missions of the first grade, from this to foreign countries. In a contingency, which is far from impossible, a citizen of South Carolina would instantly become charged with the administration of the whole of the vast power and patronage of the United States. 19 218 SPEECHES OF IIEXRY CLAY. Yet her situation has been compared to that of a colony which has no voice in the laws enacted by the parent country for its subjection ! And to be relieved from this cruel state of vassal- age, and to put down a system which has been established by the united voice of all America, some of her politicians have broached a doctrine, as new as it would be alarming if it wore sustained by numbers in proportion to the zeal and fervid elo- quence with which it is inculcated. I call it a novel doctrine. I am not unaware that attempts have been made to support it on the authority of certain acts of my native and adopted States. Although many of their citizens are much more competent than I am to vindicate them from this imputation of purposes of dis- union and rebellion, my veneration and affection for them both, urge me to bear my testimony of their innocence of such a charge. At the epoch of 1798-9, I had just attained my ma- jority, and although I was too young to share in the public councils of my country, I was acquainted with many of the actors of that memorable period ; I knew their views, and formed and freely expressed my own opinions on passing events. The then administration of the General Government was believed to entertain views (whether the belief was right or wrong is not material to this argument, and is now an affair of history), hostile to the existence of the liberties of this country. The alien and the sedition laws, particularly, and other measures, were thought to be the consequences and proofs of those views. If the administration had such a purpose, it was feared that the extreme case, justifying forcible resistance, might arise, but no one believed that, in point of fact, it had arrived. No one con- tended that a single State possessed the power to annul the delib- erate acts of the whole. And the best evidence of these remarks is the fact, that the most odious of those laws (the sedition act), was peaceably enforced in the Capitol of that great State which took the lead in opposition to the existing administration. The doctrines of that day, and they are as true at this, were, that the federal government is a limited government; that it has no powers but the granted powers. Virginia contended, that in case "of a palpable, deliberate, and dangerous exercise of other THE AMERICAN SYSTEM, ETC. 219 powers not granted by said compact, the States, who are parties thereto, have the right to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining, within their respective limits, iho authorities, rights, and liberties, appertaining to them." Ken- tucky declared, that the "several States, that framed that instru- ment, the federal Constitution, being sovereign and independent, have the unquestionable right to judge of its instructions, and a nullification by those sovereignties, of all unauthorized acts, done under color of that instrument, is the rightful remedy." Neither of these two commonwealths asserted the right of a single State to interpose and annul an act of the whole. This is an inference drawn from the doctrines then laid down, and it is not a principle expressly asserted or fairly deducible from the language of either. Both refer to the States collectively (and not individually), when they assert their right, in case of federal usurpation, to interpose "for arresting the progress of evil." Neither State ever did, no State ever yet has, by its separate legislation, undertaken to set aside an act of Congress. That the States collectively, may interpose their authority to check the evils of federal usurpation, is manifest. They may dissolve the Union. They may alter, at pleasure, the character of the Constitution, by amendment ; they may annul any acts purporting to have been passed in conformity to it, or they may, by their elections, change the functionaries to whom the admin- istration of its powers is confided. But no one State, by itself, is competent to accomplish these objects. The power of a single State to annul an act of the whole, has been reserved for the discovery of some politicians in South- Carolina. It is not my purpose, upon an occasion so unfit, to discuss this pretension. Upon another and a more suitable theater, it has been examined and refuted, with an ability and eloquence which have never been surpassed on the floor of Congress. But, as it is announced to be one of the means which is intended to be em- ployed to break down the American system, I trust that I shall be excused for a few additional passing observations. On a late festive occasion, in the State where it appears to find most favor, it is said, by a gentleman whom T once proudly called my friend, 220 SPEECHES OF HENKY CLAT. and toward whom I have done nothing to change that relation, — a gentleman who has been high in the councils and confidence of the nation, that the Tariff must be resisted at all hazards. Another gentleman. Avho is a candidate for the chief magistracy of that State, declares that the time and the case for resistance had arrived. And a third, a senator of the United States, who enjoys unbounded confidence with the American Executive, laid down principles and urged arguments tending directly and inev- itably to violent resistance, although he did not indicate that as his specific remedy. The doctrine of some of the South-Carolina politicians is, that it is competent to that State to annul, within its limits, the author- ity of an act deliberately passed by the Congress of the United States. They do not appear to have looked much beyond the simple act of nullification, into the consequences which would ensue, and have not distinctly announced, whether one of them might not necessarily be, to light up a civil war. They seem, however, to suppose, that the State might, after the act was per- formed, remain a member of the Union. Now if one State can, by an act of its separate power, absolve itself from the obligations of a law of Congress, and continue a part of the Union, it could hardly be expected, that any other State would render obedience to the same law. Either every other Stale would follow the nul- lifying example, or Congress would feel itself constrained, by a sense of equal duty to all parts of the Union, to repeal altogether the nullified law. Thus, the doctrine of South-Carolina, although it nominally assumes to act for one State only, in effect, would be legislating for the whole Union. Congress embodies the collective will of the whole Union, and that of South-Carolina among its other members. The legisla- tion of Congress is, therefore, founded upon the basis of the representation of all. In the Legislature, or a convention of South-Carolina, the will of the people of that State is alone col- lected. They alone are represented, and the people of no other State have any voice in their proceedings. To set up for that State a claim, by a separate exercise of its power, to legislate, in effect, for the whole Union, is to assert a pretension at war with THE AMERICAN SYSTEM, ETC. 221 the fundamental principles of all representative and free govern- ments. It would practically subject the unrepresented people of all other parts of the Union to the arbitrary and despotic power of one State. It would substantially convert them into colonies, bound by the parental authority of that State. Nor can this enormous pretension derive any support from the consideration, that the power to annul, is different from the power to originate laws. Both powers are, in their nature, legis- lative ; and the mischiefs which might accrue to the republic from the annulment of its wholesome laws, may be just as great as those which would flow from the origination of bad laws. There are three things to which, more than all others, mankind in all ages, have shown themselves to be attached ; their religion, their lavs, and their language. But it has been argued, in the most solemn manner, " that the acknowledgments of the exclusive right of the federal govern- ment to determine the limits of its own powers, amounts to a re- cognition of its absolute supremacy over the States and the people, and involves the sacrifice not only of our dearest rights and interests, but the very existence of the southern States." In cases where there are two systems of government, operating at the same time and place, over the same people, the one gen- eral, the other local or particular, one system or the other must possess the right to decide upon the extent of the powers, in cases of collision, which are claimed by the general government. No third party, of sufficient impartiality, weight, and responsi- bility, other than such a tribunal as the supreme court, has yet been devised, or perhaps can be created. The doctrine of one side is, that the general government, though limited in its nature, must necessarily possess the power- to ascertain what authority it has, and, by consequence, the extent of that authority. And that, if its legislative or execu- tive functionaries, by act, transcend that authority, the question may be brought before the supreme court, and, being affirma- tively decided by that tribunal, their act must be obeyed until repealed or altered by competent power. Against the tendencv of this doctrine to absorb all power, 222 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. those who maintain it, think there are reasonable, and, they hope, sufficient securities. In the first place, all are represented in every legislative or executive act, and of course, each State can exert its proper influence, to prevent the adoption of any that may be deemed prejudicial or unconstitutional. Then, there are sacred oaths, elections, public virtue and intelligence, the power of impeachment, a common subjection to both systems of those functionaries who act under either, the right of the States to interpose and amend the Constitution, or to dissolve the Union ; and, finally, the right, in extreme cases, when all other remedies fail, to resist insupportable oppression. The necessity being felt, by the frame rs of the Constitution, to declare which system should be supreme, and believing that the securities now enumerated, or some of them, were adequate, they have accordingly provided, that the Constitution of the United States, and the laws made in pursuance of it, and all treaties made under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme laiv of the land ; and that the judicial power shall extend to all cases arising under the Constitution, laws, or trea- ties, of the United States. The South Carolina doctrine, on the other side, is, that that State has the right to determine the limits of the powers granted to the general government; and that whenever any of its acts transcend those limits, in the opinion of the State of South Caro- lina, she is competent to annul them. If the power, with which the federal government is invested by the Constitution, to deter- mine the limits of its authority, be liable to the possible danger of ultimate consolidation, and all the safeguards which have been mentioned might prove inadequate, is not this power, claimed for South Carolina, fraught with infinitely more certain, immediate, and fatal danger ? It would reverse the rule of supremacy pre- scribed in the Constitution. Ii would render the authority of a single State paramount to that of the whole Union. For un- doubtedly, that '^"V.rnment, to some extent, must be supreme, which can annul and set aside the acts of another. The securities which the people of other parts of the United States possess against the abuse of this tremendous power THE AMERICAN SYSTEM, ETC. 223 claimed for South Carolina, will be found, on comparison, to be greatly inferior to those which she lias against the possible abuses of the general government. They have no voice in her counsels; they could not, by the exercise of the elective fran- chise, change her rulers ; they could not impeach her judges, they could not alter her Constitution, nor abolish her govern- ment. Under the South Carolina doctrine, if established, the conse- quence would be a dissolution of the Union, immediate, inevita- ble, irresistible. There would be twenty-four chances to one against its continued existence. The apprehended dangers of the opposite doctrine, remote, contingent, and hardly possible, are greatly exaggerated ; and, against their realization, all the precautions have been provided, which human wisdom and patriotic foresight could conceive and devise. Those who are opposed to the supremacy of the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States, are adverse to all union, whatever contrary professions they may make. For it may be truly affirmed, that no confederacy of States can exist without a power, somewhere residing in the government of that confed- eracy, to determine the extent of the authority granted to it by the confederating States. It is admitted, that the South Carolina doctrine is liable to abuse ; but it is contended, that the patriotism of each State is an adequate Becurity, and that the nullifying power would only be exercised "in an extraordinary case, where the powers reserved to the States, under the Constitution, are usurped by the Federal Government." And is not the patriotism of all the States, as great a safeguard againsl the assumption of powers, not conferred upon the general government, as the patriotism of one State is against the denial of powers which are clearly granted? But the nullifying power is only to be exercised in an extraordinary case. Who is to judge of this extraordinary case? What Becurity is there, especially in moments of great excitement, that a State may not pronounce the plainest and most common exer- cise of Federal power an extraordinary case? The expressions in the Constitution, "general welfare," have been often justly 224: speeches of henry clay. criticised, and shown to convey, in themselves, no power, although they may indicate how the delegated power should be exercised. But this doctrine of an extraordinary case, to be judged of and applied by one of the twenty-four sovereignties, is replete with infinitely more danger than the doctrine of the "general welfare," in the hands of all. We may form some idea of future abuses under the South Carolina doctrine, by the application which is now proposed to be made of it. The American system is said to furnish an extraordinary case, justifying that State to nullify it. The power to regulate foreign commerce, by a Tariff, so adjusted as to foster our domestic manufactures, has been exercised from the com- mencement of our present Constitution down to the last session of Congress. I have been a member of the House of Repre- sentatives at three different periods, when the subject of the tariff was debated at Great length, and on neither, according 1 to my recollection, was the want of a constitutional power in Con- gress, to enact it, dwelt on as forming a serious and substantial objection to its passage. On the last occasion (I think it was) in which I participated in the debate, it was incidentally said to be against the spirit of the Constitution. While the authority of the father of the Constitution is invoked to sanction, by a per- version of his meaning, principles of disunion and rebellion, it is rejected to sustain the controverted power, although his testi- mony in support of it has been clearly and explicitly rendered. This power, thus asserted, exercised, and maintained, in favor of which leading politicians in South Carolina have themselves voted, is alleged to furnish "an extraordinary case," where the powers reserved to the States, under the Constitution, are usurped by the general government, If it be, there is scarcely a statute in our code which would not present a case equally extraordinary, justifying South Carolina or any other State to nullify it. The United States are not only threatened with the nullification of numerous acts, which they have deliberately passed, but with a withdrawal of one of the members from the confederacy. If the unhappy case should ever occur, of a State being really THE AMERICAN SYSTEM, ETC. 228 desirous to separate itself from the Union, it would present two questions. The first would be, whether it had a right to with- draw, without the common consent of the members ; and snp- posing, as I believe, no such right to exist, whether it would bo expedient to yield consent. Although there may be power to prevent a secession, it might be deemed politic to allow it. It might be considered expedient to permit the refractory State to take the portion of goods that falleih to her, to sutler her to gather her all together, and to go off with her living. But, if a State should be willing, and allowed thus to depart, and to renounce her future portion of the inheritance of this great, glorious and prosperous Republic, she would speedily return, and, in language of repentance, say to the other mem- bers of this Union, brethren, "I have sinned against heaven and before thee." Whether they would kill the fatted calf, and, chiding any complaining member of the family, say, "this thy sister was dead, and is alive again ; and was lost, and is found," I sincerely pray the historian may never have occasion to record. But nullification and disunion are not the only, nor the most formidable, means of assailing the tariff. Its opponents opened the campaign at the last session of Congress, and, with the most obliging frankness, have since publicly exposed their plan of operations. It is, to divide and conquer ; to attack and subdue the system in detail. They began by reducing the duty on salt and molasses, and, restoring the drawback of the duty on the latter article, allowed the exportation of spirits distilled from it. To all who are interested in the distillation of spirits from native materials, whether fruit, molasses or grain, this latter measure is particularly injurious. During the administration of Mr. Adams, the duty on foreign molasses was augmented, and the drawback, which had been previously allowed of the duty upon the expor- tation of spirits distilled from it, was repealed. The object Mas to favor native produce, and to lessen the competition of foreign spirits, or spirits distilled from foreign materials, with spirits distilled from domestic material. It was deemed to be especially advantageous to the Western country, a great part of whose 220 SPEECHES OF IIEXRY CLAY. grain can only find markets at home and abroad by being con- verted into distilled spirits. Encouraged by this partial success, the foes of the tariff may next attempt to reduce the duiies on iron, woolens, and cotton fabrics, successively. The American system of protection should be regarded, as it is, an entire and comprehensive system, made up of various items, and aiming at the prosperity of the whole Union, by protecting the interests of each part. Every part, therefore, has a direct interest in the protection which it enjoys of the articles, which its agriculture produces, or its manufactories fabricate, and also a collateral interest in the protection 'which other portions of the Union derive from their peculiar interests. Thus, the aggregate of the prosperity of all is constituted by the sums of the prosperity of each. Take any one article of the tariff (iron, for example), and there is no such direct interest in its protection, pervading the major part of the United States, as would induce Congress to encourage it, if it stood alone. The States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Kentucky, which are most con- cerned, are encouraged in the production or manufacture of this article, in consequence of the adoption of a general principle, which extends protection to other interests in other parts of the Union. The stratagem which has been adopted by the foes of the system, to destroy it, requires the exercise of constant vigilance and firmness, to prevent the accomplishment of the object. They have resolved to divide and conquer, — the friends of the system should assume the revolutionary motto of our aucestors, "united we stand, divided we fall." They should allow no alteration in any part of the system, as it now exists, which did not aim al rendering more efficacious the system of protection, on which the whole is founded. Every one should reflect, thai it is not equal, to have a particular interest which he is desirous should be fostered, in his part of the country, protected against foreign competition, without his being willing to extend the principle to other interests, deserving protection, in other parts of the Union. THE AMERICAN SYSTEM, ETC. 227 But the measure of reducing the duty on sail and molasses, and reviving the drawback on the importation of spirits distilled from molasses, was an attack on the system, less alarming than another which was made during the last session of Congress, on a kindred system. If any thing could be considered as settled, under the present Constitution of our Government, I had supposed that it was its authority to construct such internal improvements as may be deemed by Congress necessary and proper to carry into effect the power granted to it. For nearly twenty-five years, the power has been asserted and exercised by the Government. For the last fifteen years it has been often controverted in Congress, but it has been invariably maintained, in that body, by repeated decisions, pronounced, after full and elaborate debate, and at intervals of time implying the greatest deliberation. Numerous laws attest the existence of the power ; and no less than twenty- odd laws have been passed in relation to a single work. This power, necessary to all parts of the Union, is indispensable to the West. Without it, this section can never enjoy any part of the benefit of a regular disbursement of the vast revenues of the United States. I recollect perfectly well, that, at the last great struggle for the power, in 1824, Mr. P. P. Barbour of Virginia, the principal champion against it, observed to me, that if it were affirmed on that occasion (Mr. Hemphill's survey bill), he should consider the question settled. And it was affirmed. Yet we are told, that this power can no longer be exercised without an amendment of the Constitution ! On the occasion in South Carolina, to which I have already adverted, ii was said, that the tariff and internal improvements are intimately con- nected, and that the death-blow which it was hoped the one had received, will finally destroy the other. I concur in the opinion, that they are intimately, if not indissolubly, united. Not con- nected together, with the fraudulent intent which has been im- puted, but by their nature, by the tendency of each to advance the objects of the other, and of both to augment the sum of national prosperity. 228 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. If I could believe that the Executive message, which was communicated to Congress upon the application of the veto to the Maysville road, really expressed the opinion of the President of the United States, in consequence of the unfortunate relations which have existed between us, I would forbear to make any observation upon it. It has his name affixed to it ; but it is not every paper which bears the name of a distinguished per- sonage, that is his, or expresses his opinions. We have been lately informed, that the unhappy king of England, in perhaps his last illness, transmitted a paper to Parliament, with his royal signature attached to it, which became an object of great curi- osity. Can any one believe, that that paper conveyed any other sentiments than those of his majesty's ministers? It is impos- sible, that the veto message should express the opinions of the President, and I prove it by evidence derived from himself. Not forty days before that message was sent to Congress, he approved a bill embracing appropriations to various objects of internal improvement, and among others, to improve the naviga- tion of Conneaut Creek. Although somewhat acquainted with the geography of our country, I declare, I did not know of the existence of such a stream until I read the bill. I have since made it an object of inquiry, and have been told, that it rises in one corner of Pennsylvania, and is discharged into Lake Erie, in a corner of the State of Ohio; ami that the xitmost extent, to which iis navigation is susceptible of improvement, is about seven miles. Is it possible, that the President could conceive that a national object, and that the improvement of a great thor- oughfare, on which the mail is transported for some eight or ten States and Territories, is not a national consideration? The power to improve the navigation of -watercourses, nowhere ex- pressly recognized in the Constitution, is infinitely more doubtful than the establishment of mail roads, which is explicitly author- ized in that instrument! Did nol the President, during the canvass which preceded his election, in his answer to a letter from Governor Pay, of Indiana, written at the instance of the Senate of that respectable State, expressly refer to his votes given in the Senate of the United States, for his opinion as to the power THE AMERICAN' SYSTEM, BTO. 229 of the general government, and inform him thai his opinion remained unaltered? And do we not find, upon consulting the journals of the Senate, that among other votes affirming the existence of the power, he voted for an appropriation to the Chesapeake and Delaware canal, which is only about fourteen miles in extent? And do we not know that il was at that time, like the Maysville road now, in progress of execution under the direction of a company incorporated by a State ? And that, while the Maysville road had a connection with roads east of Maysville and south-west of Lexington, the turnpiking of which was contemplated, that canal had no connection with any other existing canal. The veto message is perfectly irreconcilable with the previous acts, votes, and opinions of General Jackson. It does not ex- press his opinions, but those of his advisers and counselors, and especially those of his cabinet. If we look at the composition of that cabinet, we can not doubt it, Three of the five who, I believe, compose it (whether the postmaster-general be one or not, I do not know), are known to be directly and positively opposed to the power ; a fourth, to use a term descriptive of the favorite policy of one of them, is a non-committal, and as to the fifth, good Lord deliver us from such friendship as his to inter- nal improvements. Further, I have heard it from good authority (but I will not vouch for it, although I believe it to be true), that some of the gentlemen from the South waited upon the President, while he held the Maysville bill under consideration, and told him if he approved of that bill, the South would no longer approve of him, but oppose his administration. I cannot, therefore, consider the message as conveying the sentiments and views of the President. It is impossible. It is the work of his cabinet; and if, unfortunately, they were not practically i in sponsible to the people of the United States, they would deserve severe animadversions for having prevailed upon the President, in the precipitation of business, and perhaps with- out his spectacles, to put his name to sttch a paper, and send it forth to Congress and to the nation. Why, 1 have read that paper again and again ; and I never can peruse it without thinking 230 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. of diplomacy, and the name of Talleyrand, Talleyrand, Tal- leyrand, perpetually recurring. It seems to have been written in the spirit of an accommodating- soul, who being determined to have fair weather in any contingency, was equally ready to cry out, good lord, good devil. Are you for internal improve- ments? you may extract from the message texts enough to sup- port your opinion. Are you against them ? the message supplies you with abundant authority to countenance your views. Do you think that a long and uninterrupted current of concurring decisions ought to settle the question of a controverted power ? so the authors of the message affect to believe. But ought any precedents, however numerous, to be allowed to establish a doubt- ful power ? the message agrees with him who thinks not. I can not read this regular document without thinking of Tal- leyrand. That remarkable person was one of the most eminent and fortunate men of the French revolution. Prior to its com- mencement, he held a bishopric under the ill-fated Louis the sixteenth. When that great political storm showed itself above the horizon, he saw which way the wind was going to blow, and trimmed his sails accordingly. He was in the majority of the convention, of the national assembly, and of the party that sus- tained the bloody Robespierre and his cut-throat successor. He belonged to the party of the consuls, the consul for life, and finally the emperor. Whatever parly was uppermost, you would see the head of Talleyrand always high among them, never down. Like a certain dextrous animal, throw him as you please, head or tail, back or belly uppermost, he is always sure to light upon his feet. During a great part of the period described, he was minister of foreign affairs, and although totally devoid of all prin- ciple, no man ever surpassed him in adroitness of his diplomatic notes. He is now, at an advanced age, I believe, grand cham- berlain of his majesty, Charles the tenth. 1 have lately seen an amusing anecdote of this celebrated man, which forces itself upon me whenever I look at the cabinet mes- sage. The kintr of France, like our President, toward the close of the last session of Congress, found himself in a minority. A question arose, whether, in consequenee, he should dissolve the TIIE AMERICAN SYSTEM, ETC. 231 Chamber of Deputies, which resembles our House of Represen- tatives. All France was agitated with the question. No one could solve it. At length, they concluded to go to that saga- cious, cunning old fox, Talleyrand, to let them know what should be done. I tell you what gentlemen, said he (looking very gravely, and taking a pinch of snuff), in the morning I think his majesty will dissolve the Deputies ; at noon I have changed that opinion ; and at night I have no opinion at all. Now, on reading the first column of this message, one thinks that the cabinet have a sort of an opinion in favor of internal improve- ments, with some limitations. By the time he has read to the middle of it, he concludes they have adopted the opposite opin- ion ; and when he gets to the end of it, he is perfectly per- suaded, they have no opinion of their own whatever. Let us glance at a few only of the reasons, if reasons they can be called, of this piebald message. The first is, that the exer- cise of the power has produced discord, and, to restore harmony to the national councils, it should be abandoned, or, which is tantamount, the Constitution must be amended. The President is therefore advised to throw himself into the minority. Well — did that revive harmony ? When the question was taken in the House of the people's Representatives, an obstinate majority still voted for the bill, the objections in the message notwithstanding. And in the Senate, the representatives of the States, a refractory majority, stood unmoved. But does the message mean to assert, that no great measure, about which public sentiment is much divided, ought to be adopted in consequence of that division ? Then none can ever be adopted. Apply this new rule to the case of the American Revolution. The colonies were rent into implacable parties — the tories everywhere abounded, and in some places outnumbered the whigs. This continued to be the state of things throughout the revolutionary contest. Suppose some timid, time-serving whig had, during its progress, addressed the public, and, adverting to the discord which prevailed, and to the expediency of restoring harmony in the land, had proposed to abandon or postpone the establishment of our liberty and inde- pendence, until all should agree in asserting them ? The late 233 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. war was opposed by a powerful and talented party ; what would have been thought of President Madison, if, instead of a patriotic and energetic message, recommending it, as the only alternative, to preserve our honor and vindicate our right, he had come to Congress with a proposal that we should continue to submit to the wrongs and degradation inflicted upon our country by a for- eign power, because we were, unhappily, greatly divided ? What would have become of the settlement of the Missouri question, the tariff, the Indian bill of the last session, if the existence of a strong and almost equal division in the public councils ought to have prevented their adoption ? The principle is nothing more nor less than a declaration, that the right of the majority to gov- ern, must yield to the perseverance, respectability, and numbers of the minority. It is in keeping with the nullifying doctrines of South Carolina, and is such a principle as might be expected to be put forth by such a cabinet. The Government of the United States, at this juncture, exhibits a most remarkable spec- tacle. It is that of a majority of the nation having P" f &* powers of Government into the hands of the minority. If any one can doubt this, let him look back at the elements of the Executive, at the presiding officers of the two Houses, at the composition and the chairmen of the most important committees, who shape and direct the public business in Congress. Let him look, above all, at measures, the necessary consequences of such an anomalous state of things — internal improvements gone, or going ; the whole American system threatened, and the triumphant shouts of antici- pated victory sounding in our ears. Georgia, extorting from the fears of an affrighted majority of Congress an Indian bill, which may prostrate all the laws, treaties, and policy which have regu- lated our relations with the Indians from the commencement of our Government ; and politicians in South Carolina, at the same time, brandishing the torch of civil war, and pronouncing un- bounded eulogiums upon the President, for the good he has done, and the still greater good which they expect at his hands, and the sacrifice of the interests of the majority. Another reason assigned in the Maysville message is, the desire of paying the national debt. By an act passed in the year 1817, THE AMERICAN SYSTEM, ETC. 233 an annual appropriation was made of ten millions of dollars, ■which were vested in the commissioners of the sinking fund, to pay the principal and interest of the public debt. That act was prepared and carried through Congress by one of the most esti- mable and enlightened men that this country ever produced, whose premature death is to be lamented on every account, but especially because, if he were now living, he would be able, more than any other man, to check the extravagance and calm the violence raging in South Carolina, his native State. Under the operation of that act, nearly one hundred and fifty millions of the principal and interest of the public debt were paid, prior to the commencement of the present administration. Dining that of Mr. Adams, between forty and fifty were paid, while larger appropriations of money and land were made, to objects of internal improvements, than ever had been made by all pre- ceding administrations together. There only remained about fifty millions to be paid, when the present chief magistrate entered on the duties of that office, and a considerable portion of that can not be discharged during the present official term. The redemption of the debt is, therefore, the work of Con- gress; the President has nothing to do with it, the Secretary of the Treasury being directed annually to pay the ten millions to the commissioners of the sinking fund, whose duty it is to apply the amount to the extinguishment of the debt. The Secretary himself has no more to do with the operation, than the hydrants through which the water passes to the consumption of the popu- lation of this city. He turns the cock on the first of January, and the first of July, in each year, and the public treasure is poured out to the public creditor from the reservoir, filled by the wisdom of Congress. It is evident, from this just view of the matter, that Congress, to which belongs the care of providing the ways and means, was as competent as the President to determine what portion of their constituents' money could be applied to the improvement of their condition. As much of the public debt as can be paid, will be discharged in four years by the operation of the sinking fund. I have seen, in some late paper, a calculation of the delay which would have resulted, in 20 234 srEEciiEs of henry clay. its payment, from the appropriation to the Maysville road, and it was less than one week ! How has it happened, that, under the administration of Mr. Adams, and during every year of it, such large and liberal appropriations could be made for internal im- provements, without touching the fund devoted to the public debt, and that this administration should find itself balked in its first year ? The veto message proceeds to insist, that the Maysville and Lexington road is not a national, but a local road, of sixty miles in length, and confined within the limits of a particular State. If, as that document also asserts, the power can, in no case, be exer- cised until it shall have been explained and defined by an amend- ment of the Constitution, the discrimination of national and local roads would seem to be altogether unnecessary. What is or is not a national road, the message supposes may admit of contro- versy, and is not susceptible of precise definition. The difficulty which its authors imagine, grows out of their attempt to substi- tute a rule founded upon the extent and locality of the road, instead of the use and ])U7'poses to which it is applicable. If the road facilitates, in a considerable degree, the transportation of the mail to a considerable portion of the Union, and at the same time promotes internal commerce among several States, and may tend to accelerate the movement of armies, and the distribution of the munitions of war, it is of national consideration. Tested by this, the true rule, the Maysville road was undoubtedly national. It connects the largest body, perhaps, of fertile land in the Union, with the navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and with the canals of the States of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. It begins on the line which divides th<' Slates of Ohio and Kentucky, and, of course, quickens trade and intercourse between them. Tested by the character of other works, for which the President, as a Senator, voted, or which were approved by him only about a month before he rejected the Maysville bill, the road was undoubtedly national. But this view of the matter, however satisfactory it ought to be, is imperfect. It will be admitted, that the Cumberland road is national. It is completed no farther than Zanfsville. in the State THE AMERICAN SVS'I'KM. inc. !':>."> of Ohio. On reaching- that point, two routes present themselves for its further extension, both national, and both deserving of execution. One leading north-westwardly, through the States of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, to Missouri, and the other south- westwardly, through the States of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama, to the Gulf of Mexico. Both have been king- contemplated. Of the two, the south-western is the most wanted, in the present state of population, and will probably always be of the greatest use. But the north-western route is in progress of execution beyond Zanesville, and appropriations toward part of it, were sanctioned by the President at the last session. National highways can only be executed in sections, at different times. So the Cumberland road was and continues to be constructed. Of all the parts of the south-western route, the road from Maysville to Lexington is most needed, whether we regard the amount of transportation and traveling upon it, or the impediments which it presents in the winter and spring months. It took my family four days to reach Lexington from Maysville, in April, 1829. The same scheme which has been devised and practiced to defeat the tariff, has been adopted to undermine internal improve- ments. They are to be attacked in detail. Hence the rejection of the Maysville road, the Fredericktown road, and the Louis- ville canal. But is this fair? Ought each proposed road to be viewed separately and detached? Ought it not to be considered in connection with other great works which are in progress of execution, or are projected ? The policy of the foes indicates what ought to be the policy of the friends of the power. The blow aimed at internal improvements has. fallen with unmerited severity upon the State of Kentucky. No State in the Union has ever shown more generous devotion to its preserva- tion and to the support of its honor and its interest, than she has. During the late war, her sons fought gallantly by the side of the President, on the fflorious eighth of January, when he covered himself with unfading lauivls. AVherever the war raged, they were to be found among the foremost in battle, freely bleeding in the service of their country. They have never threatened nor 230 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. calculated the value of this happy Union. Their representatives in Congress have constantly and almost unanimously supported the power, cheerfully voting for large appropriations to works of internal improvements in other States. Not one cent of the common treasure has been expended on any public road in that State. They contributed to the elevation of the President, under a firm conviction, produced by his deliberate acts, and his solemn assertions, that he was friendly to the power. Under such circumstances, have they not just and abundant cause of surprise, regret and mortification, at the late unexpected decision ? Another mode of destroying the system, about which I fear I have detained you too long, which its foes have adopted, is to assail the character of its friends. Can you otherwise account for the spirit of 'animosity with which I am pursued? A senti- ment this morning caught my eye, in the shape of a fourth of July toast, proposed at the celebration of that anniversary in South Carolina, by a gentleman whom I never saw, and to whom I am a total stranger. With humanity, charity, and Christian benevolence unexampled, he wished that I might be driven so far beyond the frigid regions of the northern zone, that all hell could not thaw me ! Do you believe it was against me, this feeble and frail form, tottering with age, this lump of perishing clay, that all this kindness was directed? No, no, no. It was against the measures of policy which I have espoused, against the system which I have labored to uphold, that it was aimed. If I had been opposed to the tariff and internal improvements, and in favor of the South Carolina doctrine of nullification, the Bame worthy gentleman would have wished that I might be ever fanned by soft breezes, charged with aromatic odors, — that my path might be strewed with roses, and my abode be an earthly paradise. J am now a private man, the humblest of the humble, possessed of no office, no power, no patronage, no subsidized press, no post-office department to distribute its effusions, no army, no navy, no official corps to chant my praises, and to drink, in flowing b>>wls, my health and prosperity. I have nothing but the warm affections of a portion of the people, and TIIK AMERICAN SYSTEM, ETC. 237 a fair reputation, the only inheritance derived from my father, and almost the only inheritance which I am desirous of trans- mitting to my children. The present chief magistrate has done me much wrong, but I have freely forgiven him. He believed, no doubt, that I had done him previous wrong. Although I am unconscious of it, he had that motive for his conduct toward me. But others, who had joined in the hue and cry against me, had no such pretext. Why then am I thus pursued, my words perverted and distorted, my acts misrepresented? Why do more than a hundred presses daily point their cannon at me, and thunder forth their peals of abuse and detraction ? It is not against me. That is impossible. A few years more, and this body will be where all is still and silent. It is against the principles of civil liberty, against the tariff and internal improvements, to which the better part of my life has been devoted, that this implacable war is waged. My enemies Hatter themselves, that those systems maybe overthrown by my destruction. Vain and impotent hope ! My existence is not of the smallest consequence to their preservation. They will survive me. Long, long after I am gone, while the lofty hills encompass this fair city, the offspring of those measures shall remain ; while the beautiful river that sweeps by its Avails, shall continue to bear upon its proud bosom the wonders which the immortal genius of Fulton, with the blessings of Providence, has given ; while truth shall hold its sway among men, those systems will invigorate the industry, and animate the hopes, of the farmer, the mechanic, the manufacturer, and all other classes of our countrymen. People of Ohio here assembled, — mothers, — daughters, — sons and sires, when reclining on the peaceful pillow of repose, and communing with your own hearts, ask yourselves, if I ought to be the unremitting object of perpetual calumny? If, when the opponents of the late President gained the victory on the fourth of March, 1829, the war ought not to have ceased, quarters been granted, and prisoners released? Did not those opponents obtain all the honors, offices, and emoluments of Government; the power, which they have frequently exercised, of rewarding 238 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. whom they pleased, and punishing whom they could ? Was not all this sufficient? Does it all avail not, while Mordecai, the Jew, stands at the king's gate ? I thank you, fellow-citizens, again and again, for the numerous proofs you have given me of your attachment and confidence. And may your fine city continue to enjoy the advantages of the enterprise, industry, and public spirit of its mechanics and other inhabitants, until it rises in wealth, extent and prosperity, with the largest of our Atlantic capitals. ON THE PUBLIC LANDS BILL. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, DECEMBER 20, 1835. The public lands, from their wide extent and immense value, have been an interesting subject in our legislation. The render will be interested to know the views of Mr. Clay upon the disposal to be made of them. The fallowing is a speech upon the subject, delivered in the Senate, December 29, 1835. Although I find myself borne down by the severest affliction with which Providence has ever been pleased to visit me, I have thought that my private griefs ought not lunger to prevent me from attempting, ill as I feel qualified, to discharge my public duties. And I now rise, in pursuance of the notice which has been given, to ask leave to introduce a bill to appropriate, for a limited time, the proceeds of the sales of the public lands of the United States, and for granting land to certain States. I feel it incumbent on me to make a brief explanation of the highly important measure which I have now the honor to pro- pose. The bill, which I desire to introduce, provides for the distribution of the proceeds of the public lands, in the years 1833, 1834, 1835, 183G and 1837, among the twenty-four States of the Union, and conforms substantially to that which passed in 1833. It is, therefore, of a temporary character; but if it shall be found to have salutary operation, it will be in the power of a future Congress to give it an indefinite continuance ; and, if otherwise, it will expire by its own tonus. In the event of Avar unfortunately braking out with any foreign power, the bill is to cease, and the fund which it distributes is (■> be applied to (239) 240 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. the prosecution of the war. The bill directs that ten per centum of the net proceeds of the public lands, sold within the limits of the seven new Stales, shall be first set apart for them, in addi- tion to the five per centum reserved by their several compacts with the United States ; and that the residue of the proceeds, whether from sales made in the States or Territories shall be divided among the twenty-four States, in proportion to their respective Federal population. In this respect the bill conforms to that which was introduced in 1832. For one I should have been willing to have allowed the new Stales twelve and a half instead of ten per centum, but as that was objected to by the President, in his veto message, and has been opposed in other quarters, I thought it best to restrict the allowance to the more moderate sum. The bill also contains lariie and liberal grants of land to several of the new States, to place them upon an equality with others to which the bounty of Congress has been heretofore extended, and provides that, when other new States shall be admitted into the Union, they shall receive their share of the common fund. The net amount of the sales of the public lands in the year 1833 was the sum of three millions nine hundred and sixty- seven thousand six hundred and eighty-two dollars and fifty-five cents ; in the year 1834 was four million eight hundred and fifty* seven thousand and six hundred dollars and sixty-nine cents; and in the year 1835, according to actual receipts in the three first quarters and an estimate of the fourth, is twelve million two hundred and twenty-two thousand one hundred and twenty-one dollars and fifteen cents ; making an aggregate for the three years of twenty-one million forty-seven thousand four hundred and four dollars and thirty-nine cents. This aggregate is. what the bill proposes to distribute and pay to the twenty-four States, on the first day of May, 18.SG, upon the principles which I have stated. The difference between the estimate made by the Secre- tary of the Treasury and that which I have offered of the pro- duct of the last quarter of this year, arises from my having taken, as the probable sum, one third of the total amount of the three first quarters, and he some other conjectural sum. ON THE PUBLIC LANDS BILL. 241 Deducting from the twenty-one million forty-seven thousand four hundred and four dollars and thirty-nine cents, the fifteen per centum to which the seven new States, according to the bill, will be first entitled, amounting to two million six hundred and twelve thousand three hundred and fifty dollars and eighteen cents, there will remain for distribution among the twenty-four States of the Union the sum of eighteen million four hundred and thirty-five thousand and fifty-four dollars and twenty-one cents. Of this sum the proportion of Kentucky will be nine hundred and sixty thousand nine hundred and forty-seven dol- lars and forty-one cents, of "Virginia the sum of one million five hundred and eighty-one thousand six hundred and sixty-nine dollars and thirty-nine cents, of North Carolina nine hundred and eighty-eight thousand six hundred and thirty-two dollars and forty-two cents, and of Pennsylvania two million eighty-three thousand two hundred and thirty-three dollars and thirty-two cents. The proportion of Indiana, including the fifteen per centum, will be eight hundred and fifty-five thousand five hun- dred and eighty-eight dollars and twenty-three cents, of Ohio one million six hundred and seventy-seven thousand one hun- dred and ten dollars and eighty-four cents, and of Mississippi nine hundred and fifty -eight thousand nine hundred and forty- five dollars and forty-two cents. And the proportions of all the twenty-four Slates are indicated in a table which I hold in my hand, prepared at my instance in the office of the Secretary of the Senate, and to which any Senator may have access. The grounds on which the extra allowance is made to the new States are, first, their complaint that all lands sold by the Federal Gov- ernment are five years exempted from State taxation ; secondly, that it is to be applied in such manner as will augment the value of the unsold public lands within them ; and lastly, their recent settlement. It may be recollected that a bill passed both Houses of Con- gress, in the session which terminated on the third of March, 1833, for the distribution of the amount received from the public lands, upon the principles of that now offered. The President, in his message at the commencement of the previous session, 21 242 SPEECHES OF HEXRT CLAY. had especially invited the attention of Congress to the subject of the public lands ; had adverted to their liberation from the pledge for the payment of the public debt ; and had intimated his readiness to concur in any disposal of them -which might appear to Congress most conducive to the quiet, harmony, and general interest of the American people. After such a message, the President's disapprobation of the bill could not have been anticipated. It was presented to him on the second of March, 1833. It was not returned as the Con- stitution requires, but was retained by him after the expiration of his official term, and until the next session of Congress, ■which had no power to act upon it. It was understood aud believed that, in anticipation of the passage, of the bill, the President had prepared objections to it, which he had intended to return with his negative ; but he did not. If the bill had been returned, there is reason to believe that it would have passed, notwithstanding those objections. In the House, it had been carried by a majority of more than two thirds. And, in the Senate, although there was not the majority on its passage, it was supposed that, in consequence of the passage of the com- promise bill, some of the Senators who had voted against the land bill had changed their views, and would have voted for it upon its return, and others had left the Senate. There are those who believe that the bill was unconstitution- ally retained by the President and is now the law of the land. But whether it be so or not, the general government holds the public domain in trust for the common benefit of all the Slates ; and it is, therefore, competent to provide by law that the trustee shall make distribution of the proceeds of the three past years, as well as future years, among those entitled to the beneficial interest. The bill makes such a provision. And it is very remarkable, that the sum which it proposes to distribute is about the gross surplus, or balance, estimated in the Treasury on the first of January, 183G. When the returns of the last quarter of the year come in, it will probably be found that the surplus is larger than the sum which the bill distributes. But if it should not be, there will remain the seven millions held in the Bank of ON THE PUBLIC LANDS RILL. 243 the United States, applicable, as far as it may be received, to the service of the ensuing year. It would be premature now to enter into a consideration of the probable revenue of future years ; but, at the proper time, I think it will not be difficult to show that, exclusive of what may be received from the public lands, it will be abundantly sufficient for all the economical purposes of Government, in a time of peace. And the bill, as I have already stated, provides for seasons of war. I wish to guard against all misconception by repeating, what I have heretofore several times said, that this bill is not founded upon any notion of a power in Congress to lay and collect taxes and distribute the amount anions the several O States. I think Congress possesses no such power, and has no right to exercise it until such amendment as that proposed by the senator from South Carolina (Mr. Calhoun) shall be adopted. But the bill rests on the basis of a clear and comprehensive grant of power to Congress over the territories and property of the United States in the Constitution, and upon express stipulations in the deeds of cession. Mr. President, I have ever regarded, with feelings of the pro- foundest regret, the decision which the President of the United States felt himself induced to make on the bill of 1833. If it had been his pleasure to approve it, the heads of departments would not now be taxing their ingenuity to find out useless objects of expenditures, or objects which may be well postponed to a more distant day. If the bill had passed, about twentv mil- lions of dollars would have been, during the three last years, in the hands of the several States, applicable by them to the benefi- cent purposes of internal improvement, education, or coloniza- tion. What immense benefits might not have been diffused throughout the land by the active employment of that laro-e sum? What new channels of commerce and communication might not have been opened ? What industry stimulated, what labor rewarded? How many youthful minds might have re- ceived the blessings of education and knowledge, and been rescued from ignorance, vice, and ruin ? How many descend- ants of Africa might have been transported from a country where 244 SPEECHES OF IIENKY CLAY. they never can enjoy political or social equality, to the native land of their fathers, where no impediment exists to their attain- ment of the highest decree of elevation, intellectual, social, and political ? Where they might have been successful instruments, in the hands of God, to spread the religion of his son, and to lay the foundations of civil liberty ! And, sir, when we institute a comparison between what might have been effected, and what has been in fact done, with that large amount of national treasure, our sensations of regret, on account of the fate of the bill of 1833, are still keener. Instead of its being dedicated to the beneficent uses of the whole people, and our entire country, it has been an object of scrambling among local corporations, and locked up in the vaults, or loaned out by the directors of a few of them, who are not under the slightest responsibility to the government or the people of the United States. Instead of liberal, enlightened, and national pur- poses, it has been partially applied to local, limited and selfish uses. Applied to increase the semi-annual dividends of favorite stockholders in favorite banks ! Twenty millions of the national treasure are scattered in parcels among petty corporations ; and while they are growling over the fragments and greedy for more, the secretaries are brooding on schemes for squandering the whole. But although we have lost three precious years, the Secretary of the Treasury tells us that the principal is yet safe, and much good may be still achieved with it. The general government, by an extraordinary exercise of executive power, no longer affords aid to any new works of internal improvement. Although it sprang from the Union, and can not survive the Union, it no longer engages in any public improvement to perpetuate the existence of the Union. It is but justice to it to acknowledge, that, with the co-operation of the public-spirited State of Mary- land, it effected one national road having that tendency. But the spirit of improvement pervades the land, in every variety of form, active, vigorous, and enterprising, wanting pecuniary aid as well as intelligent direction. The States have undertaken what the general government is prevented from accomplishing. ON THE TUBLIO LANDS BILL. 24:5 They are strengthening the Union by various lines of commu- nication thrown across and through the mountains. New York has completed one great chain. Pennsylvania another, bolder in conception and far more arduous in the execution. Virginia has a similar work in progress, worthy of all her enterprise and energy. A fourth further south, where the parts of the Union are too loosely connected, has been projected, and it can certainly be executed with the supplies which this bill affords, and per- haps not without them. This bill passed, and these and other similar undertakings completed, we may indulge the patriotic hope that our Union will be bound by ties and interests that render it indissoluble. As the general government withholds all direct agency from these truly national works, and from all new objects of internal im- provement, ought it not to yield to the States, what is their own, the amount received from the public lands ? It would thus but execute faithfully a trust expressly created by the original deeds of cession, or resulting from the treaties of acquisition. With this ample resource, every desirable object of improvement, in every part of our extensive country, may, in due time, be accom- plished. Placing this exhaustless fund in the hands of the sev- eral members of the confederacy, their common federal head mav address them in the glowing language of the British bard, and 'Bid harbors open, public ways extend, Bid temples worthier of the God ascend. Bid the broad arch the dangerous flood contain, The mole projecting break the roaring main. Back to his bounds their subject sea command, And roll obedient rivers through the land." The affair of the public lands was forced upon me. In the session of 1831 and 1832 a motion from a quarter politically unfriendly to me, was made to refer it to the committee on man- ufactures, of which I was a member. I strenuously opposed the reference. I remonstrated, I protested, I entreated, I im- plored. It was in vaiu that I insisted that the committee on the 246 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. public lands was the regular standing committee to which the reference should be made. It was in vain that I contended that the public lands and domestic manufactures were subjects abso- lutely incongruous. The unnatural alliance was ordered by the vote of a majority of the Senate. I felt that a personal embar- rassment was intended me. I fell that the design was to place in my hands a many-edged instrument, which I could not touch without being wounded. Nevertheless I subdued all my repug- nance, and I engaged assiduously in the task which had been so unkindly assigned me. This, or a similar bill, was the offspring of my deliberations. When reported, the report accompanying it was referred by the same majority of the Senate to the very committee on the public lands to which I had unsuccessfully sought to have the subject originally assigned, for the avowed purpose of obtaining a counteracting report. But, in spite of all opposition, it passed the Senate at that session. At the next, both Houses of Congress. I confess, I feel anxious for the fate of this measure, less on account of any agency I have had in proposing it, as I hope and believe, than from a firm, sincere, and thorough conviction, that no one measure, ever presented to the councils of the nation, was fraught with so much unmixed good, and could exert such powerful and enduring influence in the preservation of the Union itself, and upon some of its highest interests. If I can be instrumental, in any degree, in the adoption of it, I shall enjoy, in that retirement into which I hope shortly to enter, a heart-feeling satisfaction and a lasting consolation. I shall carry there no regrets, no complaints, no reproaches on my own account. When I look back upon my humble origin, left an orphan too voting to have been conscious of a father's smiles and caresses, with a widowed mother, surrounded by a numer- ous offspring, in the midst of pecuniary embarrassments, without a regular education, without fortune, without friends, without patrons, I have reason to be satisfied with my public career. I ought to be thankful for the high places and honors to which I have been called by the favor and partiality of my country- men, and I am thankful and grateful. And I shall take with ON THE PUBLIC LANDS BILL. 247 me the pleasing consciousness, that, in whatever station I have been placed, I have earnestly and honestly labored to justify their confidence by a faithful, fearless, and zealous discharge of my public duties. Pardon these personal allusions. I make the motion of which notice has been given. PETITIONS FOR THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, FEBIU'ARY 7, 1S39. Mr. Clay's views upon the Abolition of Slavery may be learned from the following extract from a speech delivered upon the occasion of the presentation of several Abolition petitions. After indicating various in- surmountable difficulties in the way of immediate emancipation, he con- tinues : I have received, Mr. President, a petition to the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, which I wish to present to the Senate. It is signed by several hundred inhabit- ants of the District of Columbia, and chiefly of the city of Washington. Among them I recognize the name of the highly esteemed mayor of the city, and other respectable names, some of which are personally and well known' to me. They express their regret that the subject of the Abolition of Slavery within the District of Columbia continues to be pressed upon the consider- ation of Cono-ress by inconsiderate and misguided individuals in other parts of the United States. They state, that they do not desire the abolition of Slavery within the District, even if Congress possess the very questionable power of abolishing it, without the consent of the people whose interests would be im- mediately and directly affected by the measure ; that it is a question solely between the people of the District and their only constitutional Legislature, purely municipal, and one in which no exterior influence or interest can justly interfere ; that if, at any future period, the people of this District should desire the abolition of Slavery within it, they will doubtless make their 1218) ABOLITION PETITIONS. 2-49 wishes known, when it will be time enough to take the matter into consideration ; that they do not, on this occasion, present themselves to Congress because they are slaveholders ; many of them are not ; some of them are conscientiously opposed to Slavery ; but they appear because they justly respect the rights of those who own that description of property, and because they entertain a deep conviction that the continued agitation of the question by those who have no right to interfere with it, has an injurious influence on the peace and tranquillity of the commu- nity, and upon the well-being and happiness of those who are held in subjection ; they finally protest as well against the unau- thorized intervention of which they complain, as against any legislation on the part of Congress in compliance therewith. But as I wish these respectable petitioners to be themselves heard, I request that their petition may be read. [It was read accord- ingly, and Mr. Clay proceeded.] I am informed by the com- mittee which requested me to offer this petition, and believe, that it expresses the almost unanimous sentiments of the people of the District of Columbia. The performance of this service affords me a legitimate oppor- tunity, of which, with the permission of the Senate, I mean now to avail myself, to say something, not only on the particular ob- jects of the petition, but upon the great and interesting subject with which it is intimately associated. It is well known to the Senate, that I have thought that the most judicious course with abolition petitions has not been of late pursued by Congress. I have believed that it would have been wisest to receive and refer them, without opposition, and report against their object in a calm, and dispassionate, and argumentative appeal to the good sense of the whole community. It has been supposed, however, by a majority of Congress, that it was most expedient either not to receive the petitions at all, or, if formally received, not to act definitively upon them. There is no substantial difference between these opposite opinions, since both look to an absolute rejection of the prayer of the petitioners. But there is a great difference in the form of proceeding; and, Mr. President, some experience in the conduct of human affairs 250 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. lias taught me to believe, that a neidect to observe established forms is often attended with more mischievous consequences than the infliction of a positive injury. We all know that, even in private life, a violation of the existing usages and ceremonies of society can not take place without serious prejudice. I fear, sir, that the Abolitionists have acquired a considerable apparent force by blending with the object which they have in view a collateral and totally different question, arising out of an alleged viola- tion of the right of petition. I know full well, and take great pleasure in testifying, that nothing was remoter from the intention of the majority of the Senate, from which I differed, than to vio- late the right of petition in any case in which, according to its judgment, that right could be constitutionally exercised, or where the object of the petition could be safely or properly granted. Still it must be owned, that the Abolitionists have seized hold of the fact of the treatment which their petitions have received in Congress, and made injurious impressions upon the minds of a large portion of the community. This, I think, might have been avoided by the course which I should have been glad to see pursued. And I desire now, Mr. President, to advert to some of those topics which I think might have been usefully embodied in a report by a committee of the Senate, and which, I am persuaded, w r ould have checked the progress, if it had not altogether arrested the efforts of Abolition. I am sensible, sir, that this work would have been accomplished with much greater ability and with much happier effect, under the auspices of a committee, than it can be by me. But, anxious as 1 always am to contribute whatever is in my power to the harmony, concord, and happiness of this great people, I feel myself irresistibly impelled to do wdiatever is in my power, incompetent as I feel myself to be, to dissuade the public from continuing to agitate a subject fraught with the most direful consequences. There are three classes of persons opposed, or apparently op- posed, to the continued existence of Slavery in the United States. The first are those who, from sentiments of philanthropy and humanity, are conscientiously opposed to the existence of Slavery, ABOLITION PETITIONS. 251 but who are no less opposed, at the same time, to any disturbance of the peace and tranquillity of the Union, or the infringement of the powers of the States composing the confederacy. In this class may be comprehended that peaceful and exemplary Society of '"Friends," one of whose established maxims is, an abhor- rence of war in all its forms, and the cultivation of peace and good-will among mankind. The next class consists of apparent Abolitionists ; that is, those who, having been persuaded that the right of petition has been violated by Congress, co-operate with the Abolitionists for the sole purpose of asserting and vindicating that right. And the third class are the real ultra Abolitionists, who are resolved to persevere in the pursuit of their object at all hazards, and without regard to any consequences, however calamitous they may be. With them the rights of property are nothing ; the deficiency of the powers of the general government is nothing; the acknowledged and incontestable powers of the States are nothing ; civil war, a dissolution of the Union, and the overthrow of a government in which are concentrated the fondest hopes of the civilized world, are nothing. A single idea has taken possession of their minds, and onward they pursue it, overlooking all barriers, reckless and regardless of all conse- quences. With this class, the immediate abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia, and in the Territory of Florida, the prohibition of the removal of slaves from State to State, and the refusal to admit any new State, comprising within its limits the institution of domestic Slavery, are but so many means con- ducing to the accomplishment of the ultimate but perilous end at which they avowedly and boldly aim ; are but so many short stages in the long and bloody road to the distant goal at which they would finally arrive. Their purpose is Abolition, universal Abolition ; peaceably if it can, forcibly if it must be. Their object is no longer concealed by the thinnest vail ; it is avowed and proclaimed. Utterly destitute of constitutional or other rightful power, living in totally distinct communities, as alien to the communities in which the subject on which they would operate resides, so far as concerns political power over that subject, as if they lived in Africa or Asia, they nevertheless 252 SPEECHES OF henry clay. promulgate to the world their purpose to be, to manumit forthwith, and without compensation, and without moral preparation, three millions of negro slaves, under jurisdiction altogether separated from those under which they live. I have said, that immediate abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia and the Terri- tory of Florida, and the exclusion of new States, were only means toward the attainment of a much more important end. Unfor- tunately they are not the only means. Another, and much more lamentable one is that which this class is endeavoring to employ, of arraying one portion against another portion of the Union. With that view, in all their leading prints and publications, the alleged horrors of Slavery are depicted in the most glowing and exaggerated colors, to excite the imaginations and stimulate the rage of the people in the free States, against the people in the slave States. The slaveholder is held up and represented as the most atrocious of human beings. Advertisements of fugitive slaves and of slaves to be sold, are carefully collected and blazoned forth, to infuse a spirit of detestation and hatred against one entire, and the largest, section of the Union. And, like a notorious agitator upon another theater, they would hunt down and proscribe from the pale of civilized society, the inhabitants of that entire section. Allow me, Mr. President, to say, that while I recognize in the justly wounded feelings of the Minister of the United States at the Court of St. James, much to excuse the notice which he was provoked to take of that agitator, in my humble opinion, he would better have consulted the dignity of his station and of his country in treating him with contemptuous silence. He would exclude us from European society, — he who himself can only obtain a contraband admis- sion, and is received with scornful repugnance inio it ! If he be no more desirous of our society than we are of his, he may rest assured that a state of eternal non-intercourse will exist be- tween us. Yes, sir, 1 think the Americas Minister would have best pursued the dictates of true dignity, by regarding the lan- guage of the member of the British House of Commons as the malignant ravings of the plunderer of his own country, and the libeler of a foreign and kindred people. ABOLITION PETITIONS. 253 But the means to which I have already adverted are not the only ones which this third class of ultra-abolitionists are employ- ing to effect their ultimate end. They began their operations by professing to employ only persuasive means in appealing to the humanity, and enlightening the understandings, of the slave- holdino- portion of the Union. If there were some kindness in this avowed motive, it must be acknowledged that there was rather a presumptuous display also of an assumed superiority in intelligence and knowledge. For some time they continued to make these appeals to our duty and our interest ; but impatient with the slow influence of their logic upon our stupid minds, they recently resolved to change their system of action. To the agency of their powers of persuasion, they now propose to sub- stitute the powers of the ballot-box ; and he must be blind to what is passing before us, who does not perceive that the inevita- ble tendency of their proceedings is, if these should be found insufficient, to invoke, finally, the more potent powers of the bayonet. Mr. President, it is at this alarming stage of the proceedings of the ultra-abolitionists, that I would seriously invite every con- siderate man in the country solemnly to pause, and deliberately to reflect, not merely on our existing posture, but upon that dreadful precipice down which they would hurry us. It is because these ultra-abolitionists have ceased to employ the instruments of reason and persuasion, have made their cause political, and have appealed to the ballot-box, that I am induced, upon this occasion, to address you. There have been three epochs in the history of our country, at which the spirit of Abolition displayed itself. The first was immediately after the formation of the present federal govern- ment. When the Constitution was about going into operation, its powers were not well understood by the community at large, and remained to be accurately interpreted and defined. At that period numerous abolition societies were formed, comprising not merely the Society of Friends, but many other good men. Peti- tions were presented to Congress, praying for the abolition of Slavery. They were received without serious opposition, referred, 254 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. and reported upon by a committee. The report stated, that the general government had no power to abolish Slavery, as it existed in the several States, and that these States themselves had exclusive jurisdiction over the subject. The report -was generally acquiesced in, and satisfaction and tranquillity ensued ; the abolition societies thereafter limiting their exertions, in respect to the black population, to offices of humanity within the scope of existing laws. The next period when the subject of Slavery, and Abolition incidentally, was brought into notice and discussion, was that on the memorable occasion of the admission of the State of Missouri into the Union. The struggle was long, stienuous, and fearful. It is too recent to make it necessary to do more than merely advert, to it, and to say, that it was finally composed by one of those compromises characteristic of our institutions, and of which the Constitution itself is the most signal instance. The third is that in which we now find ourselves. Various causes, Mr. President, have contributed to produce the existing excitement on the subject of Abolition. The principal one, per- haps, is the example of British emancipation of the slaves in the islands adjacent to our country. Such is the similarity in laws, in language, in institutions, and in common origin, between Great Britain and the United States, that no great measure of national policy can be adopted in the one country without pro- ducing a considerable decree of influence in the other. Confound- in"- the totally different cases together, of the powers of the British Parliament and those of the Congress of the United States, and the totally different situations of the British West India islands, and the slaves in the sovereign and independent States of this confederacy, superficial men have inferred, from the undecided British experiment, the practicabilily of the abolition of Slavery in these States. The powers of the British Parliament are un- limited, and are often described to be omnipotent. The powers of the American Congress, on the contrary, are few, cautiously limited, scrupulously excluding all that are not granted, and, above all, carefully and absolutely excluding all power over the existence or continuance of Slavery in the several States. The ABOLITION PETITIONS. 255 slaves, too, xipon which British legislation operated, were not in the bosom of the kingdom, but in remote and feeble colonies having no voice in Parliament. The West India slaveholder was neither represented nor representative in that Parliament. Aud while I most fervently wish complete success to the British experiment of West India emancipation, I confess, that I have fearful forebodings of a disastrous termination of it. Whatever it may be, I think it must be admitted, that, if the British Par- liament treated the West India slaves as freemen, it also treated the West India freemen as slaves. If, instead of these slaves being separated by a wide ocean from the parent country, three or four millions of African negro slaves had been dispersed over England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, and their owners had been members of the British Parliament — a case which would have presented some analogy to that of our own country — • does any one believe that it would have been expedient or prac- ticable to have emancipated them, leaving them to remain, with all their imbittered feelings, in the united kingdom, boundless as the powers of the British Parliament are ? Mr. President, it is not true, and I rejoice that it is not true, that either of the two great parties in this country has any designs or aim at Abolition. I should deeply lament if it were true. I should consider, if it were true, that the danger to the stability of our system would be infinitely greater than any which does, I hope, actually exist. While neither party can be, I think, justly accused of any abolition tendency or purpose, both have profited, and both have been injured, in particular localities, by the accession or abstraction of abolition support. If the account were fairly stated, I believe the party to which I am opposed lias profited much more, and been injured much less, than that to which I belong. But I am far, for that reason, from being dis- posed to accuse our adversaries of being Abolitionists. And now, Mr. President, if it were possible to overcome the insurmountable obstacles which lie in the way of immediate abolition, let us briefly contemplate some of the consequences which would inevitably ensue. One of these has been occa- sionally alluded to in the progress of these remarks. It is the 256 SPEECHES OF HESRY CLAY. struggle which would instantaneously arise between the two races in most of the southern and southwestern States. And what a dreadful struggle would it not be ! Imbittered by all the recollections of the past, by the unconquerable prejudices which would prevail between the two races, and stimulated by all the hopes and fears of the future, it would be a contest in which the extermination of the blacks, or their ascendency over the whites, would be the sole alternative. Prior to the conclu- sion, or during the progress of such a contest, vast numbers, probably, of the black race would migrate into the free States ; and what effect would such a migration have upon the laboring classes in those States ! Now the distribution of labor in the United States is geographi- cal ; the free laborers occupying one side of the line, and the slave laborers the other ; each class pursuing its own avocations almost altogether unmixed with the other. But on the supposi- tion of immediate abolition, the black class, migrating into the free States, would enter into competition with the white class, diminishing the wages of their labor, and augmenting the hard- ships of their condition. This is not all. The Abolitionists strenuously oppose all sep- aration of the two races. I confess to you, sir, that I have seen with regret, grief, and astonishment, their resolute opposition to the project of colonization. No scheme was ever presented to the acceptance of man, which, whether it be entirely practicable or not, is characterized by more unmixed humanity and benevolence, than that of transporting, with their own consent, the free people of color in the United States to the land of their ancestors. It has the powerful recommendation, that whatever it does, is good ; and, if it effects nothing, it inflicts no one evil or mischief upon any portion of our society. There is no necessary hostility between the objects of Colonization and Abolition. Colonization deals only with the free man of color, and that with his own free, voluntary consent. It has nothing to do with Slavery. It dis- turbs no man's property, seeks to impair no power in the slave States, nor to attribute any to the general government. All its action and all its ways and means are voluntary, depending upon ABOLITION PETITIONS. 257 the blessing of Providence, which hitherto has graciously smiled upon it. And yet, beneficent and harmless as colonization is, no portion of the people of the United States denounces it with so much persevering zeal, and such unmixed bitterness, as do the Abolitionists. They put themselves in direct opposition to any separation whatever between the two races. They would keep them forever pent up together within the same limits, perpetuating their ani- mosities and constantly endangering the peace of the community. They proclaim, indeed, that color is nothing ; that the organic and characteristic differences between the two races ouo-fit to be entirely overlooked and disregarded. And, elevating themselves to a sublime but impracticable philosophy, they would teach us to eradicate all the repugnances of our nature, and to take to our bosoms and our boards, the black man as we do the white, on the same footing of equal social condition. Do they not per- ceive that in thus confounding all the distinctions which God himself has made, they arraign the wisdom and goodness of Providence itself? It has been his divine pleasure to make the black man black, and the white man white, and to distinguish them by other repulsive constitutional differences. It is not necessary for me to maintain, nor shall I endeavor to prove, that it was any part of his divine intention that the one race should be held in perpetual bondage by the other ; but this I will say, that those whom he has created different, and has declared, by their physical structure and color, ought to be kept asunder, should not be brought together by any process whatever of un- natural amalgamation. But if the dangers of the civil contest which I have supposed could be avoided, separation or amalgamation is the only peaceful alternative, if it were possible to effectuate the project of Aboli- tion. The Abolitionists oppose all colonization, and it irresistibly follows, whatever they may protest or declare, that they are in favor of amalgamation. And who are to bring about this amal- gamation ? I have heard of none of these ultra-abolitionists famishing in their own families or persons examples of inter- marriage. Who is to begin it? Is it their purpose not only to 22 258 SPEECHES OF HENBT CLAY. create a pinching competition between black labor and white labor, but do they intend also to contaminate the industrious and laborious classes of society at the North by a revolting admixture of the black element ? It is frequently asked, what is to become of the African race among us ? Are they forever to remain in bondage ? That question was asked more than a half a century ago. It has been answered by fifty years of prosperity but little checkered from this cause. It will be repeated fifty or a hundred years hence. The true answer is, that the same Providence who has hitherto guided and governed us, and averted all serious evils from the existing relation between the two races, will guide and govern our posterity. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof. We have hitherto, with that blessing, taken care of ourselves. Pos- terity will find the means of its own preservation and prosperity. It is only in the most direful event which can befall this people, that this great interest, and all other of our greatest interests, would be put in jeopardy. Although in particular districts, the black population is gaining upon the white, it only constitutes one fifth of the whole population of the United States. And taking the aggregate of the two races, the European is constantly, though slowly, gaining upon the African portion. This fact is demonstrated by the periodical returns of our population. Let us cease, then, to indulge in gloomy forebodings about the im- penetrable future. But, if we may attempt to lift the vail, and contemplate what lies beyond it, I, too, have ventured on a speculative theory, with which I will now trouble you, but which has been published to the world. According to that, in the pro- gress of time, some one hundred and fifty or two hundred years hence, but few vestiges of the black race will remain among our posterity. Mr. President, at the period of the formation of our Constitu- tion, and afterward, our patriotic ancestors apprehended danger to the Union from two causes. One was, the Alleghany moun- tains, dividing the waters which How into the Atlantic ocean from those which found their outlet in the Gulf of Mexico. They seemed to present a natural separation. That danger has ABOLITION PETITIONS. 259 vanished before the noble achievements of the spirit of internal improvement, and the immortal genius of Fulton. And now, nowhere is found a more loyal attachment to the Union, than among those very western people, who, it was apprehended, would be the first to burst its ties. The other cause, domestic Slavery, happily the sole remaining cause which is likely to disturb our harmony, continues to exist. It was this, which created the greatest obstacle, and the most anxious solicitude in the deliberations of the Convention that adopted the general Constitution. And it is this subject that has ever been regarded with the deepest anxiety by all who are sincerely desirous of the permanency of our Union. The father of his country, in his last affecting and solemn appeal to his fellow-citizens, deprecated, as a most calamitous event, the geographical divisions which it might produce. The Conven- tion wisely left to the several States the power over the institu- tion of Slavery, as a power not necessary to the plan of Union which it devised, and as one with which the general govern- ment could not be invested without planting the seeds of certain destruction. There let it remain undisturbed by any unhallowed hand. Sir, I am not in the habit of speaking lightly of the possibility of dissolving this happy Union. The Senate knows that I have deprecated allusions, on ordinary occasions, to that direful event. The country will testify, that, if there be any thing in the history of my public career worthy of recollection, it is the truth and sincerity of my ardent devotion to its lasting preservation. But we should be false in our allegiance to it, if we did not discrimi- nate between the imaginary and real dangers by which it may be assailed. Abolition should no longer be regarded as an ima^in- ary danger. The Abolitionists, let me suppose, succeed in their present aim of uniting the inhabitants of the free States, as one man, against the inhabitants of the slave States. Union on the One side will beget anion on the other. And this process of reciprocal consolidation will be attended with all the violent pre- judices, imbittered passions, and implacable animosities, which ever degraded or deformed human nature. A virtual dissolution 260 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. of the Union will have taken place, while the forms of its exist- ence remain. The most valuable element of union, mutual kind- ness, the feelings of sympathy, the fraternal bonds, which now happilv unite us, will have been extinguished forever. One section will stand in menacing and hostile array against the other. The collision of opinion will be quickly followed by the clash of arms. I will not attempt to describe scenes which now happily lie concealed from our view. Abolitionists themselves would shrink back in dismay and horror at the contemplation of deso- lated fields, conflagrated cities, murdered inhabitants, and the overthrow of the fairest fabric of human government that ever rose to animate the hopes of civilized man. Nor should these Abolitionists flatter themselves that, if they can succeed in their object of uniting the people of the free States, (hey will enter the contest with a numerical superiority that must insure victory. All history and experience prove the hazard and uncertainty of Avar. And we are admonished by holy writ, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. But if they were to conquer, whom would they conquer? A foreign foe; one who had insulted our flag, invaded our shores, and laid our country waste ? No, sir ; no, sir. It would be a conquest without laurels, without glory ; a self, a suicidal conquest ; a conquest of brothers over brothers, achieved by one over another portion of the descendants of common ancestors, who, nobly pledging their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, had fought and bled, side by side, in many a hard battle on land and ocean, severed our country from the British crown, and established our national independence. The inhabitants of the slave States are sometimes accused by their Northern brethern with displaying too much rashness and sensibility to the operations and proceedings of Abulitioni.-i-. But, before they can be rightly judged, there should bo a reversal of conditions. Let me suppose that the people of the slave States were to form societies, subsidize presses, make large pecuniary contributions, send forth numerous missionaries throughout all their own borders, and enter into machinations to burn the beau- tiful capitals, destroy the productive manufactories, and sink in ABOLITION PETITIONS. 261 the ocean the gallant ships of the Northern States. Would these incendiary proceedings be regarded as neighborly and friendly, and consistent with the fraternal sentiments which should ever be cherished by one portion of the Union toward another ? Would they excite no emotion ? occasion no manifestations of dissatisfaction, nor lead to any acts of retaliatory violence ? But the supposed case falls far short of the actual one in a most essential circumstance. In no contingency could these capitals, manufactories and ships, rise in rebellion, and massacre inhabit- ants of the Northern States. I am, Mr. President, no friend of Slavery. The searcher of all hearts knows that every pulsation of mine beats high and strong in the cause of civil liberty. Wherever it is safe and practicable, I desire every portion of the human family in the enjoyment of it. But I prefer the liberty of my own country to that of any other people ; and the liberty of my own race to that of any other race. The liberty of the descendants of Africa in the United States is incompatible with the safety and liberty of the European descendants. There Slavery forms an exception, — an exception resulting from a stern and inexorable necessitv, — to the general liberty in the United States. We did not originate, nor are we responsible for this necessity. Their liberty, if it were possible, could only be established by violating the incon- testable powers of the States, and subverting the Union. And beneath the ruins of the Union would be buried, sooner or later, the liberty of both races. But if one dark spot exists on our political horizon, is it not obscured bv the bright aikl effulgent and cheering lioht that beams all around us ? Was ever a people before so blessed as we are, if true to ourselves? Did ever any other nation contain within its bosom so many elements of prosperity, of greatness, and of glory ? Our only real danger lies ahead, conspicuous, elevated and visible. It was clearly discerned at the commence- ment, and distinctlv seen throughout our whole career. Shall we wantonly run upon it, and destroy all the glorious anticipa- tions of the high destiny that awaits us ? I beseech the Aboli- tionists themselves, solemnly to pause in their mad and fatal 262 SPEECHES OF HENBY CLAY. course. Amid the infinite variety of objects of humanity and benevolence which invite the employment of their energies, let them select some one more harmless, that does not threaten to deluge our country in blood. I call upon that small portion of the clergy, which has lent itself to these wild and ruinou3 schemes, not to forget the holy nature of the divine mission of the founder of our religion, and to profit by his peaceful exam- ples. I entreat that portion of my countrywomen who have given their countenance to abolition, to remember, that they are ever most loved and honored when moving in their own appro- priate and delightful sphere ; and to reflect that the ink which they shed in subscribing with their fair hands abolition petitions, may prove but the prelude to the shedding of the blood of their brethren. I adjure all the inhabitants of the free States to rebuke and discountenance, by their opinion and their example, measures which must inevitably lead to the most calamitous consequences. And let us all, as countrymen, as friends, and as brothers, cher- ish, in unfading memory, the motto which bore our ancestors triumphantly through all the trials of the revolution, as, if ad- hered to, it will conduct their posterity through all that may, in the dispensations of Providence, be reserved for them. ON THE BANK VETO. IN REPLY TO THE SFEECH OF MR. RIVES. OF VIRGINIA, OX THE EXECUTIVE MESSAGE CONTAINING THE PRESIDENT'S OBJECTIONS TO THE BANK BILL. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, AUGUST 19, 1841. Mr. Rives having concluded his remarks, Mr. Clay rose in rejoinder. I have no desire, said he, to pro- long this unpleasant discussion ; but I must say that I heard with great surprise and regret the closing remark, especially, of the honorable gentleman from Virginia, as I did many of those which preceded it. That gentleman stands in a peculiar situa- tion. I found him several years ago in the half-way house, where he seems afraid to remain, and from which he is yet unwilling to so. I had thought, after the thorough riddling which the roof of the house had received in the breaking up of the pet-bank system, he would have fled somewhere else for refuge ; but there he still stands, solitary and alone, shivering and pelted by the pitiless storm. The sub-treasury is repealed ; the pet-bank system is abandoned ; the United States Bank bill is vetoed ; and now, when there is as complete and perfect a reunion of the purse and the sword in the hands of the Execu- tive as ever there was under General Jackson or Mr. Van Buren, the senator is for doinrr nothing! The senator is for iroinsr home, leaving the treasury and the country in their lawless con- dition ! Yet no man has heretofore more than he has, deplored and deprecated a state of things so utterly unsafe, and repugnant to all just precautions, indicated alike by sound theory and experience in free governments. And the senator talks to us about applying to the wisdom of practical men, in respect to (263) 264: SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. banking, and advises furlher deliberations ! Why, I should sup- pose that we are at present in the very best situation to act upon the subject. Beside the many painful years we have had for deliberation, we have been near three months almost exclusively engrossed with the very subject itself. We have heard all manner of facts, statements, and arguments in any way con- nected with it. We understand, it seems to me, all we ever can learn or comprehend about a national bank. And Ave have, at least, some conception, too, of what sort of one will be acceptable at the other end of the Avenue. Yet now, with a vast majority of the people of the entire country crying out to us for a bank ; with the people throughout the whole valley of the Mississippi rising in their majesty, and demanding it as indispensable to their well-being, and pointing to their losses, their sacrifices, and their Bufferings, for the want of such an institution ; in such a state of things, Ave are gravely and coldly told by the honorable senator from Virginia, that Ave had best go home, leaving the purse and the sword in the uncontrolled possession of the Presi- dent, and, above all things, never to make a party bank ! Why, sir, does he, with all his knowledge of the conflicting opinions which prevail here, and have prevailed, believe that Ave ever can make a bank but by the votes of one party Avho are in favor of it, in opposition to the A'otes of another party against it ? I depre- cate this expression of opinion from that gentleman the more, because, although the honorable senator professes not to know the opinions of the President, it certainly does turn out in the sequel, that there is a most remarkable coincidence betAveen those opinions and his oavii ; and he has, on the present occasion, de- fended the motives and the course of the President with all the solicitude and all the fervent zeal of a member of his privy council. There is a rumor abroad, that a cabal exists, — a neAV sort of kitchen cabinet, — Avhose object is the dissolution of the regular cabinet, the dissolution of the whig party, the dispersion of Congress without accomplishing any of the great purposes of the extra session, and a total change, in fact, in the whole face of our political affairs. I hope, and I persuade myself, that the honorable senator is not, can not be, one of the component OX THE BANK VETO. L'»35 members of such a cabal ; but I must say, that there has been dis- played by the honorable senator to-day a predisposition, astonish- ing and inexplicable, to misconceive almost all of what I have said, and a perseverance, after repeated corrections, in misunder- standing, — for I will not charge him with willfully and intention- ally misrepresenting, — the whole spirit and character of the address which, as a man of honor, and as a senator, I felt my- self bound in duty to make to this body. The senator begins with saying that I charge the President with ''perfidy!" Did I use any such language? I appeal to every gentleman who heard me, to say whether I have in a single instance gone beyond a fair and legitimate examination of the Executive objections to the bill. Yet he has charged me with " arraigning " the President, with indicting him in various counts, and with imputing to him motives such as I never even intimated or dreamed ; and that, when I was constantly express- ing, over and over, my personal respect and regard for President Tyler, for whom I have cherished an intimate personal friend- ship of twenty years' standing, and while I expressly said, that if that friendship should now be interrupted, it should not be my fault ! Why, sir, what possible, what conceivable motive can I have to quarrel with the President, or to break up the whig party ? What earthly motive can impel me to wish for any other result than that that party shall remain in perfect harmony, undivided, and shall move undismayed boldly and unitedly forward to the accomplishment of the all-important public objects which it has avowed to be its aim ? What im- aginable interest or feeling can I have other than the success, the triumph, the glory of the whig party ? But that there may be designs and purposes on the part of certain other individuals to place me in inimical relations with the President, and to repre- sent me as personally opposed to him, I can well imagine, — indi- viduals who are beating up for recruits, and endeavoring to form a third party with materials so scanty as to be wholly insufficient to compose a decent corporal's guard. I fear there are such individuals, though I do not charge the senator as being himself one of them. What a spectacle has been presented to this nation 2* 266 SFEECHES OF HENBY CLAY. durina - this entire session of Congress ! That of the cherished and confidential friends of John Tyler, persons who boast and claim to be, par excellence, his exclusive and genuine friends, being the bitter, systematic, determined, uncompromising oppo- nents of every leading measure of John Tyler's administration ! "Was there ever before such an example presented, in this or any other age, in this or any other country? I have myself known the President too lono - , and cherished toward him too sincere a friendship, to allow my feelings to be affected or alienated by any thing which has passed here to-day. If the President chooses, — which I am sure he can not, unless falsehood has been whispered into his ears or poison poured into his heart, — to de- tach himself from me, I shall deeply regret it, for the sake of our common friendship, and our common country. I now repeat, what I before said, that, of all the measures of relief which the American people have called upon us for, that of a national bank, and a sound and uniform currency, has been the most loudly and importunately demanded. The senator says, that the ques- tion of a bank was not the issue made before the people at the late election. I can say for one, my own conviction is diametri- cally the contrary. What may have been the character of the canvass in Virginia, I will not say ; probably gentlemen on botli sides were, everywhere, governed in some degree by considera- tions of local policy. "What issues may, therefore, have been presented to the people of Virginia, either above or below tide- water, I am not prepared to say. The great error, however, of the honorable senator is, in thinking, that the sentiments of a particular party in Virginia are always a fair exponent of the sentiments of the whole Union. I can tell that senator, that wherever I was, in the great valley of the Mississippi, in Ken- tucky, in Tennessee, in Maryland, — in all the circles in which I moved, — everywhere, "bank or no bank" was the gnat, the leading, the vital question. At Hanover, in Virginia, during the last summer, at one of the most remarkable, and respectable, and gratifying assemblages that I ever attended, I distinctly announced my conviction, that a Bank of the United States Avas indispensable. As to the opinions of General Harrison, I know ON THE BANK VETO. 267 that, like many others, he had entertained doubts as to the con- stitutionality of a bank ; but I also know that, as the election approached, his opinions turned more in favor of a national bank; and I speak from my own personal knowledge of his opinions, when I say, that I have no more doubt he would have signed that bill, than that you, Mr. President, now occupy that chair, or that I am addressing you. I rose not to say one word which should wound the feelino-g of President Tyler. The senator says that, if placed in like circumstances, I would have been the last man to avoid puttino- a direct veto upon the bill, had it met my disapprobation ; and he does me the honor to attribute to me high qualities of stern and unbending intrepidity. I hope, that in all that relates to personal firmness, — all that concerns a just appreciation of the insignificance of human life, — whatever may be attempted to threaten or alarm a soul not easily swayed by opposition, or awed or intimidated by menace, — a stout heart and a steady eye, that can survey, unmoved and undaunted, any mere personal perils that assail this poor, transient, perishing frame, I may, without disparagement, compare with other men. But there is a sort of courage, which, I frankly confess it, I do not possess, a boldness to which I dare not aspire, a valor which I can not covet. I can not lay myself down in the way of the welfare and happiness of my country. That I can not, I have not the courage to do. I can not interpose the power with which I may be invested, a power conferred not for my personal benefit, nor for my aforaridize- ment, but for my country's good, to check her onward march to greatness and glory. I have not courage enough, I am too cowardly for that. I would not, I dare not, in the exercise of such a trust, lie down, and place my body across the path that leads my country to prosperity and happiness. This is a sort of courage widely different from that which a man may display in his private conduct and personal relations. Personal or private courage is totally distinct from that higher and nobler courage which prompts the patriot to offer himself a voluntary sacrifice to his country's good. Nor did I say, as the senator represents, that the President 268 speeches of henry clat. should have resigned. I intimated no personal -wish or desire that he should resign. I referred to the fact of a memorable resignation in his public life. And what I did say was, that there were other alternatives before him beside vetoing the bill ; and that it was worthy of his consideration whether consistency did not require that the example which he had set when he had a constituency of one State, should not be followed when he had a constituency commensurate with the whole Uuion. Another alternative was to suffer the bill, without his signature, to pass into a law under the provisions of the Constitution. And I must confess I see, in this, no such escaping by the back door, no such jumping out of the window, as the senator talks about. Appre- hensions of the imputation of the want of firmness sometimes impel us to perform rash and inconsiderate acts. It is the greatest courage to be able to bear the imputation of the want of courage. But pride, vanity, egotism, so unamiable and offensive in private life, are vices which partake of the character of crimes in the conduct of public affairs. The unfortunate victim of these passions can not see beyond the little, petty, contemptible circle of his own personal interests. All his thoughts are withdrawn from his country, and concentrated on his consistency, his firm- ness, himself. The high, the exalted, the sublime emotions of a patriotism, which, soaring toward heaven, rises far above all mean, low, or selfish things, and is absorbed by one soul-trans- porting thought of the good and the glory of one's country, are never fell in his impenetrable bosom. That patriotism which, catching its inspirations from the immortal God, and leaving at an immeasurable distance below all lesser, groveling, personal interests and feelings, animates and prompts to deeds of self- sacrifice, of valor, of devotion, and of death itself, — that is public virtue ; that is the noblest, the sublimest of all public virtues ! I said nothing of any obligation on the part of the President to conform his judgment to the opinions of the Senate and House of Representatives, although the senator argued as if I had, and persevered in so arguing, after repeated corrections. I said no such thing. I know and respect the perfect independence ON THE BANK VETO. 269 of each department, acting- within its proper sphere, of other departments. But I referred to the majorities in the two Houses of Congress as further and strong evidence of the opinion of the people of the United States in favor of the establishment of a Bank of the United States. And I contended that, according to the doctrine of instructions which prevailed in Virginia, and of which the President is a disciple, and, in pursuance of the exam- ple already cited, he ought not to have rejected the bill. I have heard that, on his arrival at the seat of the general government, to enter upon the duties of the office of Vice Presi- dent, in March last, when interrogated how far he meant to con- firm, in his new station, to certain peculiar opinions which were held in Virginia, he made this patriotic and noble reply: "I am Vice President of the United States, and not of the State of Virginia; and I shall be governed by the wishes and opinions of my constituents." When I heard of this encouraging and satisfactory reply, believing, as I most religiously do, that a large majority of the people of the United States are in favor of a national bank (and gentlemen may shut their eyes to the fact, deny or dispute, or reason it away as they please, but it is my conscientious conviction that two thirds, if not more, of the people of the United States desire such an institution), I thought I beheld a sure and certain guarantee for the fulfillment of the wishes of the people of the United States. I thought it impos- sible, that the wants and wishes of a great people, who had bestowed such unbounded and generous confidence, and con- ferred on him such exalted honors, should be disregarded and disappointed. It did not enter into my imagination to conceive, that one, who had shown so much deference and respect to the presumed sentiments of a single State, should display less toward the sentiments of the whole nation. I hope, Mr. President, that, in performing the painful duty which had devolved on me, I have not transcended the limits of legitimate debate. I repeat, in all truth and sincerity, the assur- ance to the Senate and to the country, that nothing but a stern, reluctant, and indispensable sense of honor and of duty could have forced from me the response which I have made to the 270 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. President's objections. But, instead of yielding without restraint to the feelings of disappointment and mortilication excited by the perusal of his message, I have anxiously endeavored to temper the notice of it, which I have been compelled to take, by the respect due to the office of chief magistrate, and by the personal regard and esteem which I have ever entertained for its present incumbent. ON HIS RETIREMENT TO PRIVATE LIFE. AT LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY, JUNE 9, 1842. The friends of Mr. Clay gave him a complimentary banquet in Juno, 1842, after his retirement to private life. The following sentiment was offered l>y Judge Robertson, who presided upon the occasion, in honor of the illustrious guest : " Hxnkx Clay, — Farmer of Ashland, patriot and philanthropist, — the Ameri- can statesman, and unricaled orator of tlte age, — illustrious abroad, beloved at home; in a long career of eminent public service, often, like Arislides, he breasted the raging storm of passion and delusion, and by offering himself a sacrifice, saved the Republic; and now, like Cincinnatus and Washington, having voluntarily retired to the tranquil walks of private life, the grateful hearts of his countrymen will do him ample justice'; but (••in- what may, Kentucky will stand by him, and still continue to cherish and defend, as her own, the fame of a sou who has emblazoned her escutcheon with immortal renown." Mr. Clay responded in the following interesting speech: Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : It was given to our countryman, Franklin, to briiiL! 1 down the lightning from heaven. To enable me to be heard bv this im- mense multitude, I should have to invoke to my aid, and to throw into my voice, its loudest thunders. As I can not do that, I hope I shall be excused for such a use of my lungs as is practi- cable, and not inconsistent with the preservation of my health. And I feel that it is our first duty to express our obligations to a kind and bountiful Providence, for the copious and genial showers with which he has just blessed our land, — a refreshment of which it stood much in need. For one, I offer to him my humble and dutiful thanks. The inconvenience to us, on this (271) 272 speeches of henry clay. festive occasion, is very slight, while the sum of good which those timely rains will produce, is very great and encouraging. I can not but feel, Mr. President, in offering my respectful acknowledgment for the honor done me in the eloquent address which you have just delivered, and in the sentiment with which you concluded it, that your warm partiality, and the fervent friendship which has so long existed between us, and the kind- ness of my neighbors and friends around me, hare prompted an exaggerated description, in too glowing colors, of my public services and my poor abilities. I seize the opportunity to present my heartfelt thanks to the whole people of Kentucky, for all the high honors and distin- guished favors which I have received, during a long residence with them, at their hands ; for the liberal patronage which I received from them in my professional pursuit ; for the eminent places in which they have put me, or enabled me to reach ; for the generous and unbounded confidence which they have bestowed upon me, at all times ; for the gallant and unswerving fidelity and attachment with which they stood by me, throughout all the trials and vicissitudes of an eventful and arduous life ; and above all, for the scornful indignation with which they repelled an infamous calumny, directed against my name and fame, at a momentous period of my public career. In recalling to our memory but the circumstances of that period, one can not but be filled with nst"iii>lim<"-nt at the indefatigability with which the calumny was propagated, and the zealous partisan use to which it was applied, not only without evidence, but in the face of a full and complete refutation. Under whatever deception, delu- sion, or ignorance, it was received elsewhere, with you, my friends and neighbors, and with the good people of Kentucky, it received no countenance; but in proportion to the venom and the malevolence of its circulation was the vigor ami magnanimity with which I was generally supported. Upheld with the con- sciousness of the injustice of the charge, I should have borne myself with becoming fortitude, if I had been abandoned bv you as I was by so large a portion of my countrymen. But to have been sustained and vindicated as I was, by the people of my own ON HIS RETIREMENT, TO PRIVATE LIFE. 273 Slate, by you who know me best, and whom I had so many reasons to love and esteem, greatly cheered and encouraged me, in my onward progress. Eternal thanks and gratitude are due from me. I thank you, friends and fellow-citizens, for your distinguished and enthusiastic reception of me this day ; and for the excellence and abundance of the barbecue that has been provided for our entertainment; and I thank, from the bottom of my heart, my fair countrywomen, for honoring, and gracing, and adding bril- liancy to this occasion, by their numerous attendance. If the delicacy and refinement of their sex will not allow them to mix in the rougher scenes of human life, we may be sure that when- ever, by their presence, their smiles and approbation are bestowed, it is no ordinary occurrence. That presence is always an abso- lute guarantee of order, decorum and respect. I take the greatest pleasure in bearing testimony to their value and their virtue. I have ever found in them true and steadfast friends, generously sympathizing in distress, and, by their courageous fortitude in bearing it themselves, encouraging us to imitate their example. And we all know and remember how, as in 1840, they can pow- erfully aid a great and good cause, without any departure from the propriety or dignity of their sex. In looking back upon my origin and progress through life, I have great reason to be thankful. My father died in 1781, leav- ing me an infant of too tender years to retain any recollection of his smiles or endearments. My surviving parent removed to this State, in 1792, leaving me, a boy of fifteen years of age, in the office of the High Court of Chancery, in the city of Rich- mond, without guardian, without pecuniary means of support, to steer my course as I might or could. A neglected education was improved by my own irregular exertions, vi ithout the benefit of systematic instruction. I studied law principally in the office of a lamented friend, the late Governor Brooke, then Attorney General of Virginia, and also under the auspices of the vener- able and lamented Chancellor Wythe, for whom I had acted as an amanuensis. I obtained a license to practice the profession from the judges of the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and established 274 speeches of hexky clay. myself in Lexington, in 1797, without patrons, without the favor or countenance of the great or opulent, without the means of paying my weekly board, and in the midst of a bar uncommonly distinguished by eminent members. I remember how comfort- able I thought I should be, if I could make one hundred pounds, Virginia money, per year, and with what delight I received the first fifteen shillings fee. My hopes were more than realized. I immediately rushed into a successful and lucrative practice. In 1803 or '4, when I was absent from the county of Fayette, at the Olympian springs, without my knowledge or previous consent, I was brought forward as a candidate, and elected to the General Assembly of this State. I served in that body several years, and was then transferred to the Senate, and after- ward to the House of Representatives of the United States. I will not dwell on the subsequent events of my political life, or enumerate the offices which I have filled. During my public career, I have had bitter, implacable, reckless enemies. But if I have been the object of misrepresentation and unmerited cal- umny, no man has been beloved or honored by more devoted, faithful, and enthusiastic friends. I have no reproaches, none, to make toward my country, which has distinguished and elevated me far beyond what I had any right to expect. I forgive my enemies, and hope they may live to obtain the forgiveness of their own hearts. It would neither be fitting nor is it my purpose to pass judg- ment on all the acts of my public life ; but I hope I shall be excused for one or two observations, which the occasion appears to me to authorize. I never but once changed my opinion on any great measure of national policy, or on any great principle of construction of the national Constitution. In early lit'.', on deliberate considera- tion, 1 adopted the principles of interpreting the Federal Consti- tution, which had been so ably developed and enforced by Mr. Madison, in his memorable report to the Virginia Legislature; and to them, as I understood them, I have constantly adhered. Upon the question coming up in the Senate of the United States to re-charter the first Bank of the United States, thirty years ago, ON HIS KETIRKMKNT TO PRIVATE LIFE. 275 I opposed the re-charter, upon convictions which I honestly entertained. The experience of the war, which shortly followed, the condition into which the currency of the country was thrown, without a bank, and, I may now add, later and more disastrous experience, convinced me I was wrong. I publicly stated to my constituents, in a speech in Lexington (that which I made in the House of Representatives of the United States not hav- ing been reported), my reasons for that change, and they are preserved in the archives of the country. I appeal to that record, and I am willing to be judged now and hereafter by their validity. I do not advert to the fact of this solitary instance of change of opinion, as implying any personal merit, but because it is a fact. I will however say, that I think it very perilous to the utility of any public man, to make frequent changes of opinion, or any change, but upon grounds so sufficient and palpable, that the public can clearly see and approve them. If we could look through a window into the human breast, and there discover the causes which led to changes of opinion, they might be made without hazard. But as it is impossible to penetrate the human heart, and distinguish between the sinister and honest motives which prompt it, any public man that changes his opinion, once deliberately formed and promulgated, under other circumstances than those which I have stated, draws around him distrust, impairs the public confidence, and lessens his capacity to serve his country. I will take this occasion now to say, that I am, and have bt that my motives were not as pure and as patriotic as ever carried any man into public office. Not that the calumny which was applied to tin- feci was not as gross and as unfounded as any that was ever propagated. [Here somebody cried out that Mr. Carter Beverly, who had been made the organ of announcing it, had recently bnrne testimony to its being un- founded. Mr. Clay said it was true that he had voluntarily borne such testimony. But, with great earnestness and emphasis, 276 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. Mr. Clay said, I want no testimony — here, here, here, here, repeatedly touching his heart, amidst tremendous cheers, here is the best of all witnesses of my innocence.] Not that valued friends, and highly esteemed opponents did not unite in urging my acceptance of the office. Not that the administration of Mr. Adams will not, I sincerely believe, advantageously compare with any of his predecessors, in economy, purity, prudence, and wisdom. Not that Mr. Adams was himself wanting in any of those high qualifications and upright and patriotic intentions which were suited to the office. Of that extraordinary man, of rare and varied attainments, whatever diversity of opinion may exist as to his recent course in the House of Representatives (and candor obliges me to say that there are some things in it which I deeply regret), it is with no less truth than pleasure, I declare that, during the whole period of his administration, annoyed, assailed, and assaulted as it was, no man could have shown a more devoted attachment to the Union, and all its great interests, a more ardent desire faithfully to discharge his whole duty, or brought to his aid more useful experience and knowb eda - e, than he did. I never transacted business with any man, in my life, with more ease, satisfaction, and advantage, than I did with that most able and indefatigable gentleman, as President of the United States. And I will add, that more harmony never prevailed in any cabinet than in his. But my error in accepting the office, arose out of my under- rating the power of detraction and the force of ignorance, and abiding with too sure a confidence in the conscious integrity and uprightness of my own motives. Of that ignorance, I had a remarkable and laughable example on an occasion which I will relate. I was traveling, in 1828, through I believe it was Spott- sylvania county, in Virginia, on my return to Washington, in company with some young friends. We halted at night at a tavern, kept by an aged gentleman, who, I quickly perceived, from the disorder and confusion which reigned, had not the hap- piness to have a wife. After a hurried and bad supper, the old gentleman sat down by me, and without hearing my name, but understanding that 1 Mas from Kentucky, remarked that he had ON HIS RETIREMENT TO PRIVATE LIFE. 277 four sons in that State, and that he was very sorry they were divided in politics, two being for Adams and two for Jackson ; he wished they were all for Jackson. Why? I asked him. Be- cause, he said, that fellow Clay, and Adams, had cheated Jack- son out of the presidency. Have you ever seen any evidence, my old friend, said I, of that? No, he replied, none, and he wanted to see none. But, I observed, looking him directly and steadily in the face, suppose Mr. Clay were to come here and assure you, upon his honor, that it was all a vile calumny, and not a word of truth in it, would you believe him ? No, replied the old gen- tleman, promptly and emphatically. I said to him, in conclu- sion, will you be good enough to show me to bed, and bade him good night. The next morning, having in the interval learned my name, he came to me full of apologies ; but I at once put him at his ease by assuring him that I did not feel in the slight- est degree hurt or offended with him. Mr. President, I have been accused of ambition, often accused of ambition. I believe, however, that by accusers, will be gen- erally found to be political opponents, or the friends of aspirants in whose way I was supposed to stand ; and it was thought, therefore, necessary to shove me aside. I defy my enemies to point out any act or instance of my life, in which I have sought the attainment of office by dishonorable or unworthy means. Did I display inordinate ambition when, under the administra- tion of Mr. Madison, I declined a foreign mission of the first grade, and an executive department, both of which he succes- sively kindly tendered to me ? when, under that of his successor, Mr. Monroe, I was first importuned (as no one knows better than that sterling old patriot, Jonathan Roberts, now threatened, as the papers tell us, with expulsion from an office which was never filled with more honesty and uprightness, because he declines to be a servile instrument), to accept a secretaryship, and was afterward offered a carte blanche of all the foreign mis- sions? At the epoch of the election of 1825, I believe no one doubted at Washington, that, if I had felt it my duty to vote for General Jackson, he would have invited me to take charge of a department. And such undoubtedly Mr. Crawford would have 27S SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. done if he had been elected. When the Harrisburg convention assembled, the general expectation was that the nomination would be o-iven to me. It was given to the lamented Harrison. Did I exhibit extraordinary ambition when, cheerfully acquiescing, I threw myself into the canvass and made every exertion in my power to insure it success ? Was it evidence of unchastened ambition in me to resign, as I recently did, my seat in the Senate— to resign the dictatorship, with which my enemies had so kindly invested me, and come home to the quiet walks of private life ? But I am ambitious because some of my countrymen have seen fit to associate my name with the succession for the Presidential office. Do those who prefer the charge know what I have done, or not done, in connection with that object? Have they given themselves the trouble to inquire at all into any agency of mine in respect to it ? I believe not. It is a subject which I approach with all the delicacy which belongs to it, and with a due regard to the ditrnitv of the exalted station ;• but on which I shall, at the same time, speak to you, my friends and neighbors, without reserve, and with the utmost candor. I have prompted none of those movements among the people, of which we have seen accounts. As far as I am concerned, they are altogether spontaneous, and not only without concert with me, but most generally without any sort of previous knowl- edge on my part. That I am thankful and grateful, profoundly grateful, for these manifestations of confidence and attachment, I will not conceal or deny. But I have been, and mean to remain, a passive, if not an indifferent spectator. I have reached a time of life, and seen enough of high official stations, to enable me justly to appreciate their value, their cares, their responsi- bilities, their ceaseless duties. That estimate of their worth, in a personal point of view, would restrain me from seeking to fill any one, the highest of them, in a scramble of doubtful issue, with political opponents, much less with political friends. That I should feel greatly honored by a call from a majority of the people of this country, to the highest office within their gift, I shall not deny ; nor, if my health were preserved, might I feel ON IIIS RETIREMENT TO PRIVATE LIFE. 279 at liberty to decline a summons so authoritative and command- ing. But I declare most solemnly, that I have not, up to this moment, determined whether I will consent to the use of my name or not as a candidate for the chief magistracy. That is a grave question, which should be decided by all attainable lights, which, I think, is not necessary yet to be decided, and a decision of which I reserve to myself, as far as I can reserve it, until the period arrives when it ought to be solved. That period has not, as I think, yet arrived. When it does, an impartial survey of the whole ground should be taken, the state of public opinion prop- erly considered, and one's personal condition, physical and intel- lectual, duly examined and weighed. In thus announcing a course of conduct for myself, it is hardly necessary to remark, that it is no part of my purpose to condemn, or express any opinion whatever upon those popular movements which have been made, or may be contemplated, in respect to the next elec- tion of a President of the United States. If to have served my country during a long series of years with fervent zeal and unshaken fidelity, in seasons of peace and war, at home and abroad, in the legislative halls and in an executive department; if to have labored most sedulously to avert the embarrassment and distress which now overspread this Union, and when they came, to have exerted myself anxiously, at the extra session, and at this, to devise healing remedies; if to have desired to introduce economy and reform in the general admin- istration, curtail enormous executive power, and amply provide, at the same time, for the wants of the government and the wants of the people, by a tariff which would give it revenue and them protection ; if to have earnestlv sought to establish the bright but too rare example of a party in power faithful to its promises and pledges made when out of power; if these services, exer- tions, and endeavors, justify the accusation of ambition, I must plead guilty to the charge. I have wished the good opinion of the world ; but I defy the most malignant of my enemies to show that I have attempted to gain it by any low or groveling arts, by any mean or unworthy sacrifices, by the violation of any of the 280 SPEECHES OF HEXEY CLAY. obligations of honor, or by a breach of any of the duties which I owed to my country. I turn, sir, from these personal allusions and reminiscences, to the vastly more important subject of the present actual con- dition of this country. If they could ever be justifiable or excusable, it would be on such an occasion as this, when I am addressing those to whom I am bound by so many intimate and friendly ties. [After speaking at length Tipon the distresses of the country, he continues :] I have traced the principal causes of the present embarrassed condition of the country, I hope with candor and fairness, and without giving offense to any of my fellow-citizens, who may have differed in political opinion from me. It would have been far more agreeable to mv feelings to have dwelt, as I did in 1832, during the third year of the first term of President Jack- son's administration, upon bright and cheering prospects of gen- eral prosperity. I thought it useful to contrast that period with the present one, and to inquire into the causes which have brought upon us such a sad and dismal reverse. A much more important object remains to me to attempt, and that is, to point out remedies for existing evils and disorders. And the first I would suggest, requires the co-operation of the government and the people ; it is economy and frugality, strict and persevering economy, both in public and private affairs. Government should incur or continue no expense that can be justly and honorably avoided, and individuals should do the same. The prosperity of the country has been impaired by causes operating throughout several years, and it will not be restored in a day or a year, perhaps not in a period less than it has taken to destroy it. But we must not only be economical, we must be industrious, indefatigably industrious. An immense amount of capital has been wasted and squandered in visionary or unprofitable enterprises, public and private. It can only be reproduced by labor and saving. The second remedy which I would suggest, aud that without ON HIS RETIREMENT TO PRIVATE LIFE. 281 which all others must prove abortive or ineffectual, is a sound currency, of uniform value throughout the Union, and redeem- able in specie upon the demand of the holder. I know of but one mode in which that object can be accomplished, and that has stood the test of time and practical experience. If any other can be devised than a Bank of the United States, which should be safe and certain, and free from the influence of Government, and especially under the control of the executive department, I should for one gladly see it embraced. I am not exclusively wedded to a Bank of the United States, nor do I desire to see one established against the will and without the consent of the people, but all my observation and reflection have served to strengthen and confirm my conviction, that such an institution, emanating from the authority of the general government, prop- erly restricted and guarded, with such improvements as expe- rience has pointed out, can alone supply a reliable currency. Accordingly, at the extra session, a bill passed both Houses of Congress, which, in my opinion, contained an excellent char- ter, with one or two slight defects, which it was intended to cure by a supplemental bill, if the veto had not been exercised. That charter contained two new, and I think admirable features ; one was to separate the operation of issuing circulation from that of banking, confiding these faculties to different Boards ; and the other was to limit the dividends of the bank, bringing the excess beyond the prescribed amount, into the public treasury. In the preparation of the charter, every sacrifice was made that could be made to accommodate it, especially in regard to the Presi- dent. But instead of meeting as in a mutual spirit of concilia- tion, he fired, as was aptly said by a Virginia editor, upon the flag of truce sent from the Capitol. Congress, anxious to fulfill the expectations of the people, another bank bill was prepared, in conformity with the plan of a bank sketched bv the acting President in his veto message, afier a previous consultation between him and some distinguished members of Congress, and two leading members of his cabinet. The bill was shaped in precise conformity to his views, as com- municated bv those members of the cabinet, and as communi- 24 282 SPEECHES OF 1IENKY CLAY. cated to others, and was submitted to his inspection after it was so prepared ; and he gave his assurances that he would approve such a bill. I was no party to the transaction, but I do not entertain a doubt of what I state. The bill passed both Houses of Congress without any alteration or amendment whatever, and the veto was nevertheless again employed. It is painful for me to advert to a grave occurrence, marked by such dishonor and bad faith. Although the President, through his recognized organ, derides and denounces the whigs, and disowns being one ; although he administers the executive branch of the government in contempt of their feelings and in violation of their principles ; and although all whom he chooses to have denominated as ultra whigs, that is to say, the great body of the whig party, have come under his ban, and those of them in office are threatened with his expulsion, I wish not to say of him one word that is not due to truth and to the country. I will, however, say that, in my opinion, the whigs can not justly be held responsible for his admiration of the executive depart- ment, for the measures he may recommend, or his failure to recommend others, nor especially for the manner in which he distributes the public patronage. They will do their duty, I hope, toward the country, and render all good and proper sup- port to government ; but they ought not to be held accountable for his conduct. They elected him, it is true, but for another office, and he came into the present one by a lamentable visita- tion of Providence. There had been no such instance occurring under the government. If the whigs were bound to scrutinize his opinions, in reference to an office which no one ever antici- pated he would fill, he was bound in honor and good faith to decline the Harrisburg nomination, if he could not conscien- tiously co-operate with the principles that brought him into office. Had the President who was elected lived, had that honest and good man, on Avhose face, in that picture, we now gaze, been spared, I feel perfectly confident that all the measures which the principles of the whigs authorized the country to expect, including a Bank of the United States, would have been carried. ON HIS RETIREMENT TO PRIVATE LIFE. 283 But it may be said that a sound currency, such as I have described, is unattainable during - the administration of Mr. Tyler. It will be, if it can only be obtained through the instrumentality of a Bank of the United States, unless he changes his opinion, as he has done in regard to the land bill. Unfortunately, our chief magistrate possesses more powers, in some respects, than a king or queen of England. The crown is never separated from the nation, but is obliged to conform to its will. If the ministry holds opinions adverse to the nation, and is thrown into the minority in the House of Commons, the crown is constrained to dismiss the ministry, and appoint one whose opinions coincide with the nation. This Queen Victoria has recently been obliged to do; and not merely to change her ministry, but to dismiss the official attendants upon her person. But here, if the President holds an opinion adverse to that of Congress and the nation upon important public measures, there is no remedy but upon the periodical return of the rights of the ballot-box. Another remedy, powerfully demanded by the necessities of the times, and requisite to maintaining the currency in a sound state, is a Tariff which will lessen importations from abroad, and tend to increase supplies at home from domestic industry. I have so often expressed my views on this subject, and so recently in the Senate of the United States, that I do not think there is any occasion for my enlarging upon it at this time. I do not think that an exorbitant or very high tariff is necessary ; but one that shall insuif an adequate revenue and reasonable protection; and it so happens that the interests of the treasury and the wains of the people now perfectly coincide. Union is our highest and greatest interest. No one can look beyond its dissolution without horror and dismay. Harmony is essential to the preservation of the Union. It was a leading, although not the only motive in pro- posing the compromise act, to preserve that harmony. The power of protecting the interests of our own country, can never be abandoned or surrendered to foreign nations, without a cul- pable dereliction of duty. Of this truth, all parts of the nation are every day becoming more and more sensible. In the mean 284: 8PEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. time this indispensable power should be exercised with a discre- tion and moderation, and in a form least calculated to revive prejudices, or to check the progress of reforms now going on in public opinion. In connection with a system of remedial measures, I shall only allude to, without stopping to dwell on, the distribution bill, that just and equitable settlement of a great national question, which sprang up during the revoluntionary war, which has seri- ously agitated the country, and which it is deeply to be regretted had not been settled ten years ago, as then proposed. Independent of all other considerations, the fluctuation in the receipts from sales of the public lands is so great and constant, that it is a resource on which the general government ought not to rely for revenue. It is far better that the advice of a Democratic land committee of the Senate, at the head of which was the experi- enced and distinguished Mr. King of Alabama, given some years ago, should be followed, that the Federal Treasury be replenished with duties on imports, without bringing into it any part of the land fund. I have thus suggested measures of relief adapted to the pres- ent state of the country, and I have noticed some of the differ* ences which unfortunately exist between the two leading parties into which our people are unhappily divided. In considering the question, whether the counsels of the one or the other of these parties are wisest, and best calculated to advance the interest, the honor, and the prosperity of the nation, which every citizen ought to do, we should discard all passion and prejudice, and exercise, as far as possible, a perfect impartiality. And we should not confine our attention merely to the particular measures which those parties respectively espouse or oppose, but extend it to their general course and conduct, and to the spirit and purposes by which they are animated. We should anxiously inquire, whither shall we be led by following in the had of one or the other of those parties; shall we be carried to the achieve- ment of the glorious destiny, which patriots here, and the liberal portion of mankind everywhere, have fondly hoped awaits us? or shall we ingloriously terminate our career, by adding another ON Ills RETIREMENT TO PRIVATE LIFE. 285 melancholy example of the instability of human affairs, and the folly with which self-government is administered ? The present situation of our country is one of unexampled distress and difficulty ; but there is no occasion for any despond- ency. A kind and bountiful Providence has never deserted us; punished us he perhaps has, for our neglect of his blessings and our misdeeds. We have a varied and fertile soil, a genial climate and free institutions. Our whole land is covered, in profusion, with the means of subsistence and the comforts of life. Our gallant ship, it is unfortunately true, lies helpless, tossed on a tempestuous sea, amid the conflicting billows of contending parties, without a rudder and without a faithful pilot. But that ship is our country, embodying all our past glory, all our future hopes. Its crew is our whole people, by whatever political denomination they are known. If she goes down, we all go down together. Let us remember the dying words of the gal- lant and lamented Lawrence. "Don't give up the ship." The glorious banner of our country, with its unstained stars and stripes, still proudly floats at its mast-head. With stout hearts and strong arms we can surmount all our difficulties. Let us all, all rally round that banner, and firmly resolve to perpetuate our liberties and regain our lost prosperity. Whigs ! Arouse from the ignoble supineness which encom- passes you ; awake from the lethargy in which you lie bound ; cast from you that unworthy apathy which seems to make you indifferent to the fate of your country. Arouse ! awake ! shake off the dew-drops that glitter on your garments, and once more march to battle and to victory. You have been disappointed, deceived, betrayed ; shamefully deceived and betrayed. But will you, therefore, also prove false and faithless to your country, or (■bey the impulses of a just and patriotic indignation? As for Captain Tyler, he is a mere snap, a flash in the pan ; pick your whig flints and try your rifles again. ON THE COMPROMISE MEASURES, REPORTED BY THE COMMITTEE OF THIRTEEN. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, MAY 13, 1850. The following speech, delivered by Mr. Clay, May 13th, 1850, was one of his last public efforts. It is his reply to objections raised by senators opposed to the " Resolutions "embraced in the memorable "Compromise Measures." The Resolutions were all finally carried, not as originally proposed by Mr. Clay, in one Bill, but separately. It is well known that for several months, during that session of Congress, Mr. Clay and his friends enlisted all their energies in support of the Bill. Mr. Clay rose and said : I have risen, Mr. President, for the purpose of making some further explanation, and an addi- tional exposition to that contained in the report of the Committee of Thirteen, which has recently heen in consultation upon the important subjects referred to them. When the report of the committee was presented to the Senate last week, various mem- bers of the committee rose in their places, and stated that certain parts of the report did not meet with their concurrence. It might have been slated with perfect truth that no one member of the committee concurred in all that was done by the com- mittee. There was a majority upon most, and even upon all the subjects reported by them ; and each member, perhaps, if left to himself separately, would have presented the various matters which were reported to the Senate in a form somewhat different from that in which they were presented in the report. 1 was myself, upon one occasion, in the minority in the committee; yet C 28G ) ON THE COMPROMISE MEASURES. 2S7 I have not been discouraged in the least degree by the differences which existed in the committee, or which were manifested in the Senate last week. Gentlemen who did not exactly agree to what was done, will, in the progress of the measure, endeavor to make it conformable to their wishes. If it should not be so modified, I indulge with great confidence in the hope that no one of them is so irrevocably committed against the measures as to induce him, upon the question of its final passage, to vote against it. I am not authorized to say, and do not mean to say, that there will be an affirmative vote of every member of the Senate in favor of the measure upon the final passage of the bill ; but I need not say that I indulge the hope, whether all modifications which were desired by various members of the committee may or may not be made, that finally there will be not only a unanimous con- currence of the committee generally in the measure recommended, but I trust it will leave this branch of Congress with a laro-e majority in its favor. I repeat that I am not discouraged by any thing that has transpired in the committee, or in the Senate, or in the country, upon the subject of this measure. I have believed from the first, and I yet firmly believe, that if these unhappy subjects which have divided the country shall be accommodated by an amicable adjustment, it must be done upon some such basis as that which the committee has reported. And can there be a doubt on this subject ? The crisis of the crisis, I repeat, has arrived, and the fate of the measures which have been reported by the committee, in my humble judgment, determines the fate of the harmony or distraction of this country. Entertaining that belief, I can not but indulge the hope, that no honorable senators, who, upon the first hearing of the report, might have seen some matters in it objectionable, according to their wishes or judgment, will see fit to oppose its final passage ; but that the entire Senate, after a full consideration of the plan proposed, and after a fair contrast between this and all other pro- posed plans, — at least all other practicable plans of adjustment of the question, — whatever expectations or hopes may have been announced elsewhere, out of this body, will concur in this measure brought forward by the Committee of Thirteen, and 288 speeches of henry clay. that ultimately the measure will obtain the general concurrence of both Houses of Congress. But I have risen, as I announced, more particularly for the purpose of entering into some further explanation of the course of the committee, and of throwing out some few observations in support of the measures which they have recommended, for the adoption of the Senate. The first measure upon which they reported was that of the true exposition of the compact between the United States and Texas, upon the occasion of the admission of that State into the Union. Upon that subject, as already announced in the report, I am happy to say, there was an undivided opinion. Two hon- orable senators, — one of whom is now absent, and the other present, — while they declared that they would not hold them- selves, and did not intend to be regarded as holding themselves, in every possible state of things, and in every contingency, to vote for the admission of States that miuht hereafter be carved out of Texas ; but that they reserved to themselves, as I under- stood them, the right to determine this question whenever any new States formed out of Texas should present themselves for admission. — Whether, under all the circumstances of the country, and the circumstances under which a new State might present itself, it should or should not be admitted, they made this reservation ; and yet they united most heartily in the true ex- position of the compact behveen Texas and the United States, according to which, as we all know, a number of States, not exceeding four, with or without slavery, having the requisite population, with the consent of Texas, were to be admitted into the Union, from time to time, as they might be formed, and pre- sent themselves for admission. But I will not dwell longer upon that part of the subject. I will now approach that which, in the committee, and perhaps in the two Houses, has given the most trouble and created the most anxiety, among all the measures upon which the committee have reported, — I mean the admission of California into the Union. Against that measure there were various objections. One of these objections was with respect to its population. It has been ON THE COMPBOMI8E MEASURES. 28!) contended tli.it it ought only to be admitted, if admitted at all, with one representative ; that if admitted with two representa- tives, it would be a violation of the Constitution of the United States, and that there is no sufficient evidence before the Senate and the country that its population would entitle it even to one representative. I suppose that no one will contend — California and the other acquisitions from Mexico having been admitted into the Union only about two years ago last February (that, I believe, was two years from the date of the treaty of Hidalgo) — that that sort of evidence, to entitle her to one or two representa- tives, which is furnished by the decennial enumeration of the population of the United States, would be requisite. It is impos- sible, with respect to California, that any such evidence should be furnished, she having been a part of a common empire only for the short time I have mentioned. Now, let me ask, what was done in the institution of the first apportionment of the repre- sentation among the States of the Union ? There was no Federal enumeration of the people of the United States upon which that apportionment was made. So many representatives were allowed to one State, and so many to another, and so on, completing the number provided for by the Constitution of the United States ; but in that instance, the convention that allotted these representa- tives to the various States based it upon all the information which they possessed, whether it was perfectly authentic or not. It is known by those who are at all acquainted with the adjustment of the question of representation among the several States, that in several of them (I may mention Georgia) it was pretty well known at the time that a larger number of representatives were allotted than the exact state of the population would authorize. But it was said in that case, " Georgia is a new State, rapidly filling up ; a strong current of emigration is flowing into her limits, and she will soon have, — perhaps by the time the two representatives take their seats, — the requisite population." In this way, not upon information obtained under Federal authority, but upon information obtained by all the modes by which it could be procured, and which was of a nature calculated to satisfv the judgment of the convention, was the appoition- 25 290 SPEECHES OF IIENKY CEAY. ment of the representation made by the framers of the Con- stitution. So of a more recent acquisition or annexation, — that of Texas. Nobody believed, I think, at the time, that Texas had a popula- tion sufficient to entitle her to two representatives. As in the case of some of the old thirteen States, so in the case of Texas, it was known that she "was rapidly rilling up, — as I have no d'.'iibc will turn out to be the fact when the next census comes to be taken in Texas, — that before the enumeration of the next census was taken, she would have a population entitling her to two, and probably more representatives. Now, sir, there is an error existing, as it seemed to me from the observation of one or two friends, the other day, with regard to the requisite population to entitle California to two representa- tives. It is not, as it is supposed, double the ratio which was fixed by Congress ten years ago. The ratio was fixed at seventy thousand six hundred and eighty; but it was expressly provided in the law establishing it, that any State which had an excess beyond a moiety of the ratio established, should be entitled to an additional representative. According to the provision of that law, to entitle California to two representatives, she would only be required to have a population of one hundred and six thou- sand and twenty-one, and not as was supposed, one hundred and forty-odd thousand. Now, the question is, leaving out of view altogether the rapid augmentation which is daily taking place in the population of California, whether she has a population at this time, — at the time when two members come to be admitted, — which would entitle her to two representatives? Upon this sub- ject, I have that, which appears satisfactory to my mind, and I trust, to the minds of other senators. In the first place, I offer to the Senate an extract from a memo- rial of the senators and representatives of the State of California to the Congress of the United Slates. To read this memorial, or to state it in substance in detail, would take up a considerable time ; and as that memorial has been before, senators, and can at an) - time be referred to and persued by any who have not already examined it, I will merely state, that according to the statements ON THE COMPROMISE MEASURES. 201 of that memorial, — a portion of which are conjectural and a part official, — the population of California, from the first of January, 1850, was one hundred and seven thousand and sixty-nine, exceeding the number requisite to entitle the State to two repre- sentatives. But that brings it down only to January, 1850. Since that time we are authorized to add to the number, by that of the arrivals by sea at the port at San Francisco, as shown by the official report of the harbor master from the first of January, 1850, to the twenty-seventh of March, 1850. Without going into the classification, there are of Americans, eight thousand six hundred and ninety-seven ; of Califurnians, thirteen thousand four hundred and fifty-four ; and of foreigners, five thousand five hundred and three, — making a total of sixteen thousand nine hundred and fifty-seven. The number of deserters from ships, as stated in the memorial before alluded to, is put at three thou- sand, in round numbers. The official statement of the harbor master, made on the first of March last, to the Legislature, states the number of officers and seamen that left their vessels from various causes, to be fourteen thousand two hundred and forty. The aggregate of all these statements will give the following result, viz : First January, 1849, twenty-six thousand, — eight thousand Americans, thirteen thousand Californians, and five thousand foreigners; on the first of January, 1850, the popula- tion was one hundred and seven thousand and sixty-nine, — making a total number, on the twenty-seventh of March, 1850, of one hundred and twenty-four thousand ami twenty-six; to which add the number of deserting seamen, fourteen thousand two hundred and forty, makes a total of one hundred and thirty- five thousand two hundred and fifty-six. Add to this the popu- lation arrived from the United States and other places since that time, and altogether, I have no earthly doubt, — I am perfectly satisfied in my own mind, — that, putting all these statements together, there is at this moment a population in California that would entitle her to two representatives, even supposing there had been no provision for a fraction exceeding the moiety of the ratio fixed by Congress. Upon this question of population I do not wish to lake up the 29A SPEECH LS OF BKSBY CLAY. time of the Senate unnecessarily. They are bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, for the greater part. They have lost nothing of intelligence and capacity for self-government by passing from the United States into California. By the treaty of Hidalgo, the Californians who remain, become citizens of the United States, if they do not adopt the alternative of remaining Mexicans, within one year after the treaty of Hidalgo was signed. The Constitution of the United States does not anywhere fix any term of residence sufficient to constitute an individual one of the permanent portion of the people of the United States. In the Constitution, with regard to the subject of taxation, and repre- sentation, the term is people and number. I have very little doubt that there is a sufficient number of citizens of the United States there to entitle California to two representatives. Well, as they will not be represented in the United States, they ought to be represented somewhere. Having gone to California, it is said that they have gone there only fur temporary purposes. They have gone there to dig in the mines ; and how many will return, how many will remain there, it is impossible at the present time to tell. We have all a right to move from place to place. With regard to Louisiana, — I am sure I state a fact that will be borne out and affirmed by the senator in my eye from that State (Mr. Downs), — thousands and thousands went to New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana shortly after the acquisition of that Territory by the treaty of Louisiana, — and even up to the present time they go there for temporary purposes, intend- ing to make a fortune, if they can, and then return home. But so delightful is the climate, so happy do they find themselves when they gel there, the number of those who go there for such purposes, who ultimately return to their individual homes, I do not believe amounts to scarcely one in a hundred. So it is and will be of California, I dare say. Vast numbers have gone there with the intention of returning, but after they have become con- nected by marriage, by social ties, by the acquisition of wealth, and by all those circumstances that tend to fix to a permanent location the residence of this animal man, they will relinquish ON THE COMPROMISE MEASURES. 293 their purpose of returning to the United States, I have no doubt, and become permanent and fixed residents of California. On the question of population, therefore, I think there is no ground of rational objection to the number " two," which has been proposed by the committee, and which is precisely the number in the case of Texas. Now, sir, with regard to the limits of California. Upon that subject, a proposition was offered in the committee to extend a line through California, first by thirty-six degrees thirty minutes. A member of the committee, however, was not satisfied with that, and proposed thirty-five degrees thirty minutes. I believe that a majority of the committee was in favor of that amendment; but when the question of any line came up, it was rejected by a majority of the committee. Is it not a little remarkable that this proposition, — this attempt to cut California in two by the line thirty-six degrees thirty minutes, or thirty-five degrees thirty minutes, or by any other line, — does not come from the North at all, from whence it might be supposed it would come ? For, with respect to the North, there can be no earthly doubt but if there were half a dozen States made out of California they would all be free States. But the North does not ask for a division. It is from the South that the proposition to divide the existing limits of California comes. The South wants some other States, or another State there. Some gentlemen from the South, it is true, propose that there should be an express recog- nition of the right to carry Slaves south of the proposed line. But I believe that the major part of those who ask for this line, do not even ask for this recognition, or for this enactment, to carry slaves south of this line ; and I ask every body who is acquainted with the country, who has taken the pains to look over the map, if he has not come to the conclusion that a friend of mine (I believe now within my hearing) from the South, and a large planter, came to ? He said to me the other day : "Mr. Clay, if Congress was to offer me five hundred dollars for every slave I might own, requiring me to take them to one of these new Territories and keep them there for ten years, I would not accept the proposition." 294 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. Now, suppose you were to take the line thirty-five degrees thirty minutes, or whatever line was proposed, what would be the consequence ? There would be an open sea on the one side for the escape of slaves, — California, reduced as I have sug- gested, on another ; and Mexico, with her boundless mountains, on another. Who would think, — who believes, — that, if you establish the line proposed, Slavery would ever be carried there, or would be maintained there ? Moreover, I think I have under- stood that the delegation in the Convention, south of the line of thirty-five degrees thirty minutes, or north of it, voted unani- mously against the introduction of Slavery there. It can not, therefore, and I suppose it is not designed with any hope that there would be Slavery carried there upon the limits of the Pacific at all. The making of a new State or States out of the present limits of California is, therefore, but adding to the objec- tion which has been made by the South to the preponderance and influence, and the apprehensions entertained of the preponder- ance and influence of Northern power. If the North is satisfied, if the thin"- is not unreasonable, it seems to me that there should be on the part of our Southern friends no hesitation in accepting these limits. But they are said to be unreasonable. California is some six or seven hundred miles in extent on the Pacific coast; it is too large. It is stated in the report that with respect to all that portion of California south of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes, shortly after you have left the coast, you encounter deserts of sand, which never cap be inhabited; and after you pass these deserts of sand, you approach mountains, and are involved in successive chains of mountains until you reach a population that has no intercourse with the Pacific, but whose intercourse is carried on exclusively with Mexico and other countries on the Mexican Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean. When you come to the northern portion of California, there is a vast desert which is said to have never been passed, — or which was never known to be passed, — extending from the country which the Mormons occupy down to the Pacific ocean. There seems to me, then, to be no adequate motive for the decreasing of the limits upon the Pacific, with a view to the addition of future ON THE COMPROMISE MEASURES. 205 States, — at least from any amount of geographical knowledge which we possess at present. It is mentioned in the report that there are other cases of States -which have been admitted without the previous authority of Congress. The honorable gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Clemens), stated that in all the other instances of States admitted into the Union, they had served an apprenticeship of so many years. But the statement in the report stands uncontradicted. Michigan, Arkansas, Florida, if no other States, came into the Union without any previous act of Congress, according to the usao'e which prevailed in the early admission of States, authoriz- ing them to meet in Convention and form a Constitution. But it is said that they were under the government of the United States. So much the better for them ; they had a good government, — a Territorial government. But how was it with California? She had no government. You abandoned and deserted her, — violated the engagement of the treaty of Hidalgo, — left her to shift for herself as well as she could. In this state of abandonment, she has formed a Constitution and come here. I ask again, as I had occasion to ask some three months ago, if she does not present stronger claims upon our consideration than any of those States which had Territorial governments, but which, not satisfied with them, chose to form for themselves State Constitutions, and come here to be admited into the Union ? I think, then, Mr. President, that with respect to the popula- tion of California, with respect to the limits of California, and with respect to the circumstances under which she presents her- self to Congress for admission as a Slate into the Union, all are favorable to the grant of what she solicits, and that we can find neither in the one nor the other a sufficient motive to reject or to throw her back into the state of lawless confusion and disorder from which she has emerged. W'nh the committee 1 say upon this occasion, (hat all the con- siderations which devolve upon Congress to admit California, sanction whal she has done, and give her the benefit of self-gov- ernment, apply with equal force to the two Territories of Utah and New Mexico. 290 SPEECHES OF HENRY CI.AY. Mr. President, allow me, at this stage of the few observations which I propose to address to the Senate, to contrast the plans which have been presented for the settlement of this question. One has come to us from very high authority, recommending, as I understand it. the admission of California, and doing nothing more, leaving the question unsettled of the boundary between New Mexico and Texas, and leaving the people who inhabit Utah and New Mexico unprovided for by government. I will take the occasion to say, that I came to Washington with a most anxious desire, — a desire which I still entertain, — to co-operate in my legislative position, in all cases in which I can judiciously co- operate, with the executive branch of the government-. I need not add, however, sir, that I came here, also, with a settled pur- pose to follow the deliberate dictation of my own judgment, wherever that judgment might carry me. It is with great pleasure, sir, that I state that, we do co-operate with the Presi- dent, to the extent which he recommends. He recommends the admission of California. The committee propose it. There the President's recommendation stops. There we take up the sub- ject, and proceed to act upon the other parts of the territory acquired from Mexico. Now, sir, which course of the two recommends itself best to the judgment of those who are to act in the case ? In the first place, sir, if we do not provide governments for the other portions of the country acquired from Mexico, we fail to fulfill the obligation, the sacred obligation, in the treaty with Mexico. It is said that thev will have a government of their own — a local government; that they have such a one now ; but they have not such a one now as they had when they were part of Mexico. When (hey were part of the Republic of Mexico, with the common government of Mexico Btretching over all the parts constituting that republic, they had all the benefit resulting from their own local laws, and the additional benefit and security resulting from the laws of the supreme government, covering all parts of the republic. We have the place of that supreme gov- ernment. Thev were transferred from that sovereignty to this reignty, and we stipulated with that former sovereignty that ON THE COMPROMISE MKASURES. 207 we would extend to them protection to their persons, sectiritv to their property, and the benefit of preserving their own religion according to the dictates of their own consciences. Now, sir, if you admit California, and do nothing for Utah and New Mex- ico, — nothing in relation to the settlement of the boundary ques- tion with Texas, — I ask you, in what condition, in what state, will you leave these countries ? There are the Mormons — a com- munity of which I do not wish to say a word in disrespect. I know very little about them. I have heard very often things said against them ; and I believe during this session mv col- league, who sits before me, [Mr. Underwood,] has had occasion to present some petition or document, showing some very harsh, oppressive, and tyrannical treatment extended by those Mormons to citizens of the United States, who did not compose a por- tion of their community, and who were merely passing through. Of that people, of their capacity to govern, of the treatment they would give to the other citizens of the United States who might settle among them, or who might wish to pass through, not belonging there, — of all these matters I shall not speak. The members from Missouri and Illinois are much more competent to afford information to the Senate upon them than I am. But I care not whether they are as bad as they are represented by their enemies, or as good as they are represented by their friends, or what they are ; the}- are a portion of the people whom we are bound by treaty, as well as other high obligations, to govern ; and I put it to you, sir, is it right to say of the people of Utah, comprehending the Mormons, and to the people of New Mexico, deprived as they are of the benefit of the government which they once had, the supreme authority of which resides at Mexico, — is it right in us to leave them to themselves, and to say, they will take care of themselves, I dare say ; and when they get ripe, — ay, when will they be ripe for a Slate govern- ment? — when they get ripe, after the lapse of many years, let them come forward, and we will receive them? Is that dis- charging our duty ? I will go further in reference to the message, which I am sorry that I think it my duty to contrast with the plan of the committee 298 SPEECHES OF HUSKY CLAY. which is now under consideration ; and I will say that I have no doubt that there were strong, at least plausible reasons, for the adoption of that recommendation in the message of the President, at the time it was sent into Congress, at the besnnninq; of the ses- sion. I have no doubt it was apprehended at that time that it was impossible to create any governments for those Territories, without producing scenes in Congress of the most painful and unpleasant character. I have no doubt it was believed, as indeed it was stated in the message, that dislraction would be aggra- vated — differences of opinion, perhaps, carried to extreme lengths, if any attempts should be made to extend government over those Territories. But I am happy to be able to recognize what all have seen, that, since the commencement of the session, the most gratifying change in the public mind has taken place. The North, the glorious North, has come to the rescue of this Union of ours. She has displayed a disposition to abate in her demands. The South, the glorious South, — not less glorious than the other sec- tion of the Union, — has also come to the rescue. The minds of men have moderated. Passion has given place to reason. Everywhere, — everywhere, in all parts of the Union, there is a demand, — the force and effect of which, T trust, will be felt in both branches of Congress, — for an amicable adjustment of these questions, for the relinquishment of extreme opinions enter- tained, whether upon one side of the question or upon the oilier, and coming too-ether once more as friends and brethren, living under the common country, and enjoying the benefits and happi- ness which have flowed from a common government. I think that if the President had to make a recommendation to Congress, wiih all the lights which have been shod upon (he subject since the commencement of the session, now that nearly five months of the session have gone, he would not have limited himself simply to a recommendation to admit California, or to leave the Terri- tories to shifl for themselves as they could or might. He tells us in one of those messages, — I forget whether it is the message of December or January, — that he had reason to believe thai one of those Territories at least (New Mexico) would ON THE COMPROMISE MEASURES. 299 possibly form a State government for herself, and might come here, even during the progress of this debate. At all events, if there had been such a state of circumstances at the period that this message was sent in as exists down to the present time, I can not but believe that the gentleman who now presides at the head of our political affairs, if he had had the benefit of our light, would have made a recommendation much more comprehensive, much more general and healing in its character, than the simple recommendation of the admission of California, leaving all the other questions untouched and unsettled. With regard to the abandoned condition of Utah and New Mexico, to which I have alluded, left without any authority of this government, acting locally to protect the citizen who goes there to settle, and to protect the citizen who is in transitu between these countries, without any authority connected with the supreme authority of the Government here, — when they are communicating from time to time this state of thino-s existing in those countries, I submit that to abandon them, in face of our obligation contained in the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and other high obligations, is not conformable to that duty which we are called upon to perform. Well, then, there is the boundary question with Texas. Why, sir, at this very moment we learn through the public papers that Texas has sent her civil commissioners to Santa Fe, or into New Mexico, for the purpose of bringing them under her authority ; and if you leave the Texas boundary question unsettled, and establish no government for Utah and New Mexico, I venture to say that, before Ave meet again next December, we shall hear of some civil commotion, perhaps the shedding of blood, in the contest between New Mexico and Texas with respect to the boundary; for, without meaning to express at this time, or at any time, any positive opinion on that question, we know that the people of Santa Fe are as much opposed to the government of Texas, and as much convinced that they do not belong to Texas, that they constitute no portion of the Territory of Texas, as we know Texas to be earnest in asserting the contrary, and affirming her right to all the country from the mouth of the Rio 300 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. Grande to its uppermost sources. Is it right, then, to leave these Territories unprovided for ? Is it right to leave this important question of the boundary between New Mexico and Texas un- settled, to produce possibly the fearful consequences to which I adverted ? Sir, on these questions, I believe, — though I do not recollect the exact state of the vote in committee, — that there was no serious diversity of opinion. We all thought we should estab- lish governments for them if we could ; that, at any rate, we should make the attempt, and if we failed, after making the attempt, we should stand irreproachable for any voluntary aban- donment or neglect of them on our part. The next question which arose before the committee, after having agreed upon the proposal to be made to Texas for the settlement of the boundary between her and New Mexico, was the question of the union of these three measures in one bill. And upon that subject, sir, the same diversity of opinion which had developed itself in the Senate displayed itself in the com- mittee. [A senator, in his seat. — "What of the amount to be paid to Texas?] Mr. Clay. — Ah ! I am reminded that T have said nothing about the amount proposed to be given to Texas, for the relin- quishment of her title to the United States of the territory north of the proposed line. The committee, I hope, with the approba- tion of the Senate, thought it best not to fill up that blank until the last moment, upon the final reading of the bill ; that if it were inserted in the bill it would go out to the countrv, and might lead to improper speculation in the stock markets ; and that therefore it was better to leave it out until the final passage of the bill. — When we arrive at that point, which I hope we shall do in a short time, I shall be most happy to propose the sum which has been thought of by the committee. Sir, The committee recommended the union of these three measures. If the senator from Missouri will allow me the benefit of those two cannons pointed to (his side of (he house, [alluding OX THE COMPROMISE MEASI RES. 301 to two volumes of Hatsel,] I will be much obliged to him. I believe the senator from Missouri has them on his (able. [Mr. Benton. — They are in the Secretary's office.] The union of these three measures in one bill has been objected to, and has been already very much discussed in the Senate. Out of respect to the senator from Missouri and to the Senate, I feel myself called upon to give some answer to the argument which he addressed to the Senate some days ago, to show that it was improper to connect them together. I must begin by stating what I understand to be Parliamentary law in this country. It consists, in the first place, of the Constitution of the United States and of the rules adopted by the two Houses of Congress ; and if you please, sir, Jefferson's Manual, which has been respected as authority, and used, I believe, in most of the delib- erative bodies in this country. Now, sir, either the senator from Missouri or myself totally misunderstands what is meant by Hatsel in the use of the word "tacking." We have no such thing as tacking in the English sense of the term. Jefferson has no chapter in his Manual on this subject of tacking. Hatsel first. Tacking in England is this : By the Constitution of Eng- land, — or, in other words, by the practice of England, which makes her Constitution, — money bills, supply bills, bills of subsidy and aid of all kinds, are passed by the House of Com- mons, sent to the House of Lords and the Lords are obliged to take them word for word, without making any amendment what- ever. They are sent in that shape to the Crown, and the Crown is obliged to take them without amendment at all. The practice of tacking in England is this : knowing that a money bill is obliged to be passed without any alteration or amendment in the Lords, the Commons in England frequently, when they have a public object or measure to carry out, tack that measure to a money bill, and send it to the House of Lords. Thev know that the overruling necessity of the aristocracy and of the Crown is such that they must, for the sake of the money granted to them, agree to that clause favorable perhaps to liberty, or to something else that is tacked on to it. The process of tacking in England 302 SPEECHES OF JIKXRY CLAY. is therefore objected to by the Crown and. by the aristocracy always. It is never objected to by the Commons. — And accord- ing as the prevalence of the authority of the Crown and the aris- tocracy, or of the public branch of the legislature takes place, the practice of tacking is resorted to. Hence the quotation read by the senator the other day from Chancellor Finch. The King always, and the Lords always complain of it. Hatsel, in the very loose and very unsatisfactory work of his which I have often had occasion to refer to, complains of it; but the fact is, the process of tacking in England is favorable to liberty ; it is favorable to the Commons of England. It is never objected to by them, but it is always objected to by the Crown and the aris- tocracy. Her Majesty would be glad to get the money without being obliged to make any concessions to her subjects ; and the House of Lords would be equally disposed with her Majesty to think it very wrong to be compelled to swallow the whole. They would be willing to take the money, but they would have to take alono- with it the clause which has been tacked on in favor of personal liberty or of some rights of the subjects. Sir, I had intended to go into the details of this subject, by way of answer to the honorable senator ; but, really, I think it is hardly necessary. You find in the third volume of Hatsel that he has a chapter on the subject of bills tacked to bills of supply. I repeat, sir, that we have no such thing as that tacking process in this country. And why ? Because, although tax bills and other bills originate in the House of Representatives, and by the Constitution are required to originate there, the Senate have a right to amend, to strike out any clause, to reduce the tax, or to make any additions or amendment which they please. The Senate is under no such restraint as is the House of Lords in England. Hence we have no such thine: as tacking;, in the En£- lish Parliamentary sense of the term. But tacking, even in Eng- land, is confined to what are considered incongruous measures. Now, sir, the question is, whether there is any incongruity in these measures: a bill for the admission of California: a bill establishing a Territorial government in Utah ; a bill establish- ing a Territorial government for New Mexico ; and what is ON THE COMPROMISE MEASUKES. 303 indispensable, if we give her a government, a bill providing what shall be her boundary, provided Texas shall accede to the liberal proposal made to her? Is there any thing, I ask, incongru- ous iu all this? Where is it? What is the incongruity ? What is the indignity ? for I have heard time after lime that it is undig- nified, or that it is ill-treating California, to attach her to those portions of territory acquired from Mexico, included in Utah and New Mexico. What is the indignity ? I admit that in general, for the sake of simplicity of business, it is better not to make any one bill complex, or even to embrace too great a variety of sub- jects of a congruous nature. But that rests in the sound dis- cretion of Congress. It rests in the pleasure of Congress. Sir, it has been said that California has set us a very good example, by providing by her Constitution that no two subjects are to be united in the same bill. Louisiana has done the same thing in her Constitution. Ask the senator from Louisiana, or ask an honorable member of that Legislature, who has just arrived here from Baton Rouge, and they will tell you to what vast incon- venience legislative action is exposed, in consequence of this Constitutional restriction. What are incongruous subjects, what are distinct subjects, is a matter not always absolutely certain. If any thing which is thought incongruous is incorporated in a bill in that Legislature, it is sent to the judiciary, and if the judi- ciary thinks the subjects are incongruous, the law can not be constitutional, because, in the opinion of the Judges, it was in violation of the Constitution, which declared that the Legislature should pass only congruous bills. I have been told, and the senator from Louisiana can state whether I have been correctly informed or not, that in two or three instances laws which have been passed by the Legislature of Louisiana have been declared unconstitutional, in consequence of this Constitutional restriction upon legislative action, and the Courts would not enforce them. I mentioned, sir, a while ago, acts which embraced every pos- sible variety of legislation. I referred to an act providing for the support of the military academy of the United States for the year 1838, and for other purposes. That act makes thirty or forty appropriations for different objects ! It makes appropriations 304 SPEECHES OF HKNEY CLAY. for the documentary history of the revolution, for continuing the construction of the* patent office, for furnishing machinery and other expenses incident to the outfit of the branch mint at New Orleans, Charlotte and Dahlonega ; for the salaries of the governor, chief judge, associate justices, district attorney, mar- shal, and pay and mileage of the members of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa, the expense there of taking the census, and for other incidental and contingent expenses of that Territory, and in relation to the investment in State stock of the bequest of the late James Smithson, of London, for the purpose of founding at Washington, in this district, an institu- tion we denominate the Smithsonian Institution. These and various other acts are all comprehended in a bill making an appropriation for the military academy at West Point. Now, sir, after this, can it be said that there is any want of power, or any non-conformity in the practice of Congress, in endeavoring to unite together, not three incongruous and dis- cordant measures, but three measures of the same character, having, in different form, the same general object? I will pass on, with a single observation on an amendment introduced by the committee into the Territorial bill. To that amendment I was opposed, but it was carried in the committee. It is an amendment which i.s to be found in the tenth section of one of the bills limiting the power of the Territorial Legislature upon the subject of laws which it may pass. Among other limitations, it declares "that the Territorial Legislature shall have no power to pass any law in respect to African Slavery." I did not then, and do not now, attach much importance to the amendment, which was proposed by an honorable senator, now in my eye, and carried by a majority of the committee. The effect of that clause will at once be understood by the Senate. It speaks of "African" Slavery. The word African was intro- duced so as to leave the government at libertv to legislate as it might think proper on any other condition of Slavery, — "Peon" or "Indian" Slavery, which has so long existed under the Spanish regime. The object was to impose a restriction upon them as to the passage of any law either to admit or exclude ON THE COMPROMISE MEASURES. 305 African Slavery, or of any law restricting it. The effect of that amendment will at once be seen. If the Territorial Legislature can pass n<> law with respect to African Slavery, the state of the law as it exists now in the Territories of Utah and New Mexico, will continue to exist until the people form a Constitution for themselves, when they can settle the question of Slavery as they please. They will not be allowed to admit or exclude it. They will be restrained on the one hand from its admission, and on the other from its exclusion. Sir, I shall not repeat now the expression of opinion which I have already announced to the Senate as being held by me on this subject. My opinion is, that the law of Mexico, in all the variety of forma in which legislation can take place, — that is to say, by the edict of a dictator, by the Constitution of the people of Mexico, by the act of the legislative authority of Mexico, — by all these modes of legislation, Slavery has been abolished there. I am aware that some other senators entertain a different opinion ; but without going into discussion of that question, which I think altogether unnecessary, I feel authorized to say that the opinion of a vast majority of the people of the United States, of a vast majority of the jurists of the United Stales, is in coincidence with that which I entertain ; that is to say, that at this moment, by law and in fact, there is no Slavery there, unless it is possible that some gentlemen from the slave States, in passing through that country, may have taken along their body Blaves. In point of fact, and in point of law, I entertain the opinions which I expressed at an early period of the session. Sir, we have heard since, from authority entitled to the highest respect, from no less authority than that of the delegate from New Mexico, that labor ran be there obtained at the rate of three or four dollars per month ; and, if ii can be got at that rate, can any body suppose that any owner of slaves would ever carry them to that country, where he could only get three or four dol- lars per month for them ? I believe, on this part of the Bubject, 1 have said every thing that ie necessary for me to Bayj but there remain two or three subjects upon which I wish to say a few words before I close what T have to offer for the consideration of the Senate 306 SPEECHES OF IIENEY CLAY. The next subject upon which the committee acted -was that of Fugitive slaves. The committee have proposed two amendments to be offered to the bill introduced by the senator from Virginia (Mr. Mason), whenever the bill is taken up. The first of these amendments provides that the owner of a fugitive slave, when leaving his own State, and whenever it is practicable, — for some- times, in the hot pursuit of an immediate runaway, it may not be in the power of the master to wait to get such record, and he will always do it if it is possible, — shall carry with him a record from the State from which the fugitive has fled ; which record shall contain an adjudication of two facts ; first, the fact of Slavery, and secondly, the fact of elopement ; and in the third place, such a general description of the slave as the court shall be enabled to give upon such testimony as shall be brought before it. It also provides that this record, taken from the county court, or from the court of record in the slaveholding State, shall be taken to the free State, and shall be there held to be competent and sufficient evidence of the facts which it avows. Now, sir, I heard objection made to this, that it would be an inconvenience and an expense to the slaveholder. I think the expense will be very trifling to the great advantages which will result. The expenses will be only two or three dollars for the seal of the court, and the certificate and attestation of the clerk, etc. Sir, we know the just reverence and respeci in which records are ever held. The slaveholder himself will feel, when he goes from Virginia to Ohio with this record, that he has got a security which he never possessed before for the recovery of his property. And when the attestation of the clerk, under the seal of the court is exhibited to the citizen of Ohio, that citizen will be disposed to respect, and bound to respect, under the laws of the Uniied States, a record thus exhibited, coming from a sister State. The inconvenience will be very slight, very inconsider- able, compared with the great security of the slaveholder. With respect t<> the other amendment offered by the committee to the fugitive bill, I regretted extremely to hear the senator from Arkansas object so earnestly and so seriously to it. 1 did not pretend to question his laVht. or (he right of any other senator, <>.\ THE COMPROMISE MEASURES. 307 but he will surely allow me to say, in all kindness, that of all the States in this Union, without exception, I will not except even Virginia herself. I believe that the State which suffers more than any other by the escaping of slaves from their owners, seek- ing refuge either in Canada, or in some of the non-slaveholdinf States, Kentucky is the one. I doubt very much whether the Stale of Arkansas ever lost a slave. They may, very possibly, once in awhile, run off to the Indians, but very rarely. So of other interior States. So of Georgia and South Carolina. Some- times, perhaps, a slave escapes from their seaports, but very rarely by land. Kentucky is the most suffering State, but I venture to anticipate for my own State, that she will be satisfied with the provisions to which I am now about to call the attention of the Senate. Mr. President, in all subjects of this kind we must deal fairly and honestly by all. We must recollect that there are feelings, and interests, and sympathies on both sides of the question ; and no man who has ever brought his mind seriouslv to the consid- eration of a suitable measure for the re-capture of runaway slaves, can fail to admit that the question is surrounded with great difficulties. On the one hand, if the owner of the slave could go into this non-slaveholding State, and seize the negro, put his hands upon him, and the whole world would recognize the truth of his ownership of property, and the fact of the escape of that property, there would be no difficulty then in those States where prejudice against Slavery exists in the highest degree. But he goes to a State which does not recognize Slavery. Recollect how different the slate of fact is now from what it was in 1793, nearly sixty years ago. There were then, comparatively, few free persons of color, — few, compared to the numbers which exist at present. By the progress of emancipation in the slaveholding States, and the multiplication of them by natural causes, vast numbers of them have rushed to the free Slates. There are in the eities of Philadelphia, New York and Boston, — I have not looked into the precise number, — some eight or ten to one in proportion to the Dumber there were in 1793, when the act passed. 308 SPEECHES QF BENBY CLAY. In proportion to the number of free blacks, multiplied in the free States, does the difficulty increase of recovering a fugitive from a slaveholding State. Recollect, Mr. President, that the rule of law is reversed in the two classes of States. In the slaveholding States the rule is, that color implies Slavery, and the onus probandi of freedom is thrown on the persons claiming it, as every person in the slaveholding Slates is regarded prima facie as a slave. On the contrary, when you go to the non- slavehohling States, color implies freedom and not Slavery. Every man who is seen in the free States, though he be a man of color, is regarded as free. And when a stranger from Vir- ginia or Kentucky goes to remote parts of Pennsylvania, and sees a black person, who perhaps has been living there for years, and claims him to be his slave, the feelings and sympathy of the neighborhood are naturally and necessarily excited in favor of the colored person. We all respect these feelings, where they are honestly entertained. Well, sir, what ate you to do in a case of that, kind ? You will give every satisfaction that can be given that the person whom you propose to arrest is your property, and is a fugitive from your service or labor. That is the extent of one amendment which we propose to oiler, but there is also another. The amendment upon which 1 have been commenting' provides for the production of a record. Now, what is the incon- venience of that? It provides that when the owner of the slave shall arrest his property in a non-slaveholding State, and shall take him before the proper functionary to obtain a certificate to authorize the return of that property to the State from which he fled, and if he declares to that functionary at the time - that he is a five man and not a slave, what does the provision require the officer to do? Why, to lake a bund from the agent or owner thai he will carry tin- black person back to the county of the Sac from which he fled; and that at the firsl court which may sit after his return, he shad be carried their, if he again assert the righl to his freedom ; the court shall afford and the owner shall afford to him all the facilities which arc requisite to enabl i him to establish his right to freedom. Now, no surety is even required of the master. The committee thought, and in that I ON THE COMPROMISE MEASUBES. 309 believe they all concurred, that it would be wrong to demand of a stranger, hundreds of miles from his home, surety to take back the slave to the State from which he fled. The trial by jury is what is demanded by the non-slaveholding States. Well, we put the parly claimed to be a fugitive back to the State from which he ilea, and give him trial by jury in that State. Well, sir, ought we not to make this concession? It is but very little inconvenience. I will tell you, sir, what will be the practical operation of this. It will be this: When a slave has escaped from the master, and taken a refuge in a free State, and that master comes to re-capture him and take him back to the State from which he fled, the slave will cry out, "I do not know the man ; I never saw him in my life ; I am a free man." He will say any thing and do any thing to preserve to himself that freedom of which he is tor (he moment in possession. He will assert most confidently before the Judge that he is a free man. But take him back to the State from which he tied, to his com- rades, and he will state the truth, and will relinquish all claim to freedom. The practical operation, therefore, of the amendment which we have proposed, will be attended with not the least earthly inconvenience to the party claiming the fugitive. The case is bond without surety. The bond is transmitted by the officer taking it to the district attorney of the State from which lie has lied. That officer sees that the bond is executed, and that the slave is taken before the Court. Perhaps, before the slave reaches home, he will acknowledge that he is a slave; there is an end of the bond and an end of the trouble about the master. Is this unreasonable? Is it not a proper and rational concession to the prejudices, if you please, which exist in the non-slaveholding States? Sir, our rights are to be asserted ; our lights are to be maintained. They will be asserted and main- tained in a manner not to wound unnecessarily the sensibilities of others. And, in requiring such a bond as this amendment proposes to exact from the owner, I do not think there is the slightest inconvenience imposed upon him, of which he ought to complain. Sir, there is one opinion prevailing, — I hope not extensively. — 310 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. in some of the non-slaveholding Slates, which nothing we can do will conciliate. I allude to that opinion that asserts that there is a hioher law, — a divine law, — a natural law, — which entitles a man, under whose roof a runaway has come, to give him assistance, and succor, and hospitality. A divine law, a natural law ! and who are they that venture to tell us what is divine and what is natural law? Where are their credentials of prophecy? Why, sir, Ave are told that the other day, at a meeting of some of these people at New York, Moses and all the prophets were rejected, and that the name even of our blessed Saviour was treated with sacrilege and contempt by these propagators of a divine law, of a natural law which they have discovered above all laws and Constitutions. If Moses and the prophets, and our Saviour and all others, are to be rejected, will they condescend to show us their authority for propagating this new law, this new divine law of which they speak ? The law of nature, sir ! Look at it as it is promulgated, and even admitted or threatened to be enforced, in some quarters of the world. Well, sir, some of these people have discovered another plausible law of nature. There is a laro-e class who say that if a man has acquired, no matter whether by his own exertions or by inheritance, a vast estate, much more than is necessary for the existence of himself and family, I who am starving, am entitled by a law of nature to have a portion of these accumulated goods to save me from the death which threatens me. Here are you, with your barns full, with your warehouses full of goods, collected from all quar- ters of the globe; your kitchens and laundries and pantries all full of that which conduces to the subsistence and comfort of man : and here am I standing by, as Lazarus at the gate of the rich man, perishing from hunger, — will not the law of nature allow me to take enough of your superabundance to save me a Utile while from that death which is inevitable without I do it? Why, sir, trace this pretended law of nature, about which, seriously, none of the philosophers are agreed, and apply it to one of the most interesting and solemn ceremonies of life. Go to a Mahometan country, and the Mahometan will (ell you that you are entitled to as many wives as yon can get. Tome next ON THE COMPROMISE MEASURES. 311 to a Christian country, and you will be told that you are entitled to but one. Go to our friends the Shakers, and they will tell you that you are entitled to none. But there are persons in this age of enlightenment and progress and civilization, who will rise up in public assemblages, and, denouncing the church and all that is sacred that belongs to it, — denouncing the founders of the religion which all profess and revere, — will tell you that not- withstanding the solemn oath which they have taken by kissing the book to carry out into full effect all the provisions of the Constitution of our country, there is a law of their God, — a divine law, which they have found out and nobody else has, — superior and paramount to all human law ; and that they do not mean to obey this human law, but the divine law, of which, by some inspira- tion, by some means undisclosed, they have obtained a knowl- edge. That is the class of persons which we do not propose to conciliate by any amendment, by any concession which we can make. But the committee, in considering this delicate subject, and looking at the feelings and interests on both sides of the ques- tion, thought it best to offer these two provisions, — that which requires the production of a record in the non-slaveholding States, and that which requires a bond to grant to the real claim- ant of his freedom a trial by jury, in the place where that trial ought to take place according to the interpretation of the Consti- tution of the United States, if it take place anywhere. Therefore, in order to obviate the difficulties which have been presented, and to satisfy the prejudices in the non-slaveholding States, we propose to give the fugitive the right of trial by jury in the State from which he fled. The statement in the report of the com- mittee is perfectly true, that the greatest facilities are always extended to every man of color in the slaveholding States who sues for freedom. I have never known an instance of a failure on the part of a person thus suing to procure a verdict and judg- ment in his favor, if there were even slight grounds in support of his claim. And, sir, so far is the sympathy in behalf of a person suing for his freedom carried, that few members of the bar appear against them. 1 will mention, though in no boastful 312 SPEECnES OF IIEXHY CLAY. spirit, that I myself never appeared but once in my life against a person suing for his freedom, but have appeared for them in manv instances without charging them a solitary cent. That, I believe* is the general course of the liberal and eminent portion of the bar throughout the country. One case I made an excep- tion, but it was a case when I appeared for a particular friend. I told him : " Sir, I will not appear against your negroes unless I am perfectly satisfied that they have no right to freedom ; and even if I shall become, after the progress of the trial, convinced that they are entitled to freedom, I shall abandon your cause." I venture to sav, then, that in all that relates to tenderness of treatment to that portion of our population, and to the adminis- tration of justice to them, and the supply of their wants, nothing can be found in the slaveholding States that is not honorable and creditable to them. Mr. President, the only measure remaining upon which I shall say a word now, is the abolition of the slave-trade in the District of Columbia. There is, I believe, precious little of it. I believe the first man in my life that I ever heard denounce that trade was a Southern man — John Randolph of Roanoke. I believe there has been no time within the last forty years when, if earnestly pressed upon Congress, there would not have been found a majority, perhaps a majority from the slaveholding States them- selves, in favor of the abolition of the slave trade in this District. The bill which the committee has reported is founded upon the law of Maryland, as it existed when this District was set apart and ceded to the United States. — Maryland has since very often changed her laws. — What is their exact condition at present, I am not aware. I have heard that she has made a change at the last session, and I am told that they may be changed in the course of a year or two. Sir, some years ago, it would have been though! a great concession to the feelings and wishes of the North to abolish this slave-trade. Now, I have seen some of the rabid abolition papers denounce it as amounting to nothing, They do not care for that. And will my friends, some of my friends on the other side of the house, allow me to say a word or two with respect to their course in relation to this measure? At ON THE COMPROMISE MEASIRES. 313 the beginning of this session, as you know, that offensive pro- viso, called the "Wilmot proviso," was what was most appre- hended, and what all the shareholding States were most desirous to get rid of. Well, sir, by the operation of causes upon the Northern mind friendly to the Union, hopes are inspired which, I trust, will not be frustrated in the progress of this measure, that the North, or at least a sufficient portion of the North, are now willing to dispense with the proviso. When, three months affo, I offered certain resolutions, and when to these measures it was objected, by way of reproach, that they were simply carry- ing out my own plan, my honorable friend from North Carolina, at the moment, justly pointed out the essential differences between the plan, as contained in the resolutions offered by me, and that now presented by the committee. At the time I offered those resolutions, knowing what con- sequences, and, as I sometimes feared, fatal consequences, might result from the fact of the North insisting on the proviso, by way of compensation, in one of those resolutions which I offered, — the second one, — I stated two truths, one of law and one of fact, which I thought ought to satisfy the North that it ought no longer to insist on the Wilmot proviso. Those truths were not incorporated in the bill reported by the com- mittee, but they exist, nevertheless, as truths. I believe them both now as much as I did in February last. I know there are others who do not concur with me in opinion. Every senator must decide for himself, as the country will decide for itself, when the question comes to be considered. Well, when our Southern friends found they were rid of the proviso, they were highly satisfied, and I shared with them in their satisfaction. If I am not much mistaken, a great majority of them would have said, " If, Mr. Clay, you had not put those two obnoxious truths in them, we should have been satisfied with your reso- lution." Well, sir, we have got rid of the Wilmot proviso, we have got rid of the enactment into laws of the two truths to which I refer, but I fear there are some of our Southern brethren who are not satisfied. There are some who say that there is yet the Wilmot proviso, under another form, lurking in the 27 314: SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. mountains of Mexico, in the natural fact to which my honorable friend from Massachusetts adverted, as I myself did when I hinted that the law of nature was adverse to the introduction of slavery there. Now, as you find that just desire is to be obtained, there is something further, there are other difficulties in the way of the adjustment of these unhappy subjects of dif- ference, and of obtaining that which is most to be desired, the cementing of the bonds of this Union. Mr. President, I do not despair, I will not despair, that the measure will be carried. And I would almost stake my exist- ence, if I dared, that if these measures which have been reported by the Committee of Thirteen were submitted to the people of the United States to-morrow, and their votes were taken upon them, there would be nine-tenths of them in favor of the pacification which is embodied in that report. Mr. President, what have we been looking at ? — What are we lookino- at ? The " proviso ;" an abstraction always ; thrust upon the South bv the North against all necessities of the case, ao-ainst all the warnings which the North ought to have listened to coming from the South ; pressed unnecessarily for any Northern object; opposed, I admit, by the South, witli a degree of earnestness uncalled for, I think, by the nature of the pro- vision, but with a degree of earnestness natural to the South, and which the North itself perhaps would have displayed, if a reversal of the conditions of the two sections of the Union could have taken place. Why do you of the North press it? You say, because it is in obedience to certain sentiments in behalf of human freedom and human rights which you enter- tain. You are likely to accomplish those objects at once by the progress of events, without pressing this obnoxious measure. — You may retort, why is it opposed at the South ? — It is opposed at the South because the South feels that, when once legisla- tion on the subject of slavery begins, there is no seeing where it is to end. Begin it in the District of Columbia ; begin it in the Territories of Utah and New Mexico and California ; assert your power there to-day, and in spite of all the protesta- tl0 us, — and you are not wanting in making protestations, — that ON THE COMPROMISE MEASURES. 315 you have no purpose of extending it to the Southern States, what security can you give them that a new sect will not arise with a new version of the Constitution, or with something above or below the Constitution, which shall authorize them to carry their notions into the bosoms of the slaveholding States, and endeavor to emancipate from bondage all the slaves there ? Sir, the South has felt that her security lies in denying at the threshold your right to touch the subject of slavery. She said, "Begin, and who can tell where you will end? Let one generation begin and assert the doctrine for the moment, forbearing as they may be in order to secure their present objects, their successors may arise with new notions, and new principles, and new expositions of the constitution and laws of nature, and carry those notions and new principles into the bosom of the slaveholding States." The cases, then, gentlemen of the North and gentlemen of the South, do not stand upon an equal footing. When you, on the one hand, unnecessarily press an offensive and unnecessary measure on the South, the South repels it from the highest of all human motives of action, the security of property and life, and every thing else interesting and valuable in life. Mr. President, after we have got rid, as I had hoped, of all these troubles, — after this Wilmot proviso has disappeared, as I trust it may both in this and the other end of the Capitol, — after we have been disputing two or three years more, on the one hand, about a mere abstraction, and on the other, if it were fraught with evil, not so much present as distant and future, when we are arriving at a conclusion, what are the new difficulties that spring up around us ? Matters of form. The purest question of form, that was ever presented to the mind of man, — whether we shall combine in one united bill three measures, all of which are necessary, or separate them into three distinct bills, passing each in its turn, if it can be done. Mr. President, I trust that the feelings of attachment to the Union, of love for its past glory, of anticipation of its future benefits and happiness ; a fraternal feeling which, I trust, will 316 SPEECHES OF IIENRY CLAY. be common throughout all parts of the country ; the desire to live together in peace and harmony, to prosper as we have prospered heretofore, to hold up to the civilized world the example of one great and glorious Republic, fulfilling the high destiny that belongs to it, demonstrating beyond all doubt man's capacity for self-government ; these motives and these considerations will, I trust, animate us all, bringing us together to dismiss alike questions of abstraction and form, and con- summating the act in such a manner as to heal not one only, but all the wounds of the country. ADDRESS TO KOSSUTH. DECEMBER 1851. The last public service rendered to his country by Hexry Clay, is found in his brief address to Louis Kossuth, the exiled leader of the Hungarian movement for independence. Mr. Clay warmly sympathized with the misfortunes of the people of Hungary and their brave leaders, yet he depre- cated the course recommended by Kossuth to the American Government, and in a few words explained to him how unwise and inexpedient it would be for our Government to depart from the foreign policy laid down by the founders of our institutions. The address is full of significance, revealing, as it does, the pure patriot- ism of Mr. Clay, and his solicitude for the welfare of his country, — a sentiment that animated him to the last hours of his existence. Kossuth was received by Mr. Clay in his sick chamber, at the city of Washington. Several distinguished individuals were present at the interview. After the usual forms of introduction, Mr. Clay addressed him as follows : " I owe you, sir, an apology for not having acceded before to the desire you were kind enough to intimate more than once to see me ; but really, my health has been so feeble that I did not dare to hazard the excitement of so interesting an interview. Beside, sir (he added, with some pleasantry), your wonderful and fascinating eloquence has mesmerized so large a portion of our people wherever you have gone, and even some of our mem- bers of Congress (waving his hand toward the two or three gentlemen who were present), that I feared to come under its influence, lest you might shake my faith in some principles in regard to the foreign policy of this Government, which I have long and constantly cherished. (317) 318 SPEECHES OF HENRY CLAY. "And in regard to this matter you will allow me, I hope, to speak with that sincerity and candor which becomes the interest the subject has for you and for myself, and which is due to us both, as the votaries of freedom. " I trust you will believe me, too, when I tell you that I enter- tain the liveliest sympathies in every struggle for liberty in Hun- gary, and in every country ; and in this I believe I express the universal sentiment of my countrymen. But, sir, for the sake of my country, you must allow me to protest against the policy you propose to her. Waiving the grave and momentous question of the right of one nation to assume the executive power among nations for the enforcement of international law, or of the right of the United States to dictate to Russia the character of her relations with the nations around her, let us come at once to the practical consideration of the matter. "You tell us yourself, with great truth and propriety, that mere sympathy, or the expression of sympathy, can not advance your purposes. You require 'material aid.' And indeed it is manifest that the mere declarations of sympathy of Congress, or of the President, or of the public, would be of little avail, unless we were prepared to enforce those declarations by a resort to arms, and unless other nations could see that preparation and determination upon our part. " Well, sir, suppose that war should be the issue of the course you propose to us. Could we then effect any tiling for you, our- selves, or the cause of liberty ? To transport men and arms across the ocean in sufficient numbers and quantities to be effective against Russia and Austria would be impossible. It is a fact which perhaps may not be generally known, that the most imperative reason with Great Britain for the close of her last war with lis, was the immense cost of the transportation and main- tenance of forces and munitions of Avar in such a distant theater, and yet she had not perhaps more than thirty thousand men upon this continent ai any lime. Upon land, Russia is invulnerable to us, as we are to her. Upon the ocean, a war between Russia and this countrv would result in mutual annoyance to commerce, but probably in little else. I learn recently that her war marine ADDRESS TO KOSSUTH. 319 is superior to that of any nation in Europe, except perhaps Great Britain. Her ports are few, her commerce limited, while we, on our part, would offer as a prey to her cruisers a rich and extensive commerce. " Thus, sir, after effecting 1 nothing in such a war, after aban- doning our ancient policy of amity and non-intervention in the affairs of other nations, and thus justifying them in abandoning the terms of forbearance and non-interference which they have hitherto preserved toward us; after the downfall, perhaps, of the friends of liberal institutions in Europe, her despots, imitat- ing, and provoked by our fatal example, may turn upon us in the hour of our weakness and exhaustion, and, with an almost equallv irresistible force of reason and of arms, they may say to us ' You have set us the example. You have quit your own, to stand on foreign ground ; you have abandoned the policy you professed in the day of your weakness, to interfere in the affairs of the people upon this continent, in behalf of those principles, the supremacy of which you say, is necessary to your prosperity, — to your existence. We, in our turn, believ- ing that your anarchical doctrines are destructive of, and that monarchical principles are essential to, the peace, security and happiness of our subjects, will obliterate the bed which has nourished such noxious weeds ; we will crush you as the propa- gandist of doctrines so destructive of the peace and good order of the world.' "The indomitable spirit of our people might and would be equal to the emergency, and we might remain unsubdued even by so tremendous a combination; but the consequences to us would be terrible enough. You must allow me, sir, to speak thus freely, as I feel deeply, though my opinion may be of but little import, as the expression of a dying man. Sir, the recent melancholy subversion of the republican government of France, and that enlightened nation voluntarily placing its neck under the yoke of despotism, teach us to despair of any present success for liberal institutions in Europe. They give us an impressive warning not to rely upon others for the vindication of our prin- ciples, but to look to ourselves, and to cherish with more care 320 SPEECHES OF IIENKY CLAY. than ever the security of our institutions and the preservation of our policy and principles. "By the policy to which we have adhered since the days of Washington, we have prospered beyond precedent, — we have done more for the cause of liberty in the world than arms could effect. We have showed to other nations the way to greatness and happiness ; and, if we but continue united as one people, and persevere in the policy which our experience has so clearly and triumphantly vindicated, we may in another quarter of a century furnish an example which the reason of the world can not resist. But if Ave should involve ourselves in the tangled web of European politics, in a war in which we could effect nothing, and if in that struggle Hungary should go down, and we should go down with her, where, then, would be the last hope of the friends of freedom throughout the world ? Far better is it for ourselves, fur Hungary, and for the cause of liberty, that, adhering to our wise, pacific system, and avoiding the distant wars of Europe, we should keep our lamp burning brightly on this western shore as a light to all nations, than to hazard its utter extinction amid the ruins of fallen or falling republics in Europe." OBITUARY ADDRESSES TO THE MEMORY OF HENRY CLAY. SENATE OF THE UNITED STATEF,. Mr. UNDERWOOD, on Wednesday, June 30, 1852, addressed the Senate as follows : Mr. President — I rise to announce the death of my colleague, Mr. Clat. He died at his lodgings, in the National Hotel of this city, at seventeen minutes past eleven o'clock yesterday morning, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. He expired with perfect composure, and without a groan or struggle. By his death our country has lost one of its most eminent citizens and statesmen ; and, I think, its greatest genius. I Bhall not detain the Senate by narrating the transactions of his long and useful life. His distinguished services as a statesman are inseparably connected with the history of his country. As Representative and Speaker in the other House of Congress, as Senator in this body, as Secretary of State, and as envoy abroad, he has, in all these positions, exhibited a wisdom and patriotism which have made a deep and lasting impression upon the grate- ful hearts of his countrymen. His thoughts and his actions have already been published to the world in written biography; in Congressional debates and reports; in the journals of the two Houses; and in the pages of American History. They have been commemorated by monuments erected on the wayside, (SB) 322 EULOGY OF ME. UNDERWOOD. They have been engraven on medals of gold. Their memory- will survive the monuments of marble and the medals of gold; for these are effaced and decay by the friction of aoes. But the thoughts and actions of my late colleague have become identified with the immortality of the human mind, and will pass down, from generation to generation, as a portion of our national inher- itance, incapable of annihilation so long as Genius has an admirer, or Liberty a friend. Mr. President, the character of Hexry Clay was formed and developed by the influence of our free institutions. His phys- ical, mental, and moral faculties, were the gift of God. That they were greatly superior to the faculties allotted to most men can not be questioned. They were not cultivated, improved, and directed by a liberal or collegiate education. His respectable parents were not wealthy, and had not the means of maintaining their children at college. Moreover, his father died when he was a boy. At an early period Mr. Clay was thrown upon his own resources, without patrimony. He grew up in a clerk's office, in Richmond, Virginia. He there studied law. He emigrated from his native State and settled in Lexington, Ken- tucky, where he commenced the practice of his profession before he was of full age. The road to wealth, to honor, and fame was open before him. Under our Constitution and laws he might freely employ his great faculties, unobstructed by legal impediments, and unaided by exclusive privileges. Very soon Mr. Clay made a deep and favorable impression upon the people among whom he began his career. The excellence of his natural faculties was soon dis- played. Necessity stimulated him in their cultivation. His assiduity, skill, and fidelity in professional engagements, secured public confidence. He was elected member of the Legislature of Kentucky, in which body he served several sessions prior to 1806. In thai year he was elevated to a seat in the Senate of the United States. At the bar, and in the General Assembly of Kentucky, Mr. Clay first manifested those high qualities as a public speaker, which have secured to him so much popular applause and admi- EULOGY OF MR. UNDERWOOD. 323 ration. His physical and mental organization eminently qualified him to become a great and impressive orator. His person was tall, slender, and commanding. His temperament ardent, fear- less, and full of hope. His countenance clear, expressive, and variable — indicating the emotion which predominated at the moment with exact similitude. His voice, cultivated, and mod- ulated in harmony with the sentiment he desired to express, fell upon the ear like the melody of enrapturing music. His eye beaming with intelligence, and flashing with coruscations of genius. His gestures and attitudes graceful and natural. These personal advantages won the prepossessions of an audience, even before his intellectual powers began to move his hearers ; and when, his strong common sense, his profound reasoning, his clear conceptions of his subject in all its bearings, and his strik- ing and beautiful illustrations, united with such personal quali- ties, were brought to the discussion of any question, his audience was enraptured, convinced, and led by the orator as if enchanted by the lyre of Orpheus. No man was ever blessed by his Creator with faculties of a higher order of excellence than those given to Mr. Clat. In the quickness of his perceptions, and the rapidity with which his conclusions were formed, he had few equals and no superior. He was eminently endowed with a nice discriminating taste for order, symmetry, and beauty. He detected in a moment every thing out of place or deficient in his room, upon his farm, in his own or the dress of others. He was a skillful judge of the form and qualities of his domestic animals, which he delighted to raise on his farm. I could give you instances of the quickness and minuteness of his keen faculty of observation, which never overlooked any thing. A want of neatness and order was offen- sive to him. He was particular and neat in his handwriting, and his apparel. A slovenly blot or negligence of any sort, met his condemnation ; while he was so organized that he attended to, and arranged little things to please and gratify his natural love for neatness, order, and beauty, his great intellectual faculties grasped all the subjects of jurisprudence and politics with a facility amounting almost to intuition. As a lawyer he stood at 32-i EULOGY OF ME. UNDERWOOD. the head of his profession. As a statesman, his stand at the head of the Republican Whig party for nearly half a century, estab- lishes his title to pre-eminence among his illustrious associates. Mr. Clay was deeply versed in all the springs of human ac- tion. He had read and studied biography and history. Shortly after I left college, I had occasion to call on him in Frankfort, where he was attending court, and well I remember to have found him with Plutarch's Lives in his hands. No one better than he knew how to avail himself of human motives, and all the circumstances which surrounded a subject, or could present them with more force and skill to accomplish the object of an argument. Mr. Clay, throughout his public career, was influenced by the loftiest patriotism. Confident in the truth of his convic- tions, and the purity of his purposes, he was ardent, sometimes impetuous, in the pursuit of objects which he believed essential to the general welfare. Those who stood in his way were thrown aside without fear or ceremony. He never affected a courtier's deference to men or opinions, which he thought hostile to the best interests of his country ; and hence he may have wounded the vanity of those who thought themselves of consequence. It is certain, whatever the cause, that, at one period of his life, Mr. Clay might have been referred to as proof that there is more truth than fiction in those profound lines of the poet : " Ho who ascends the mountain top shall find Its loftiest peaks most wrapped in clouds and snow; He who Bur passes or sublines mankind, Must look down on the hate of those below : Though far above the sun of glory glow, And far beneath the earth and ocean spread, Round him are icy rocks, and loudly blow Contending tempests on his naked head, And thus reward the toils which to those summits led." Calumny and detraction emptied their vials upon him. Bui how glorious the change ! He outlived malice and envy. He lived long enough to prove to the world that his ambition was no more than a holy aspiration to make his country the greatest, Kl'LOGY OF MB. UNDERWOOD. 325 most powerful and best governed on the earth. If he desired its highest office, it was because the greater power and influence resulting from such elevation would enable him to do more than he otherwise could for the progress and advancement — first of his own countrymen, then of his whole race. His sympathies embraced all. The African slave, the Creole of Spanish Amer- ica, the children of renovated classic Greece — all families of men, without respect to color or clime, found in his expanded bosom and comprehensive intellect a friend of their elevation and amelioration. Such ambition as that, is God's implantation in the human heart for raising the down-trodden nations of the earth, and fitting them for regenerated existence in politics, in morals, and religion. Bold and determined as Mr. Clay was in all his actions, he was, nevertheless, conciliating. He did not obstinately adhere to things impracticable. If he could not accomplish the best, he contented himself with the nighest approach to it. He has been the great compromiser of those political agitations and op- posing opinions which have, in the belief of thousands, at differ- ent times, endangered the perpetuity of our Federal Government and Union. Mr. Clay was no less remarkable for his admirable social qualities than for his intellectual abilities. As a companion, he was the deliffht of his friends, and no man ever had better or truer. They have loved him from the beginning, and loved him to the last. His hospitable mansion at Ashland was always open to their reception. No guest ever thence departed without feel- ing happier for his visit. But, alas ! that hospitable mansion has already been converted into a house of mourning ; already has intelligence of his death passed with electric velocity to that aged and now widowed lady, who, for more than fifty years, bore to him all the endearing relations of wife, and whose feeble condition prevented her from joining him in this city, and sooth- ing the anguish of life's last scene, by those endearing attentions which no one can give so well as woman and a wife. May God infuse into her heart and mind the Christian spirit of submission under her bereavement ! It can not be long before she may 326 EULOGY OF MR. UNDERWOOD. expect a reunion in Heaven. A nation condoles with her and her children on account of their irreparable loss. Mr. Clay, from the nature of his disease, declined very grad- ually. He bore his protracted sufferings with great equanimity and patience. On one occasion he said to me, that when death was inevitable, and must soon come, and when the sufferer was ready to die, he did not perceive the wisdom of praying to be " delivered from sudden death." He thought, under such cir- cumstances, the sooner suffering was relieved by death the better. He desired the termination of his own sufferings, while he acknowledged the duty of patiently waiting and abiding the pleasure of God. Mr. Clay frequently spoke to me of his hope of eternal life, founded upon the merits of Jesus Christ as a Saviour ; Avho, as he remarked, came into the world to bring " life and immortality to light." He was a member of the Episco- palian Church. In one of our conversations he told me, that, as his hour of dissolution approached, he found that his affec- tions were concentrating more and more upon his domestic circle — his wife and children. In my daily visits he was in the habit of asking me to detail to him the transactions of the Senate. This I did, and he manifested much interest in passing occur- rences. His inquiries were less frequent as his end approached. For the week preceding his death he seemed to be altogether ab- stracted from the concerns of the world. When he became so low that he could not converse without being fatigued, he fre- quently requested those around him to converse. He would then quietly listen. He retained his mental faculties in great perfection. His memory remained perfect. He frequently mentioned events and conversations of recent occurrence, show- ing that he had a perfect recollection of what was said and done. He said to me that he was grateful to God for continuing to him the blessing of reason, which enabled him to contemplate and reflect on his situation. He manifested during his confinement the same characteristics which marked his conduct through the vigor of his life, He was exceedingly averse to give his friends " trouble," as he called it. Some time before he knew it, we commenced wailing through the night in an adjoining EDLOGY OF MR. UNDERWOOD. 327 room. He said to me, after passing a painful day, "perhaps some one had better remain all night in the parlor." From this time he knew some friend was constantly at hand ready to attend to him. Mr. President, the majestic form of Mr. Clay will no more grace these Halls. No more shall we hear that voice, which has so often thrilled and charmed the assembled Representatives of the American people. No more shall we see that waving hand and eye of light, as when he was engaged in unfolding his policy in regard to the varied interests of our growing and mighty Republican Empire. His voice is silent on earth for- ever. The darkness of death has obscured the luster of his eye. But the memory of his services — not only to his beloved Ken- tucky, not only to the United States, but for the cause of human freedom and progress throughout the world — will live through future ages, as a bright example, stimulating and encouraging his own countrymen, and the people of all nations, in their pa- triotic devotions to country and humanity. With Christians, there is yet a nobler and a higher thought in regard to Mr. Clay. They will think of him in connection with eternity. They will contemplate his immortal spirit, oc- cupying its true relative magnitude among the moral stars of glory in the presence of God. They will think of him as hav- ing fulfilled the duties allotted to him on earth, having been regenerated by Divine grace, and having passed through the valley of the shadow of death, and reached an everlasting and happy home in that ''house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." On Sunday morning last, I was watching alone at Mr. Clay's bedside. For the last hour he had been unusually quiet, and I thought he was sleeping. In that, however, he told me I was mistaken. Opening his eyes, and looking at me, he said, "Mr. Underwood, there may be some question where my remains si, all be buried. Some persons may designate Frankfort. I wish to repose at the cemetery in Lexington, where many of my friends and connections are buried." My reply was, "I will endeavor to have your wish executed." 328 EULOGY OF MB. UNDERWOOD. I now ask the Senate to have his corpse transmitted to Lex- ington, Kentucky, for sepulture. Let him sleep with the dead of that city, in and near which his home has been for more than half a century. For the people of Lexington, the living and the dead, he manifested, by the statement made to me, a pure and holy sympathy, and a desire to cleave unto them as strong as that which bound Ruth to Naomi. It was his anxious wish to return to them before he died, and to realize what the daughter of Moab so strongly felt and beautifully expressed : " Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried." It is fit that the tomb of Henry Clav should be in the City of Lexington. In our Revolution, Liberty's first libation-blood was poured out in a town of that name in Massachusetts. On hearing it, the pioneers of Kentucky consecrated the name, and applied it to the place where Mr. Clav desired to be buried. The associations connected with the name harmonize with his character ; and the monument erected to his memory at the spot selected by him, will be visited by the votaries of Genius and Liberty with that reverence which is inspired at the Tomb of Washington. Upon that monument let his epitaph be engraved. Mr. President, I have availed myself of Dr. Johnson's para- phrase of the epitaph on Thomas Hanmer, with a few alterations and additions, to express, in borrowed verse, my admiration for the life and character of Mr. Clat, and, with this heart-tribute to the memory of my illustrious colleague, I conclude my remarks : Born when Freedom her stripes and stars xinfurl'd, When Revolution shook the startled world — Heroes and sages taught his hrilliant mind To know and love the rights of all mankind. " In life's first bloom his public toils began, At once commenced the Senator and Man : In business dext'rous, weighty in debate, Near fifty years he labor'd for the State. In every speech persuasive wisdom flow'd, In every act refulgent virtue glow'd ; Suspended faction ceased from rage and stiife, To hear his eloquence and praise his life. EULOGY OF MR. UNDERWOOD. 32Q Resistless merit fixed the Members' choice, Who hailed him Speaker with united voice." His talents ripening with advancing years — His wisdom growing with his public cares — A chosen envoy, war's dark horrors cease, And tides of carnage turn to streams of peace. Conflicting principles, internal strife, Tariff and slavery, disunion rife, Are all compromised by his great hand, And beams of joy illuminate the land. Patriot, Christian, Husband, Father, Friend, Thy work of life achieved a glorious end I I offer the following resolutions : — Resolved, That a committee of six be appointed by the President of the Senate, to take order for superintending the funeral of Henry Clay, late a member of this body, which will take place to-morrow at twelve o'clock, m., and that the Senate will attend the same. Resolved, That the members of the Senate, from a sincere desire of show- ing every mark of respect to the memory of the deceased, will go into mourning for one month, by the usual mode of wearing crape on the left arm. Resolved, As a further mark of respect entertained by the Senate for the memory of Henry Clay, and his long and distinguished services to his country, that his remains, in pursuance of the known wishes of his family, be removed to the place of sepulture selected by himself at Lexington, in Kentucky, in charge of the Sergeant-at-Arms, and attended by a com- mittee of six Senator.-;, to be appointed by the President of the Senate, Who shall have ful' power to carry this resolution into effect 28 EULOGY OF MR. CASS. Mb. CASS then addressed the Senate : — Mr. President — Again has an impressive warning come to teach us, that in the midst of life we are in death. The ordi- nary labors of this Hall are suspended, and its contentions hushed, before the power of Him, who says to the storm of human passion as He said of old to the waves of Galilee — Peace, be still. The lessons of His providence, severe as they may be, often become merciful dispensations, like that which is now spreading sorrow through the land, and which is reminding us that we have higher duties to fulfill, and graver responsibilities to encounter, than those that meet us here, when we lay our hands upon His holy word, and invoke His holy name, promising to be faithful to that Constitution which He gave us in His mercy, and will withdraw only in the hour of our blindness and disobedience, and of His own wrath. Another great man has fallen in our land, ripe indeed in years and in honors, but never dearer to the American people thau when called from the theater of his services and renown to that final bar where the lofty and the lowly must all meet at last. I do not rise, \ipon this mournful occasion, to indulge in the language of panegyric. My regard for the memory of the dead, and for the obligations of the living, would equally rebuke such a course. The severity of truth is, at once, our proper duty and our best consolation. Born during the Revolutionary strug- gle, our deceased associate was one of the few remaining public men who connect the present generation with the actors in the trying scenes of that eventful period, and whose names and f 930) EULOGY OF MR. CAhS. #31 deeds will soon be known only in the history of their country. He was another illustration, and a noble one, too, of the glorious equality of our institutions, which freely offer all their rewards to all who justly seek them ; for he was the architect of his own fortune, having made his way in life by self-exertion ; and he was an early adventurer in the great forest of the West, then a world of primitive vegetation, but now the abode of intelligence and religion, of prosperity and civilization. But he possessed that intellectual superiority which overcomes surrounding ob- stacles, and which local seclusion can not long withhold from general knowledge and appreciation. It is almost half a century since he passed through Chilli- cothe, then the seat of Government of 'Ohio, where I was a member of the Legislature, on his way to take his place in this very body, which is now listening to this reminiscence, and to a feeble tribute of regard from one who then saw him for the first time, but who can never forget the impression he produced by the charms of his conversation, the frankness of his manner, and the high qualities with which he was endowed. Since then he has belonged to his country, and has taken a part, and a prominent part, both in peace and war, in all the great questions affecting her interest and her honor ; and though it has been my fortune often to differ from him, yet I believe he was as pure a patriot as ever participated in the councils of a nation, anxious for the public good, and seeking to promote it, during all the vicissitudes of a long and eventful life. That he exercised a powerful influence, within the sphere of his action, through the whole country, indeed, we all feel and know ; and we know too, the eminent endowments to which he owed this biffh distinction. Frank and fearless in the expression of his opinion, and in the performance of hie duties, with rare powers of eloquence, which never failed to rivet the attention of his auditory, and which always commanded admiration, even when they did not carry conviction — prompt in decision, and firm in action, and with a vigorous intellect, trained in the contests of a stirring life, and strengthened by enlarged experience and observation, joined withal to an ardent love of country, and to great purity of pur- 332 EULOGY OF MB. CASS. pose — these were the elements of his power and success ; and we dwell upon them with mournful gratification now, wdien we shall soon follow him to the cold and silent tomb, where we shall commit "earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust," but with the blessed conviction of the truth of that Divine revelation which teaches us that there is Life and Hope beyond the narrow house, where we shall leave him alone to the mercy of his God and ours. He has passed beyond the reach of human praise or censure ; but the judgment of his cotemporaries has preceded and pro- nounced the judgment of history, and his name and fame will shed luster upon his country, and will be proudly cherished in the hearts of his countrymen for long ages to come. Yes, they will be cherished and freshly remembered when these marble columns that surround us, so often the witness of his triumph — but in a few brief hours, when his mortal frame, despoiled of the immortal spirit, shall rest under this dome for the last time, to become the witness of his defeat in that final contest, where the mightiest fall before the great destrover — when these marble columns shall themselves have fallen, like all the works of man, leaving 1 their broken fragments to tell the story of former ma"- nificence, amid the very ruins which announce decay and desolation. I was often with him during his last illness, when the world and the things of the world were fast fading away before him. He knew that the silver cord was almost loosened, and that the golden bowl was breaking at the fountain ; but he was resigned to the will of Providence, feeling that He who gave has the right to take away, in his own good time and manner. After his duty to his Creator, and his anxiety for his family, his first care was for his country, and his first wish for the preservation and perpetuation of the Constitution and the Union — dear to him in the hour of death, as they had ever been in the vigor of life. Of that Constitution and Union, Avhose defense in the last and greatest crisis of their peril had called forth all his energies, and stimulated those memorable and powerful exertions, which he who witnessed can never forget, and which no doubt hastened EULOGY OF MR. CASS. 333 tlie final catastrophe a nation now deplores with a sincerity and unanimity not less honorable to themselves than to the memory of the object of their affections. And when we shall enter that narrow valley, through which he has passed before us, and which leads to the judgment-seat of God, may we be able to say, through faith in his Son, our Saviour, and in the beautiful language of the hymn of the dying Christian — dying, but ever living, and triumphant — " The -world recedes, it disappears — Heaven opens on my ej^es 1 my ears With sounds seraphic ring ; Lend, lend, your wings ! I mount — I fly ! 0, Grave! -where is thy victory? 0, Deatli ! where is thy sting ?" " Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last hour be like his." EULOGY OF MR. HUXTER. Mr. HUNTER then addressed the Senate :— Mr. President — We have heard, with deep sensibility, what has just fallen from the Senators who have preceded me. We have heard, sir, the voice of Kentucky — and, upon this occa- sion, she had a right to speak — in mingled accents of pride and sorrow ; for it has rarely fallen to the lot of any State to lament the loss of such a son. But, Virginia, too, is entitled to her place in this procession ; for she can not be supposed to be un- mindful of the tie which bound her to the dead. When the earth opens to receive the mortal part which she gave to man, it is then that affection is eager to bury in its bosom every recol- lection but those of love and kindness. And, sir, when the last sensible tie is about to be severed, it is then that we look with anxious interest to the deeds of the life, and to the emanations of the heart and the mind, for those more enduring monuments which are the creations of an immortal nature. In this instance, we can be at no loss for these. This land, sir, is full of the monuments of his genius. His memory is as imperishable as American History itself, for he was one of those who made it. Sir, he belonged to that marked class who are the men of their century ; for it was liis rare good fortune not only to have been endowed with the capacity to do great things, but to have enjoyed the opportunities of achieving them. I know, sir, it has been said and deplored, that he wanted some of the advantages of an early education ; but it, perhaps, has not been remembered that, in many respects, he enjoyed such opportuni- ties for mental training as can rarely fall to the lot of man. He (334) Kl'LOGY OF MK. HUNTER. 335 had not a chance to learn as much from books, but he had such opportunities of learning from men as few have ever enjoyed. Sir, it is to be remembered that he was reared at a lime when there was a state of society in the Commonwealth which gave him birth, such as has never been seen there before nor since. It was his early privilege to see how justice was administered by a Pendleton and a Wythe, with the last of whom he was in the daily habit of familiar intercourse. He had constant opportu- nities to observe how forensic questions were managed by a Mar- shall and a Wk-kham. He was old enough, too, to have heard and to have appreciated the eloquence of a Patrick Henry, and of George Keith Taylor. In short, sir, he lived in a society in which the examples of a Jefferson, and a Madison, and a Mon- roe, were living influences, and on which the setting sun of a Washington cast the mild effulgence of its departing rays. He was trained, too, as has been well said by the Senator from Michigan [Mr. Cass], at a period when the recent Revolutionary struggle had given a more elevated tone to patriotism, and im- parted a higher cast to public feeling and to public character. Such lessons were worth, perhaps, more to him than the whole encyclopedia of scholastic learning. Not only were the circum- stances of his early training favorable to the development of his genius, but the theater upon which he was thrown was emi- nently propitious for its exercise. The circumstances of the early settlement of Kentucky, the generous, daring, and reckless character of the people — all fitted it to be the theater for the dis- play of those commanding qualities of heart and mind which he so eminently possessed. There can be little doubt but that those people, and their chosen leader, exercised a mutual influence upon each other ; and no one can be surprised that, with his brave spirit and commanding eloquence, and fascinating address, he should have led not only there but elsewhere. I did not know him, Mr. President, as you did, in the fresh- ness of his prime, or in the full maturity of his manhood. I did not hear him, sir, as you have heard him, when his voice roused the spirit of his countrymen for war — when he cheered the drooping, when he rallied the doubling, through all the 336 EDLOGY OF MK. IIUKTEK. vicissitudes of a long and doubtful contest. I have never seen him, sir, when, from the bight of the Chair, he ruled the House of Representatives by the energy of his will, or when upon the level of the floor he exercised a control almost as absolute, by the mastery of his intellect. When I first knew him, his sun had a little passed its zenith. The effacing hand of time had just begun to touch the lineaments of his manhood. But yet, sir, I saw enough of him to be able to realize what he might have been in the prime of his strength, and in the full vigor of his maturity. I saw him, sir, as you did, when he led the "op- position " during the administration of Mr. Van Buren. I had daily opportunities of witnessing the exhibition of his powers during the extra session under Mr. Tyler's administration. And I saw, as we all saw, in a recent contest, the exhibition of power on his part, which was most marvelous in one of his years. Mr. President, he may not have had as much of analytic skill as some others, in dissecting a subject. It may be, per- haps, that he did not seek to look quite so far ahead as some who have been most distinguished for political forecast. But it may be truly said of Mr. Clay, that he was no exaggerator. He looked at events through neither end of the telescope, but sur- veyed them with the natural and the naked eye. He had the capacity of seeing things as the people saw them, and of feeling tilings as the people felt them. He had, sir, beyond any other man whom I have ever seen, the true mesmeric touch of the orator — the rare art of transferring his impulses to others. Thoughts, feelings, emotions, came from the ready mold of his genius, radiant and glowing, and communicated their own warmth to every heart which received them. His, too, was the power of wielding the higher and in tenser forms of passion with a majesty and an ease which none but the great masters of the human heart ran ever employ, ll was his rare good fortune to have been one of those who form, as it were, a sensible link, a living tradition, which connects one age with another, and through which one generation speaks its thoughts and feelings, and appeals to another. And, unfortunate is it for a country, when it ceases to possess such men, for it is to them that we EULOGY OF MR. HUNTER. 337 chiefly owe the capacity to maintain the unity of the great Epos of human history, and preserve the consistency of political action. Sir, it may be said the grave is still new-made which cover3 the mortal remains of one of those great men who have been taken from our midst, and the earth is soon to open to receive another. I know not whether it can be said to be a matter of lamentation, so far as the dead are concerned, that the thread of this life has been clipped when once it has been fully spun. They escape the infirmities of age, and they leave an imperish- able name behind them. The loss, sir, is not theirs, but ours ; and a loss the more to be lamented, that we see none to fill the places thus made vacant on the stage of public affairs. But it may be well for us, who have much more cause to mourn and to lament such deaths, to pause amid the business of life for the purpose of contemplating the spectacle before us, and of draw- ing the moral from the passing event. It is when death seizes for its victims those who are, by "a head and shoulders, taller than all the rest," that we feel most deeply the uncertainty of human affairs, and that "the glories of our mortal state are shadows, not substantial things." It is, sir, in such instances as the present that we can best study, by the light of example, the true objects of life, and the wisest ends of human pursuit. 29 EULOGY OF MR. HALE. Me. HALE then addressed the Senate : — Mr. President — I hope I shall not be considered obtrusive, if on this occasion for a brief moment, I mingle my humble voice with those that, with an ability that I shall neither attempt nor hope to equal, have sought to do justice to the worth and memory of the deceased, and at the same time appropriately to minister to the sympathies and sorrows of a stricken people. Sir, it is the teaching of inspiration that "no man liveth and no man dieth unto himself." There is a lesson taught no less in the death than in the life of every man — eminently so in the case of one who has filled a large space and occupied a distinguished position in the thoughts and regard of his fellow-men. Particularlv instructive at this time is the event which we now deplore, although the circum- stances attending his decease are such as are calculated to assuage rather than aggravate the grief which it must neces- sarily cause. His time had fully come. The three score and ten marking the ordinary period of human life had for some years been passed, and, full of years and of honors, he has gone to his rest. And now, when the nation is marshaling itself for the contest which is to decide "who shall be greatest," as if to chasten our ambition, to restrain and subdue the violence of passion, to moderate our desires and elevate our hopes, we have the spectacle of one who, by the force of his intellect and the energy of his own purpose, had achieved a reputation which the highest official honors of the Republic might have illustrated, but could not have enhanced, laid low in death — as if at the (338) EULOGY OF MR. HALE. 339 very outset of this political contest, on which the nation is now entering, to teach the ambitious and aspiring the vanity of human pursuit and end of earthly honor. But, sir, I do not in- tend to dwell on that moral which is taught by the silent lips and closed eye of the illustrious dead, with a force such as no man ever spoke with ; but I shall leave the event, with its silent and mute eloquence, to impress its own appropriate teachings on the heart. In the long and eventful life of Mr. Clat, in the various posi- tions which he occupied, in the many posts of public duty which he filled, in the many exhibitions which his history af- fords of untiring energy, of unsurpassed eloquence, and of de- voted patriotism, it would be strange indeed if different minds, as they dwell upon the subject, were all to select the same incidents of his life, as pre-eminently calculated to challenge admiration and respect. Sir, my admiration — aye, my affection for Mr. Clat — was won and secured many years since, even in my school-boy days — when his voice of counsel, encouragement and sympathy was heard in the other Hall of this Capitol, in behalf of the strurrclinir colonies of the southern portion of this continent, who, in pursuit of their inalienable rights, in imitation of our own forefathers, had unfurled the banner of liberty, and, regardless of consequences, had gallantly rushed into that contest where "life is lost, or freedom won." And again, sir, when Greece, rich in the memories of the past, awoke from the slumber of ages of oppression and centuries of shame, and resolved " To call her virtues back, and conquer time and fate " — there, over the plains of that classic land, above the din of battle and the clash of arms, mingling with the shouts of the victors and the groans of the vanquished, were heard the thrilling and stirring notes of that same eloquence, excited by a sympathy which knew no bounds, wide as the world, pleading the cause of Grecian liberty before the American Congress, as if to pay back to Greece the debt which every patriot and orator felt was 340 EULOGY OF MR. HALE. her due. Sir, in the long and honorable career of the deceased, there are many events and circumstances upon which his friends and posterity will dwell with satisfaction and pride, but none which will preserve his memory with more unfading luster to future ages than the course he pursued in the Spanish-American and Greek revolutions. EULOGY OF MR. CLEMENS. Me. CLEMENS then addressed the Senate : — Mr. President — I should not have thought it necessary to add any thing to what has already been said, but for a request preferred by some of the friends of the deceased. I should have been content to mourn him in silence, and left it to other tongues to pronounce his eulogy. What I have now to say shall be brief — very brief. Mr. President, it is now less than three short years ago since I first entered this body. At that period it numbered among its members many of the most illustrious statesmen this Republic has ever produced, or the world has ever known. Of the liv- ing, it is not my purpose to speak ; but in that brief period, death has been busy here ; and, as if to mark the feebleness of human things, his arrows have been aimed at the highest, the mightiest of us all. First, died Calhoun. And well, sir, do I remember the deep feeling evinced on that occasion by him whose death has been announced here to-day, when he said : " I was his senior in years — in nothing else. In the course of nature I ought to have preceded him. It has been decreed otherwise ; but I know that I shall linger here only a short time, and shall soon follow him." It was Genius mourning over his younger brother, and too surely predicting his own approaching end. He, too, is now gone from among us, and left none like him behind. That voice, whose every tone was music, is hushed and still. That clear, bright eye is dim and lusterless, and that (Ml) 343 EULOGY OF MK. CLEMENS. breast, where grew and flourished every quality which could adorn and dignify our nature, is cold as the clod that soon must cover it. A few hours have wrought a mighty change — a change for which a lingering illness had, indeed, in some degree prepared us ; but which, nevertheless, will still fall upon the nation with crushing force. Many a sorrowing heart is now asking, as I did yesterday, when I heard the first sound of the funeral bell — "And is he gone ? — the pure of the purest, The hand that upheld our bright banner the surest — Is he gone from our struggles away ? But yesterday lending a people new life, Cold, mute, in the coffin to-day." Mr. President, this is an occasion when eulogy must fail to perform its office. The long life which is now ended is a his- tory of glorious deeds, too mighty for the tongue of praise. It is in the hearts of his countrymen that his best epitaph must be written. It is in the admiration of a world that his renown must be recorded. In that deep love of country which distinguished every period of his life, he may not have been unrivaled. In loftiness of intellect, he was not without his peers. The skill with which he touched every chord of the human heart may have been equaled. The iron will, the unbending firmness, the fearless courage, which marked his character, may have been shared by others. But where shall we go to find all these quali- ties united, concentrated, blended into one brilliant whole, and shedding a luster upon one single head, which does not dazzle the beholder only because it attracts his love and demands his worship ? I scarcely know, sir, how far it may be allowable, upon an oc- casion like this, to refer to party struggles which have left wounds not yet entirely healed. I will venture, however, to suggest, that it should be a source of consolation to his friends that he lived long enough to see the full accomplishment of the last great work of his life, and t<> witness the total disappearance of that sectional tempest which threatened to whelm the Repub- lic in ruins. Both the great parties of the couutry have agreed EULOGY OF MR. CLEMENS. 343 li stand upon the platform which lie erected, and both of them Lave solemnly pledged themselves to maintain, unimpaired, the work of his hands. I doubt not the knowledge of this cheered him in his dying moments, and helped to steal away the pano-s of dissolution. Mr. President, if I knew any thing more that I could say, I would gladly utter it. To me, he was something more than kind, and I am called upon to mingle a private witli the public grief. I wish that I could do something to add to his fame. But he built for himself a monument of immortality, and left to his friends no task but that of soothing their own sorrow for his loss. We pay to him the tribute of our tears. More we have no power to bestow. Patriotism, honor, genius, courage, have all come to strew their garlands about his tomb ; and well they may, for he was the peer of them all. EULOGY OF ME. COOPER. Mr. COOPER then addressed the Senate :— Mr. President — It is not always by words that the living pay to the dead the sincerest and most eloquent tribute. The tears of a nation, flowing spontaneously over the grave of a public benefactor, is a more eloquent testimonial of his worth and of the affection and veneration of his countrymen, than the most highly-wrought eulogium of the most gifted tongue. The heart is not necessarily the fountain of words, but it is always the source of tears, whether of joy, gratitude, or grief. But sincere, truthful, and eloquent as they are, they leave no permanent record of the virtues and greatness of him on whose tomb they are shed. As the dews of heaven falling 1 at night are absorbed by the earth, or dried up by the morning sun, so the tears of a people, shed for their benefactor, disappear without leaving a trace to tell to future generations of the services, sacrifices, and virtues of him to whose memory they were a grateful tribute. But as homage paid to virtue is an incentive to it, it is right that the memory of the good, the great and noble of earth should be preserved and honored. The ambition, Mr. President, of the truly great, is more the hope of living in the memory and estimation of future a< T es than of possessing power in their own. It is this hope that stimulates them to perseverance ; that enables them to en- counter disappointment, ingratitude, and neglect, and to press on through toils, privations, and perils to the end. It was not the hope of discovering a world, over which he should himself exercise dominion, that sustained Columbus in all his trials. It (314) RULOGY OF MK. COOFBB. 345 was not for this he braved danger, disappointment, poverty, and reproach. It was not for this he subdued his native pride, wandered from kingdom to kingdom, kneeling at the feet of princes, a suppliant for means to prosecute his 6ublime enter- prise. It was not for this, after having at last secured the patronage of Isabella, that he put off in his crazy ai?d ill-ap- pointed fleet into unknown seas, to struggle with storms and tempests, and the rage of a mutinous crew. It was another and nobler kind of ambition that stimulated him to contend with terror, superstition, and despair, and to press forward on his perilous course, when the needle in his compass, losing its polarity, seemed to unite with the fury of the elements and the insubordination of his crew in turning him back from his per- ilous but glorious undertaking. It was the hope which was realized at last, when his ungrateful country was compelled to inscribe, as an epitaph on his tomb — "COLUMBUS HAS GIVEN A NEW WORLD TO THE KINGDOMS .. >' OF CASTILE AND LEON, that enabled him, at first, to brave so many disappointments, and at last, to conquer the multitude of perils that beset his path- way on the deep. This, sir, is the ambition of the truly great — not to achieve present fame, but future immortality. This being the case, it is befitting here to-day, to add to the life of Henry Clay the record of his death, signalized as it is by a nation's gratitude and grief. It is right that posterity should learn from us, the cotemporaries of the illustrious deceased, that his virtues and services were appreciated by his country, and acknowledged by the tears of his countrymen poured out upon his grave. The career of Henry Clay was a wonderful one. And what an illustration of the excellence of our institutions would a retro- spect of his life afford ! Born in an humble station, without any of the adventitious aids of fortune by which the obstructions on the road to fame are smoothed, he rose not only to the most ex- alted eminence of position, but likewise to the highest place in the affections of his countrymen. Taking into view the disad- vantao-es of his early position, disadvantages against which he 346 EULOGY OF MB. COOPEK. had always to contend, his career is without a parallel in the history of great men. To have seen hirn a youth, without friends or fortune, and with but a scanty education, who would have ventured to predict for him a course so brilliant and benefi- cent, and a fame so well deserved and enduring ? Like the pine, which sometimes springs up amidst the rocks on the mountain side, with scarce a crevice in which to fix its roots, or soil to nourish them, but which, nevertheless, overtops all the trees of the surrounding forest, Henry Clay, by his own inhe- rent, self-sustaining energy and genius, rose to an altitude of fame almost unequaled in the age in which he lived. As an orator, legislator, and statesman, he had no superior. All his faculties were remarkable, and in remarkable combination. Pos- sessed of a brilliant genius and fertile imagination, his judgment was sound, discriminating, and eminently practical. Of an ar- dent and impetuous temperament, he was nevertheless perse- vering and firm of purpose. Frank, bold, and intrepid, he was cautious in providing against the contingencies and obstacles which might possibly rise up in the road to success. Generous, liberal, and entertaining broad and expanded views of national policy, in his legislative course he never transcended the limits of a wise economy. But, Mr. President, of all his faculties, that of making friends and attaching them to him, was the most remarkable and extra- ordinary. In this respect, he seemed to possess a sort of fas- cination, by which all who came into his presence were attracted toward, and bound to him by ties which neither time nor cir- cumstances had power to dissolve or weaken. In the admiration of his friends was the recognition of the divinity of intellect ; in their attachment to him, a confession of his generous personal qualities and social virtues. Of tint public services of Mr. Clay, the present occasion affords no room for a sketch more extended than that which his respected colleague [Mr. Underwood] has presented. It is however, sufficient to say, that for more than forty years he has been a prominent actor in the drama of American affairs. Dur- ing the late war with Englaud, his voice was more potent than EULOGY OF MR. COOPER. 347 any other in awakening the spirit of the country, infusing confi- dence into the people, and rendering available the resources for carrying on the contest. In our domestic controversies, threat- ening the peace of the country and the integrity of the Union, he has always been first to note danger, as well as to suggest the means of averting it. When the waters of the great politi- cal deep were upheaved by the tempest of discord, and the ark of the Union, freighted with the hopes and destinies of freedom, tossing about on the raging billows, and drifting every moment nearer to the vortex which threatened to swallow it up, it was his clarion voice, rising above the storm, that admonished the crew of impending peril, and counseled the way to safely. But, Mr. President, devotedly as he loved his country, his aspirations were not limited to its welfare alone. Wherever free- dom had a votary, that votary had a friend in Henry Clay ; and in the struggle of the Spanish Colonies for independence he uttered words of encouragement, which have become mottoes on the banners of freedom in every land. But neither the ser- vices which he rendered his own country, nor his wishes for the welfare of others, nor his genius, nor the affection of friends, could turn aside the destroyer. No price could purchase ex- emption from the common lot of humanity. Henry Clay, the wise, the great, the gifted, had to die ; and his history is summed up in the biography which the Russian poet has pre- pared for all, kings and serfs — * * * "born, living, dying, Quitting the still shore for the troubled wave, Struggling with storm-clouds, over shipwrecks flying, And easting anchor in the silent ffrave." But, though time would not spare him, there is still this of consolation : he died peacefully and happy, ripe in renown, full of years and of honors, and rich in the affections of his country. He had, too, the unspeakable satisfaction of closing his eyes while the country he had loved so much and served so well, was still in the enjoyment of peace, happiness, union, and pros- perity — still advancing in all the elements of wealth, greatness, and power. 3iS EULOGY OF MK. COOPEK. I know, Mr. President, how unequal I have been to the apparently self-imposed task of presenting, in an appropriate manner, the merits of the illustrious deceased. But if I had re- mained silent on an occasion like this, when the hearts of my constituents are swelling with grief, I would have been dis- owned by them. It is for this reason — that of giving utterance to their feelings as well as my own — that I have trespassed on the time of the Senate. I would that I could have spoken fitter words ; but such as they are, they were uttered by the tongue in response to the promptings of the heart. EULOGY OF Mil. SEWARD. Mr. SEWARD then addressed the Senate : — Mr. President — Fifty years ago, Henry Clay of Virginia, already adopted by Kentucky, then as youthful as himself, entered the service of his country, a representative in the un- pretending Legislature of that rising State ; and having thence- forward, with ardor and constancy, pursued the gradual paths of an aspiring change through Halls of Congress, Foreign Courts, and Executive Councils, he has now, with the cheerfulness of a patriot, and the serenity of a Christian, fitly closed his long and arduous career, here in the Senate, in the full presence of the Republic looking down upon the scene with anxiety and alarm, not merely a Senator like one of us, who yet remain in the Senate House, but filling that character which, though it had no author- ity of law, and was assigned without suffrage, Augustus Caesar, nevertheless, declared was above the title of Emperor — Primus inter Illustres — the Prince of the Senate. Generals are tried, Mr. President, by examining the cam- paigns they have lost or won, and statesmen by reviewing the transactions in which they have been engaged. Hamilton would have been unknown to us, had there been no Constitution to be created ; as Brutus would have died in obscurity, had there been no Caesar to be slain. Colonization, Revolution, and Organization — three great acts in the drama of our National Progress — had already passed when the Western Patriot appeared on the public stage. He entered in that next division of the majestic scenes, which was marked bv an inevitable reaction of political forces, a wild strife 350 EULOGY OF MB. SEWARD. of factions, and ruinous embarrassments in our foreign relations. This transition stage is always more perilous than any other in the career of nations, and especially in the career of Republics. It proved fatal to the Commonwealth in England. Scarcely any of the Spanish- American States have yet emerged from it ; and more than once it has been sadly signalized b}^ the ruin of the Republican cause in France. The continuous administration of Washington and John Adams had closed under a cloud, which had thrown a broad, dark shadow over the future ; the nation was deeply indebted at home and abroad, and its credit was prostrate. The revolutionary factions had given place to two inveterate parties, divided by a gulf which had been worn by the conflict in which the Consti- tution was adopted, and made broader and deeper by a war of prejudices concerning the merits of the belligerents in the great European struggle that then convulsed the civilized world. Our extraordinary political system was little more than an ingenious theory, not yet practically established. The union of the States was as yet only one of compact ; for the political, social, and commercial necessities to which it was so marvelously adapted, and which, clustering thickly upon it, now render it indissoluble, had not then been broadly disclosed, nor had the habits of acqui- escence, and the sentiments of loyalty, always slow of growth, fully ripened. The bark that had gone to sea, thus unfurnished and untried, seemed quite certain to founder by reason of its own inherent frailty, even if it should escape unharmed in the great conflict of nations, which acknowledged no claims of justice, and tolerated no pretensions of neutrality. Moreover, the terri- tory possessed by the nation was inadequate to commercial exigencies and indispensable social expansion ; and yet no pro- vision had been made for enlargement, nor for extending the political system over distant regions, inhabited or otherwise, which must inevitably be acquired. Nor could any such acqui- sition be made, without disturbing the carefully-adjusted balance of powers among the members of the Confederacy. These difficulties. Mr. President, although thev srew less with time and by 6low degrees, continued throughout the whole ECLOGY OF MR. SEWARD. 351 life of the statesman whose obsequies we are celebrating. Be it known, then, and I am sure that history will confirm the in- struction, that Conservatism was the interest of the nation, and the responsibility of its rulers, during the period in which he flourished, lie was ardent, bold, generous, and even ambitious ; and yet, with a profound conviction of the true exigencies of the country, like Alexander Hamilton, he disciplined himself and trained a restless nation, that knew only self-control, to the rigorous practice of that often humiliating conservatism, which its welfare and security in that particular crisis so imperiously demanded. It could not happen, sir, to any citizen to have acted alone, nor even to have acted always the most conspicuous part in a trying period so long protracted. Henry Clay, therefore, shared the responsibilities of Government with not only his proper cotemporaries, but also survivors of the Revolution, as well as also many who will succeed himself. Delicacy forbids the naming of those who retain their places here, but we may, without impropriety, recall among his compeers a Senator of vast resources and inflexible resolve, who has recently withdrawn from this Chamber, but I trust, not altogether from public life (Mr. Benton); and another, who, surpassing all his cotempora- ries within his country, and even throughout the world, in proper eloquence of the forum, now in autumnal years, for a second time dignifies and adorns the highest seat in the Execu- tive Council (Mr. Webster). Passing by these eminent and noble men, the shades of Calhoun, John Quincy Adams, Jack- son, Monroe, and Jefferson, rise up before us — statesmen, whose living and local fame has ripened already into historical and world-wide renown. Among geniuses so lofty as these, Henry Clay bore a part in regulating the constitutional freedom of political de- bate ; establishing that long-contested and most important line which divides the sovereignty of the several States from that of the States confederated ; asserting the right of Neu- trality, and vindicating it by a war against Great Britain, when that just but extreme measure became necessary ; adjust- 352 EULOGY OF MR. SEWARD. ing the terms on which (hat perilous yet honorable contest was brought to a peaceful close ; perfecting the Array and the Navy, and the national fortifications ; settling the fiscal and financial policy of the Government in more than one crisis of apparently threatened revolution ; asserting and calling into exercise the powers of the Government for making and improving internal communications between the States ; arousing and encouraging the Spanish-American Colonies on this continent to throw off the foreign yoke, and to organize Governments on principles con- genial to our own, and thus creating external bulwarks for our own national defense ; establishing equal and impartial peace and amity with all existing maritime Powers ; and extending the constitutional organization of Government over all the vast regions secured in his lifetime by purchase or by conquest, whereby the pillars of the Republic have been removed from the banks of the St. Mary to the borders of the Rio Grande, and from the margin of the Mississippi to the Pacific coast. We may not yet discuss here the wisdom of the several measures which have thus passed in review before us, nor of the positions which the deceased statesman assumed in regard to them, but we may, without offense, dwell upon the comprehensive results of them all. The Union exists in absolute integrity, and the Republican system is in complete and triumphant development. Without having relinquished any part of their individuality, the States have more than doubled already, and are increasing in numbers and political strength and expansion, more rapidly than ever before. Without having absorbed any State, or having even encroached on any State, the Confederation has opened itself, so as to embrace all the new members that have come, and now, with capacity for further and indefinite enlargements, has be- come fixed, enduring, and perpetual. Although it was doubted only half a century ago whether our political system could bo maintained at all, and whether, if maintained, it could guarantee the peace and happiness of society, it stands now confessed by the world the form of Government not only most adapted to Em- pire, but also most congenial with the constitution of Human Nature. EULOGY OF ME. SEWARD. 353 When we consider that the nation has been conducted to this haven, not only through stormy seas, but altogether, also, with- out a course and without a star : and when we consider, more- over, the sum of happiness that has already been enjoyed by the American people, and still more the influence which the great achievement is exerting for the advancement and melioration of the condition of mankind, we see at once that it might have satisfied the highest ambition to have been, no matter how hum- bly, concerned in so great transaction. Certainly, sir, no one will assert that Henry Clay in that transaction performed an obscure or even a common part. On the contrary, from the day on which he entered the public service until that on which he passed the gates of death, he was never a follower, but always a leader ; and he marshaled either the party which sustained or that which resisted every great measure, equally in the Senate and among the people. He led where duty seemed to him to indicate, reckless whether he en- countered one President or twenty Presidents, whether he was opposed by factions or even by the whole people. Hence, it has happened, that although that people are not yet agreed among themselves on the wisdom of all, or perhaps of even any of his great measures, yet they are, nevertheless, unani- mous in acknowledging that he was at once the greatest, the most faithful, and the most reliable of their statesmen. Here the effort at discriminating praise of Hexkv Clay, in regard to his public policy, must stop in this place, even on this sad occasion which awakens the ardent liberality of his generous survivors. But his personal qualities may be discussed without appre- hension. What were the elements of the success of that extra- ordinary man ? You, sir, knew him longer and better than I, and I would prefer u> hear you speak of them. He was indeed eloquent — all the world knows that. He held the keys to the hearts of his countrymen, aud he turned the wards within them with a skill attained by no other master. But eloquence was, nevertheless, only an instrument, and one of manv that ho used. His conversation, his gesture, his very 30 354: EULOGY OF MR. SEWARD. look, was persuasive, seductive, irresistible. And his appliance of all these was courteous, patient, aud indefatigable. Defeat only inspired him with new resolution. He divided opposition by his assiduity of address, while he rallied and strengthened his own bands of supporters by the confidence of success which, feeling himself, he easily inspired among his followers. His affections were high, and pure, and generous, and the chiefest among them was that which the great Italian poet designated as the charity of native land. And in him that charity was an en- during and over-powering enthusiasm, and it influenced all his sentiments and conduct, rendering him more impartial between conflicting interests and sections than any other statesman who has lived since the Revolution. Thus, with very great versa- tility of talent and the most catholic equality of favor, he iden- tified every question, whether of domestic administration or foreign policy, with his own great name, and so became a per- petual Tribune of the people. He needed only to pronounce in favor of a measure or against it, here, and immediately popular enthusiasm, excited as by a magic wand, was felt, overcoming all opposition in the Senate Chamber. In this way he wrought a change in our political system, that I think was not foreseen by its founders. He converted this branch of the Legislature from a negative position, or one of equilibrium between the Executive and the House of Represent- atives, into the active ruling power of the Republic. Only time can disclose whether this great innovation shall be beneficent, or even permanent. Certainly, sir, the great lights of the Senate have set. The obscuration is not less palpable to the country than to us, who are left to grope our uncertain way here, as in a labyrinth, op- pressed with self-distrust. The times, too, present new embar- rassments. We are rising to another and a more sublime stage of natural progress — that of expanding wealth and rapid terri- torial aggrandizement. Our institutions throw a broad shadow across the St. Lawrence, and stretching beyond the valley of Mexico, reaches even to the plains of Central America ; while the Sandwich Islands and the shores of China recognize its ren- EULOGY OF MB. SEWARD. 355 ovating influence. Wherever that influence is felt, a desire for protection under those institutions is awakened. Expansion seems to be regulated, not by any difficulties of resistance, but by the moderation which results from our own internal constitution. No one knows how rapidly that restraint may give way. Who can tell how far or how fast it ought to yield ? Commerce has brought the ancient continents near to us, and created necessi- ties for new positions — perhaps connections or colonies there — and with the trade and friendship of the elder nations their con- flicts and collisions are brought to our doors and to our hearts. Our sympathy kindles, our indifference extinguishes the fire of freedom in foreign lands. Before we shall be fully conscious that a change is going on in Europe, we may find ourselves once more divided by that eternal line of separation that leaves on the one side those of our citizens who obey the impulses of sympa- thy, while on the other are found those who submit only to the counsels of prudence. Even prudence will soon be required to decide whether distant regions, East and West, shall come un- der our own protection, or be left to aggrandize a rapidly spread- ing and hostile domain of despotism. Sir, who among us is equal to these mighty questions ? I fear there is no one. Nevertheless, the example of Henry Clay remains for our instruction. His genius has passed to the realms of light, but his virtues still live here for our emulation. With them there will remain also the protection and favor of the Most High, if by the practice of justice and the maintenance of freedom we shall deserve it. Let then, the bier pass on. With sorrow, but not without hope, we will follow the revered form that it bears to its final resting-place ; and then, when that grave opens at our feet to receive such an inestimable treasure, we will invoke the God of our fathers to send us new o-uides, like him that is now withdrawn, and give us wisdom to obey their in- structions. EULOGY OF MR. JONES. Mr. JONES then addressed the Senate : — Mr. President — Of the vast number who mourn the depart- ure of the great man whose voice has so often been heard in this Hall, I have peculiar cause to regret that dispensation which has removed him from among us. He was the guardian and director of my collegiate days ; four of his sons were my collegemates and my warm friends. My intercourse with the father was that of a youth and a friendly adviser. I shall never cease to feel grateful to him — to his now heart-stricken and bereaved widow and children, for their very many kind- nesses to me during four or five years of my life. 1 had the pleasure of renewing my acquaintance with him, first, as a delegate in Congress, while he was a member of this body from 1835 to 1839, and again in 1848, as a member of this branch of Congress ; and during the whole of which period, some eight years, none but the most kindly feeling existed between us. As an humble and unimportant Senator, it was my fortune to co-operatf with him throughout the whole of the exciting ses- sion of 1849-'5U — the labor and excitement of which is said to have precipitated his decease. That co-operation did not end with the accordant vote on this floor, but, in consequence of the unyielding opposition to the series of measures known as the " Compromise," extended to many private meetings held by its friends, at all of which Mr. Clay was present. And whether (356) I : I.OGY OF KB. JOXES. 357 in public or private life, he everywhere continued to inspire me ■with the most exalted estimate of his patriotism and statesman- ship. Never shall I forget the many ardent appeals he made to Senators, in and out of the Senate, in favor of the settlement of our then unhappy sectional differences. Immediately after the close of that memorable session of Con- gress, during which the nation beheld his great and almost su- perhuman efforts upon this floor to sustain the wise counsels of the "Father of his Country," I accompanied him home to Ash- land, at his invitation, to revisit the place where my happiest days had been spent, with the friends who there continued to reside. During that, to me, most agreeable and instructive journey, in many conversations he evinced the utmost solicitude for the welfare and honor of the Republic, all tending to show that he believed the happiness of the people and the cause of liberty throughout the world depended upon the continuance of our glorious Union, and the avoidance of those sectional dis- sensions which could but alienate the affections of one portion of the people from another. With the sincerity and fervor of a true patriot, he warned his companions in that journey to with- hold all aid from men who labored, and from every cause which tended, to sow the seeds of disunion in the land ; and to oppose such, he declared himself willing to forego all the ties and asso- ciations of mere party. At a subsequent period, sir, this friend of my youth, at my earnest and repeated entreaties, consented to take a sea voyage from New York to Havana. He remained at the latter place a fortnight, and then returned by New Orleans to Ash- land. That excursion by sea, he assured me, contributed much to relieve him from the sufferings occasioned by the disease which has just terminated his eventful and glorious life. Would to Heaven that he could have been persuaded to abandon his duties as a Senator, and to have remained during the past winter and spring upon that Island of Cuba ! The country would not now, perhaps, have been called to mourn his loss. 358 EULOGY OF MR. JONES. In some matters of policy connected with the administration of our General Government, I have disagreed with him, yet the purity and sincerity of his motives I never doubted ; and as a true lover of his country, as an honorable and honest man, I trust his example will be reverenced and followed by the men of this, and of succeeding generations. EULOGY OF ME. BROOKE. Mr. BROOKE then addressed the Senate :— Mr. President — As an ardent, personal admirer and political friend of the distinguished dead, I claim the privilege of adding my humble tribute of respect to his memory, and of joining in the general expression of sorrow that has gone forth from this Chamber. Death, at all times, is an instructive monitor, as well as a mournful messenger ; but when his fatal shaft hath stricken down the great in intellect and renown, how doubly impressive the lesson that it brings home to the heart, that the grave is the common lot of all — the great leveler of all earthly distinctions ! But at the same time we are taught, that, in one sense, the good and great can never die ; for the memory of their virtues an'd their bright example will live through all coming time, in an im- mortality that blooms beyond the grave. The consolation of this thought may calm our sorrow ; and in the language of one of our own poets, it may be asked — "Why weep ye, then, for him, 'who having run The hound of man's appointed years, at last, Life's blessings all enjoyed, life's labors done, Serenely to his final rest has pass'd ; While the soft memory of his virtues yet Lingers, like twilight hues when the bright sun has set?" It will be doing no injustice, sir, to the living or the dead, to sav, that no better specimen of the true American character can be found in our history than that of Mr. Clay. With no ad- ventitious advantages of birth or fortune, he won his wav by the (S59) 360 EULOGY OF MK. BROOKE. efforts of his own genius to the highest distinction and honor. Ardently attached to the principles of civil and religious liberty, patriotism was with him both a passion and a sentiment — a pas- sion that gave energy to his ambition, and a sentiment that per- vaded all his thoughts and actions, concentrating them upon his country as the idol of his heart. The bold and manly frankness in the expression of his opinions -which always characterized him, has often been the subject of remark ; and in all his victo- ries it may be truly said, he never "stooped to conquer." In his long and brilliant political career, personal considerations never for a single instant caused him to swerve from the strict line of duty, and none have ever doubted his deep sincerity in that memorable expression to Mr. Preston, "Sir, I had rather be right than be President." This is not the time nor occasion, sir, to enter into a detail of the public services of Mr. Clay, interwoven, as they are, with the history of the country for half a century ; but I can not re- frain from adverting to the last crowning act of his glorious life — his great effort in the Thirty-first Congress, for the preser- vation of the peace and integrity of this great Republic, as it was this effort that shattered his bodily strength, and hastened the consummation of death. The Union of the States, as being essential to our prosperity and happiness, was the paramount proposition in his political creed, and the slightest symptom of danger to its perpetuity filled him with alarm, and called forth all the energies of his body and mind. In his earlier life he had met this danger and overcome it. In the conflict of con- tending factions it again appeared ; and coming forth from the repose of private life, to which age and infirmity had carried him, with unabated strength of intellect, he again entered upon the arena of political strife, and again success crowned his efforts, and peace and harmony were restored to a distracted people. But unequal t<> the mighty struggle, his bodily strength sank beneath it, and he retired from the field of his glory to yield up Ids lite as a holy sacrifice to his beloved country. It has well been Baid, that peace has its victories as well as war ; and how bright upon the page of history will be the record of Et'LOGY OF MR. BROOKE. 361 this great victory of intellect, of reason, and of moral suasion, over the spirit of discord and sectional animosities ! We this day, Mr. President, commit his memory to the re- gard and affection of his admiring countrymen. It is a conso- lation to them, and to us, to know that he died in full possession of his glorious intellect, and, what is better, in the enjoyment of that "peace which the world can neither give nor take away." He sank to rest as the full-orbed king of day, unshorn of a single beam, or rather like the planet of morning, his brightness was but eclipsed by the opening to him of a more full and per- fect day — " No waning of fire, no paling of ray, But rising, still rising, as passing away. Farewell, gallant eagle, thou 'rt buried in light — God speed thee to Heaven, lost star of our night." The resolutions submitted by Mr. Underwood were then unanimously agreed to. Ordered, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to the House of Representatives. On motion by Mr. Underwood Resolved, That, as an additional mark of respect to the mem- ory of the deceased, the Senate do now adjourn. 31 B I T U A R Y II ONOKS TO THE MEMOKV HENRY CLAY. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Tiie Journal having been read, a message was received from the Senate, by Asbury Dickins, Esq., its Secretary, communi- cating information of the death of Henry Clay, late Senator from the State of Kentucky, and the proceedings of the Senate thereon. The resolutions of the Senate having 1 been read — Me. BRECKINRIDGE rose and said:— Mr. Speaker — I rise to perform the melancholy duty of an- nouncing to this body the death of Henry Clay, late a Senator in Congress from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Mr. Clay expired at his lodgings in this city yesterday morn- ing, at seventeen minutes past eleven o'clock, in the seventy- sixth year of his age. His noble intellect was unclouded to the last. After protracted sufferings, he passed away without pain ; and so gently did the spirit leave his frame, that the moment of departure was not observed by the friends who watched at his bedside. His last hours were cheered by the presence of an affectionate son ; and he died surrounded by friends who, during his long illness, had done all that affection could suggest to soothe his sufferings. (3C3) 3C4 EULOGY OF MK. DI4ECKINKIDGE. Although this sad event has been expected fur many weeks, the shock it produced, and the innumerable tributes of respect to his memory exhibited on every side, and in every form, prove the depth of the public sorrow, and the greatness of the public loss. Imperishably associated as his name has been for iifty years with every great event affecting the fortunes of our country, it is difficult to realize that he is indeed gone for ever. It is diffi- cult to feel that we shall see no more his noble form within these Avails — that we shall hear no more his patriot tones, now rous- ino- his countrymen to vindicate their rights against a foreign foe, now imploring them to preserve concord among them- selves. We shall see him no more. The memory and the fruits of his services alone remain to us. Amidst the general gloom the Capitol itself looks desolate, as if the genius of the place had departed. Already the intelligence has reached almost every quarter of the Republic, and a great people mourn with us, to-day, the death of their most illustrious citizen. Sympa- thizing, as we do, deeply, with his family and friends, yet private affliclion is absorbed in the general sorrow. The spec- tacle of a whole community lamenting the loss of a great man, is far more touching than any manifestation of private grief. In speaking of a loss which is national, I will not attempt to de- scribe the universal burst of grief with which Kentucky will receive these tidings. The attempt would be vain to depict the gloom that will cover her people, when they know that the pillar of fire is removed, which has guided their footsteps for the life of a generation. It is known to the country that, from the memorable session of 1849-'50, Mr. Clay's health gradually declined. Although several years of his Senatorial term remained, he did not pro- pose to continue in the public service longer than the present session. He came to Washington chiefly to defend, if it should become necessary, the measures of adjustment, to the adoption of which he so largely contributed ; but the condition of his health did not allow him, at any time, to participate in the dis- cussions of the Senate. Through the winter he was confined EULOGY OF MK. BRECKINRIDGE. 365 almost wholly to his room, with slight changes in his condition, but gradually losing the remnant of his strength. Through the long and dreary winter he conversed much and cheerfully with his friends, and expressed a deep interest in public affairs. Although he did not expect a restoration to health, he cherished the hope that the mild season of spring would bring to him strength enough to return to Ashland, and die in the bosom of his family. But, alas ! spring, that brings life to all nature, brought no life nor hope to him. After the month of March his vital powers rapidly wasted, and for weeks he lay patiently awaiting the stroke of death. But the approach of the destroyer had no terrors for him. No clouds overhung his future. He met the end with composure, and his pathway to the grave was brightened by the immortal hopes which spring from the Chris- tian faith. Not long before his death, having just returned from Ken- tucky, I bore to him a token of affection from his excellent wife. Never can I forget his appearance, his manner, or his w r ords. After speaking of his family, his friends, and his country, he changed the conversation to his own future, and looking on me with his fine eye undimmed, and his voice full of its original compass and melody, he said, " I am not afraid to die, sir. I have hope, faith, and some confidence. I do not think any man can be entirely certain in regard to his future state, but I have an abiding trust in the merits and mediation of our Saviour." li will assuage the grief of his family to know that he looked hopefully beyond the tomb, and a Christian people will rejoice to hear that such a man, in his last hours, reposed with sim- plicity and confidence upon the promises of the Gospel. It is the custom, on occasions like this, to speak of the parent- age and childhood of the deceased, and to follow him, step by step, through life. I will not attempt to relate even all the great events of Mr. Clay's life, because they are familiar to the whole country, and it would be needless to enumerate a long list of public services which form a part of American History. Beginning life as a friendless boy, with few advantages, savo those conferred bv nature, while vet a minor he left Virginia, 366 ECLOGT OF MR. BRECKINRIDGE. the State of his birth, and commenced the practice of law at Lexington, in Kentucky. At a bar remarkable for its numbers and talent, Mr. Clay soon rose to the first rank. At a very early age he was elected from the County of Fayette to the Gen- eral Assembly of Kentucky, and was the Speaker of that body. Cominf into the Senate of the United States, for the first time, in 1806, he entered upon a parliamentary career the most bril- liant and successful in our annals. From that time he remained habitually in the public eye. As a Senator, as a member of this House and its Speaker, as a representative of his country abroad, and as a high officer in the executive department of the Government, he was intimately connected for fifty years with every great measure of American policy. Of the mere party measures of this period I do not propose to speak. Many of them have passed away, and are remembered only as the occa- sions for the great intellectual efforts which marked their discus- sion. Concerning others, opinions are still divided. They will go into history, with the reasons on either side rendered by the greatest intellects of the time. As a leader in a deliberative body, Mr. Clay had no equal in America. In him, intellect, person, eloquence, and courage, united to form a character fit to command. He fired with his own enthusiasm, and controlled by his amazing will, individuals and masses. •• No reverse could crush his spirit, nor defeat re- duce him to despair. Equally erect and dauntless in prosperity and adversity, when successful he moved to the accomplishment of his purposes with severe resolution ; when defeated, he rallied his broken bands around him, and from his eagle eye shot along their ranks the contagion of his own courage. Destined for a leader, he everywhere asserted his destiny. In his long and eventful life he came in contact with men of all ranks and pro- fessions, but he never felt that he was in the presence of a man superior to himself. In the assemblies of the people, at the bar, in the Senate — everywhere within the circle of his personal pre- sence he assumed and maintained a position of pre-eminence. But the supremacy of Mr. Clay, as a party leader, was not his only, nor his highest title to renown. That title is to be EULOGY OF MR. BRECKINRIDGE. 367 found in the purely patriotic spirit which, on great occasions, always signalized his conduct. We have had no statesman, who in periods of real and imminent public peril, has exhibited a more genuine and enlarged patriotism than Henry Clay. Whenever a question presented itself actually threatening the existence of the Union, Mr. Clay, rising above the passions of the hour, always exerted his powers to solve it peacefully and honorably. Although more liable than most men, from his im- petuous and ardent nature, to feel strongly the passion common to us all, it was his rare faculty to be able to subdue them in a great crisis, and to hold toward sections of the confederacy the language of concord and brotherhood. Sir, it will be a proud pleasure to every true American heart to remember the great occasions when Mr. Clay has displayed a sublime patriotism — when the ill-temper engendered by the times, and the miserable jealousies of the day, seemed to have been driven from his bosom by the expulsive power of nobler feelings — when every throb of his heart was given to his country, every effort of his intellect dedicated to her service. Who does not remember the three periods when the American system of Government was exposed to its severest trials ; and who does not know that when history shall relate the strug- gle which preceded, and the dangers which were averted by the Missouri Compromise, the Tariff Compromise of 1 832, and the Adjustment of 1850, the same pages will record the genius, the eloquence, and the patriotism of Henry Clay ? Nor was it in Mr. Clay's nature to lag behind until measures of adjustment were matured, and then come forward to swell a majority. On the contrary, like a bold and real statesman, he was ever among the first to meet the peril, and hazard his fame upon the remedy. .. It is fresh in the memory of us all that, when lately the fury of sectional discord threatened to sever the confederacy, Mr. Clay, though withdrawn from public life, and oppressed by the burden of years, came back to the Senate — the theater of his glory — and devoted the remnant of his strength to the sacred duty of preserving die union of the States. 368 EULOGY OF ME. BKECKLN'RIDGE. Willi characteristic courage he took the lead in proposing a scheme of settlement. But while he was willing- to assume the responsibility of proposing a plan, he did not, with petty am- bition, insist upon its adoption to the exclusion of other modes ; but, taking his own as the starting point for discussion and practical action, he nobly labored with his compatriots to change and improve it in such form as to make it an acceptable adjust- ment. Throughout the long and arduous struo-trle, the love of country expelled from his bosom the spirit of selfishness, and Mr. Clay proved, for the third time, that though he was am- bitious and loved glory, he had no ambition to mount to fame on the confusions of his country. And this conviction is lodged in the hearts of the people ; the party measures and the party passions of former times have not, for several years, in- terposed between Mr. Clay and the masses of his countrymen. After 1850, he seemed to feel that his mission was accom- plished ; and, during the same period, the regards and affections of the American people have been attracted to him in a re- markable degree. For many months, the warmest feelings, the deepest anxieties of all parties centered upon the dying states- man ; the glory of his great actions shed a mellow luster on his declining years ; and to fill the measure of his fame, his countrymen, weaving for him the laurel wreath, with common hands, did bind it about his venerable brows, and send him crowned, to history. The life of Mr. Clay, sir, is a striking example of the abid- ing fame which surely awaits the direct and candid statesman. The entire absence of equivocation or disguise, in all his acts, was his master-key to the popular heart ; for while the people will forgive the errors of a bold and open nature, he sins past forgiveness, who deliberately deceives them. Hence, Mr. Clay, though often defeated in his measures of policy, always secured the respect of his opponents without losing the confidence of his friends. He never paltered in a double sense. The coun- try was never in doubt as to his opinions or his purposes. In all the contests of his time, his position on great public ques- tions, was as clear as tlie sun in a cloudless sky. Sir, standing EULOGY OF MK. HKLVKINKIIX.F-. 369 by the grave of this great man, and considering these things, how contemptible docs appear the mere legerdemain of politics ! What a reproach is his life on that false policy which would trifle with a great and upright people ! If I were to write his epitaph, I would inscribe, as the highest eulogy, on the stone which shall mark his resting-place, "Here lies a man who was in the public service for fifty years, and never attempted to deceive his countrymen." While the youth of America should imitate his noble qualities, they may take courage from his career, and note the high proof it affords that, under our equal institutions, the avenues to honor are open to all. Mr. Clay rose by the force of his own genius, unaided by power, patronage, or wealth. At an age when our young men are usually advanced to the higher schools of learning, provided only with the rudiments of an English education, he turned his steps to the West, and amidst the rude collisions of a border life, matured a character whose highest exhibitions were destined to mark eras in his country's history. Beginning on the frontiers of American civilization, the orphan boy, supported only by the consciousness of his own powers, and by the confidence of the people, surmounted all the bar- riers of adverse fortune, and won a glorious name in the annals of his country. Let the generous youth, fired with honor- able ambition, remember that the American system of govern- ment offers on every hand bounties to merit. If, like Clay, orphanage, obscurity, poverty, shall oppress him ; yet if, like Clay, he feels the Promethean spark within, let him remem- ber that this country, like a generous mother, extends her arms to welcome and to cherish every one of her children whose genius and worth may promote her prosperity or increase her renown. Mr. Speaker, the signs of woe around us, and the general voice, announce that another great man has fallen. Our conso- lation is that he was not taken in the vigor of his manhood, but sank into the grave at the close of a long and illustrious career. The great statesmen who have filled the largest space in the public eye, one by one are passing away. Of the three great 370 EULOGY OF ME. BRECKINRIDGE. leaders of the Senate, one alone remains, and he must follow soon. We shall witness no more their intellectual struggles in the American Forum ; but the monuments of their genius will be cherished as the common property of the people, and their names will continue to confer dignity and renown upon their country. Not less illustrious than the greatest of these will be the name of Clay — a name pronounced with pride by Americans in every quarter of the globe ; a name to be remembered while history shall record the struggles of modern Greece for free- dom, or the spirit of liberty burn in the South American bosom ; a living and immortal name — a name that would de- scend to posterity without the aid of letters, borne by tradition from generation to generation. Every memorial of such a man will possess a meaning and a value to his countrymen. His tomb will be a hallowed spot. Great memories will cluster there, and his countrymen, as they visit it, may well exclaim — " Such graves as his are pilgrim shrines, Shrines to no creed or code confined ; The Delphian vales, the Palestines, The Meccas of the mind." Mr. Speaker, I offer the following resolutions : — Resolved, That the House of Representatives of the United States has received, with the deepest sensibility, intelligence of the death of Hexry Clay. Resolved, That the officers and members of the House of Representa- tives will wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days, as a testi- mony of the profound respect this House entertains for the memoiy of the deceased. Resolved, That the officers and members of the House of Representa- tives, in a body, will attend the funeral of Hexuy Clay, on the day appointed for that puq>ose by the Senate of the United States. Resolced, That the proceedings of this House in relation to the death of Hexuy Clay, be communicated to the family of the deceased by the Clerk. Resolved, That as a further mark of respect for the memory of the deceased, this House do now adjourn. EULOGY OF ME. EWING. Ma. EWING then addressed the House : — A noble heart has ceased to beat for ever. A long life of bril- liant and self-devoted public service is finished at last. We now stand at its conclusion, looking back through the changeful his- tory of that life to its beginning, cotemporaneous with the very birth of the Republic, and its varied events mingle, in our hearts and our memories, with the triumphs and calamities, the weakness and the power, the adversity and the prosperity, of a country we love so much. As we contemplate this sad event, in this place, the shadows of the past gather over us ; the mem- ories of events long gone crowd upon us, and the shades of de- parted patriots seem to hover about us, and wait to receive into their midst the spirit of one who was worthy to be a co-laborer with them in a common cause, and to share in the rewards of their virtues. Henceforth he must be to us as one of them. They say he was ambitious. If so, it was a grievous fault, and grievously has he answered it. He has found in it naught but disappointment. It has but served to aggravate the mortifi- cation of his defeats, and furnish an additional luster to the tri- umph of his foes. Those who come after us may, aye, they will, inquire why his statue stands not among the statues of those whom men thought ablest and worthiest to govern. But his ambition was a high and holy feeling, unselfish, mag- nanimous. Its aspirations were for his country's good, and its triumph was his country's prosperity. Whether in honor or re- proach, in triumph or defeat, that heart of his never throbbed (371 ) 372 EULOGY OF MR. EWING. with one pulsation, save for her honor and her 'welfare. Turn to him in that last best deed, and crowning glory of a life so full of public service and of honor, when his career of personal am- bition was finished forever. Rejected again and again by his countrymen ; just abandoned by a parly which would scarce have had an existence without his genius, his courage, and his labors, that great heart, ever firm and defiant to the assaults of his enemies, but defenseless against the ingratitude of friends, doubtless wrung with the bitterest mortification of his life — then it was, and under such circumstances as these, the gathering storm rose upon his country. All eyes turned to him ; all voices called for those services which in the hour of prosperity and security, they had so carelessly rejected. With no misanthropic chagrin ; with no morose, selfish resentment, he forgot all but his country, and that country endangered. He returns to the scene of his labors and his fame which he had thought to have left forever ; a scene — that American Senate Chamber — clothed in no gor- geous drapery, shrouded in no superstitious awe or ancient rev- erence for hereditary power, but to a reflecting American mind more full of interest, or dignity, and of grandeur than any spot on this broad earth, not made holy by religion's consecrating seal. Sec him as he enters there, tremblingly, but hopefully, upon the last, most momentous, perhaps most doubtful conflict of his life. Sir, many a gay tournament has been more dazzling to the eye of fancy, more gorgeous and imposing in the display of jewelry and cloth of gold, in the sound of heralds' trumpets, in the grand array of princely beauty and of royal pride. Many a battle-field has trembled beneath a more ostentatious parade of human power, and its conquerors have been crowned with lau- rels, honored with triumphs, and apotheosized amid the demi- gods of history ; but to the thoughtful, hopeful, philanthropic student of the annals of his race, never was there a conflict in which such dangers were threatened, such hopes imperiled, or the hero of which deserved a warmer gratitude, a nobler tri- umph, or a prouder monument. Sir, from that long, anxious, and exhausting conflict, he never rose again. In that last battle for his country's honor and his EULOGY OF MR. KWINO. 373 country's safety, lie received the mortal wound which laid him low, and we now mourn the death of a martyred patriot. But never, in all the grand drama which the story of his life array*, never has he presented a sublimer or a more touch- ing spectacle than in those last days of his decline and death. Broken with the storms of Stale, wounded and scathed in many a fiery conflict, that aged, worn, and decayed body, in such mournful contrast with the never-dying strength of his giant spirit, he seemed a proud and sacred, though a crumbling mon- ument of past glory. Standing among us like some ancient co- lossal ruin amid the degenerate and more diminutive structures of modern times, its vast proportions magnified by the contrast, he reminded us of those days when there were giants in the land, and we remembered that even then there was none whose prowess could withstand his arm. To watch him in that slow decline, yielding with dignity, and, as it were, inch by inch, to that last enemy, as a hero yields to a conquering foe, the glo- rious light of his intellect blazing still in all its wonted brilliancy, and setting at defiance the clouds that vainly attempted to ob- scure it, he was more full of interest than in the day of his glory and his power. There are some men whose brightest intellectual emanations rise so little superior to the instincts of the animal, that we are led fearfully to doubt that cherished truth of the soul's immortality, which, even in despair, men press to their doubting hearts. But it is in the death of such a man as he, that we are reassured by the contemplation of a kindred, though superior, spirit, of a soul, which, immortal, like his fame, knows no old age, no decay, no death. The wondrous light of his unmatched intellect may have daz- zled a world ; the eloquence of that inspired tongue may have enchanted millions, but there are few who have sounded the depths of that noble heart. To see him in sickness and in health, in joy and in sadness, in the Bilenl watches of the night and in the busy daytime — this it was to know and love him. To see the impetuous torrent of that resistless will ; the hurri- cane of those passions hushed in peace, breath*' calm and gently as a summer zephyr; to feel the gentle pressure of that hand in 37-i EULOGY OF MR. SWING. the grasp of friendship, which in the rage of fiery conflict, would hurl scorn and defiance at his foe ; to see that eagle eye, which oft would burn with patriotic ardor, or flash with the lia-htnine of his an^er, beam with the kindliest expressions of tenderness and affection — then it was, and then alone, we could learn to know and feel that that heart was warmed by the same sacred fire from above which enkindled the light of his re- splendent intellect. In the death of such a man even patriotism itself might pause, and for a moment stand aloof, while friend- ship shed a tear of sorrow upon his bier. " His life was gentle ; and the elements So mix'd in him, that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, This teas a man." But who can estimate his country's loss ? What tongue por- tray the desolation which in this hour throughout this broad land hangs like a gloomy pall over his grief-stricken country- men ? How poorly can words like mine translate the eloquence of a whole people's grief for a patriot's death. For a nation's loss let a nation mourn. For that stupendous calamity to our country and mankind, be the heavens hung with black; let the wailine elements chant his diro-e, and the universal heart of man throb with one common pang of grief and anguish. EULOGY OF MR. CASKIE. Mr. CASKIE then addressed the House : — Mr. Speaker — Unwell as I am, I must try to lay a single laurel leaf in that open coffin which is already garlanded by the eloquent tributes to the illustrious departed, which have been heard in this now solemn Hall ; for I come, sir, from the dis- trict of his birth. I represent on this floor that old Hanover so proud of her Henrys — her Patrick Henry and her Henry Clay. I speak for a people among whom he has always had as earnest and devoted friends as were ever the grace and glory of a patriot and a statesman. I shall attempt no sketch of his life. That you have had from other and abler hands than mine. Till yesterday that life was, of his own free gift, the property of his country ; to-day it belongs to her history. It is known to all, and will not be for- gotten. Constant, stern opponent of his political school, as has been my State, I say for her, that no where in this broad land were his great qualities more admired, or is his death more mourned, than in Virginia. Well may this be so ; for she is his mother, and he was her son. Mr. Speaker, when I remember the party strifes in which he was so much mingled, and through which we all more or less have passed, and then survey this scene, and think how far, as the lightning has borne the news that he is gone, half-masted flags are drooping, and church bells are tolling, and hearts are sorrowing, I can but feel that it is good for man to die. For when Death enters, ! how the unkindnesses, and jealousies, and rivalries of life do vanish, and how, like incense from an (375) 376 EULOGY OF MR. CASKIE. altar, do peace, and friendship, and all the sweet charities of our nature, rise around the corpse which was once a man ! And of a truth, Mr. Speaker, never was more of veritable noble man- hood cased in mortal mold than was found in him to whose memory this brief and humble, yet true and heartfelt, tribute is paid. But his eloquent voice is hushed, his high heart is stilled, "Like a shock of corn fully ripe, he has been gathered to his fathers." With more than three score years and ten upon him, and honors clustered thick about him, in the full possession of unclouded intellect, and all the consolations of Christianity, he has met the fate which is evitable by none. Lamented by all his countrymen, his name is bright on Fame's immortal roll. He has finished his course, and he has his crown. What more fruit can life bear ? What can it give that Henry Clay has not gained ? Then, Mr. Speaker, around his tomb should be heard, not only the dirge that wails his loss, but the jubilant anthem which sounds that on the world's battle-field another victory has been ■won — another incontestable greatness achieved. EULOGY OF MR. CHANDLER. Me. CHANDLER then addressed the House :— Mr. Speaker — It would seem as if the solemn invocation of the honorable gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Ewing) was re- ceiving an early answer, and tMat the heavens are hung in black, and the waiting elements are sinoins: the funeral dirge of Henry Clay. Amid this elemental gloom, and the distress which per- vades the nation at the death of Henry Clay, private grief should not obtrude itself upon notice, nor personal anguish seek for utterance. Silence is the best exponent of individual sorrow, and the heart that knoweth its own bitterness shrinks from an exposition of its affliction. Could I have consulted my own feelings on the event which occupies the attention of the House at the present moment, I should even have forborne attendance here, and in the solitude and silence of my chamber, have mused upon the terrible lesson which has been administered to the people and the nation. But I represent a constituency who justly pride themselves upon the unwavering attachment they have ever felt and manifested to Henry Clay — a constant, pervading, hereditary love. The son has taken up the father's affection, and amid all the professions of political attachments to others, whom the accidents of party have made prominent, and the success of party has made power- ful, true to his own instincts, and true to the sanctified legacy of his father, he has placed the name of Henry Clay forward and pre-eminent, as the exponent of what is greatest in statesman- ship and purest in patriotism. And even, sir, when party 32 (377) 378 EULOGY OF MR. CHANDLER. fealty caused other attachments to be avowed for party uses, the preference was limited to the occupancy of office, and superiority admitted for Clay in all that is reckoned above party estimation. Nor ought I forbear to add that, as the senior member of the delegation which represents my Commonwealth, I am requested to utter the sentiments of the people of Pennsylvania at large, who yield to no portion of this great Union in their appreciation of the talents, their reverence for the lofty patriotism, their admi- ration of the statesmanship, and hereafter their love of the mem- ory of Henry Clay. I can not, therefore, be silent on this occasion without injustice to the affections of my constituency, even though I painfully feel how inadequate to the reverence and love my people have toward that great statesman must be all that I have to utter on this mournful occasion. * I know not, Mr. Chairman, where now the nation is to find the men she needs in peril ; either other calls than those of politics are holding in abeyance the talents which the nation may need, or else a generation is to pass undistinguished by the greatness of our statesmen. Of the noble minds that have swayed the Senate one yet survives in the maturity of powerful intellect, carefully disciplined, and nobly exercised. May He who has thus far blessed our nation, spare to her and the world that of which the world must always envy our country the pos- session ! But my business is with the dead. The biography of Henry Clay, from his childhood upward, is too familiar to every American for me to trespass on the time of this House, by a reference directly thereto ; and the honor- able gentlemen who have preceded me have, with affectionate hand and appropriate delicacy, swept away the dust which nearly fourscore years have scattered over a part of the record, and have made our pride greater in his life, and our grief more poignant at his death, by showing some of those passages which attract respect to our republican institutions, of which Mr. Clay's whole life was the able support, and the most successful illustration. EULOGY OK BIB. CHANDLEB. 379 It would, then, be a work of supererogation for me to renew that effort, though inquiry into the life and conduct of Henry Clay would present new themes for private eulogy, new grounds for public gratitude. How rare is it, Mr. Speaker, that the great man, living, can with confidence rely on extensive personal friendship, or dying, think to awaken a sentiment of regret beyond that which in- cludes the public loss or the disappointment of individual hopes. Yet, sir, the message which yesterday went forth from this city that Henry Clay was dead, brought sorrow, personal, private, special sorrow, to the hearts of thousands ; each of whom felt that from his own love for, his long attachment to, his disinter- ested hopes in, Henry Clay, he had a particular sorrow to cherish and express, which weighed upon his heart separate from the sense of national loss. No man, Mr. Speaker, in our nation had the art so to identify himself with public measures of the most momentous character, and to maintain at the same time almost universal affection, like that great statesman. His business, from his boyhood, was with national concerns, and he dealt with them as with familiar things. And yet his sympathies were with individual interests, enterprises, affections, joys, and sorrows ; and while every pa- triot bowed in humble deference to his lofty attainments and heartfelt gratitude fur his national services, almost every man in this vast Republic knew that the great statesman was, in feeling and experience, identified with his own position. Hence, the universal love of the people ; hence, their enthusiasm in all times for his fame. Hence, sir, their present grief. Many other public men of our country have distinguished themselves and brought honor 10 the nation by superiority in some peculiar branch of public service, but it seems to have been the gift of Mr. Clay to have acquired peculiar eminence in every path of duty he was called to tread. In the earnestness of debate, which great public interests and distinguished op- posing talents excited in this House, he had no superior in energy, force, or effect. Yet, as the presiding officer, by bland- 18 3S0 EULOGY OF MR. CIIAN'PLKK. ness of language and firmness of purpose, he soothed and made orderly ; and thus, by official dignity, he commanded the re- spect which energy had secured to him on the floor. Wherever official or social duties demanded an exercise of his power,there was a pre-eminence which seemed prescriptively his own. In the lofty debate of the Senate, and the stirring har- angues to popular assemblages, he was the orator of the nation and of the people ; and the sincerity of purpose and the unity of design evinced in all he said or did, fixed in the public mind a confidence strong and expansive as the affections he had won. Year after year, sir, has Hexry Clay been achieving the work of the mission with which he was intrusted; and it was only when the warmest wishes of his warmest friends were dis- appointed, that he entered on the fruition of a patriot's highest hopes, and stood in the full enjoyment of that admiration and confidence which nothing but the antagonism of party relations could have divided. How rich that enjoyment must have been it is only for us to imagine ; — how eminentlv deserved it was we and the world can attest. The love and the devotion of his political friends were cheer- ing and grateful to his heart, and were acknowledged in all his life — were recognized even to his death. The contests in the Senate Chamber or the forum were re- warded with success achieved, and the great victor could enjoy the ovation with partial friendship or the gratitude of the benefit prepared. But the triumph of his life was no party achieve- ment. It was not in the applause which admiring friends and defeated antagonists offered to his measureless success, that ho found the reward of his labors, and comprehended the extent of his mission. It was only when friends and antagonists paused in their con- tests, appalled at the public difficulties and national dangers which had been accumulating, unseen and unregarded ; it was only when the nation itself felt the danger, and acknowledged the inefneacy of party action as a remedy, that Hexry Clay calculated the full extent of his powers, and enjoyed the reward EULOGY UK Mil. CHANDLEB. 381 of their saving exerciso. Then, sir, you saw, and I saw, party designations dropped, and party allegiance disavowed, and anxious patriots, of all localities and name, turn toward the country's benefactor as the man for the terrible exigencies of the hour ; and the sick chamber of Henry Clay became the Del- phos whence were given out the oracles that presented the means and the measures of our Union's safety. There, sir, and not in the high places of the country, were the labors and sacrifices of half a century to be rewarded and closed. With his right yet in that Senate which he entered the youngest, and lingered still the eldest member, he felt that his work was done, and the ob- ject of his life accomplished. Every cloud that had dimmed the noonday luster had been dissipated ; and the retiring orb, which sank from the sight of the nation in fullness and in beauty, will yet pour up the horizon a posthumous glory that shall tell of the splendor and greatness of the luminary that ha3 passed away. EULOGY OF JIB. BAYLY. Mr. BAYLY then addressed the House :— Mr. Speaker — Although I have been all my life a political opponent of Mr. Clay, yet from my boyhood I have been upon terms of personal friendship with him. More than twenty years ao-o. I was introduced to him by my father, who was his per- sonal friend. From that time to this, there has existed be- tween us as great personal intimacy as the disparity in our years and our political difference would justify. After I be- came a member of this House, and upon his return to the Senate, subsequent to his resignation in 1842, the warm regard upon his part for the daughter of a devoted friend of forty years' standing, made him a constant visitor at my house, and frequently a guest at my table. These circumstances make it proper, that upon this occasion, I should pay this last tribute to his memory. I not only knew him well as a statesman, but I knew him better in must unreserved social intercourse. The most happy circumstance, as I esteem it, of my political life has been, that I have thus known each of our great Congressional triumvirate. I, sir, never knew a man of higher qualities than Mr. Clay. His very faults originated in high qualities. With as great self-possession, with greater self-reliance than any man I ever knew, he possessed moral and physical courage to as high a do'-reo as any man who ever lived. Confident in his own judg- (382) EULOGY OF MR. BAYLY. 383 ment, never doubting as to his own course, fearing no obstacle that might lie in his way, it was almost impossible that he should not have been imperious in his character. Never doubt- ing himself as to what, in his opinion, duty and patriotism required at his hands, it was natural that he should sometimes have been impatient with those more doubting and timid than himself. His were qualities to have made a great general, as they were qualities that did make him a great statesman, and these qualities were so obvious that during the darkest period of our late war with Great Britain, Mr. Madison had deter- mined, at one time, to make him General-in-Chief of the Amer- ican army. Sir, it is but a short time since the American Congress buried the first one that went to the grave of that great trium- virate. We are now called upon to bury another. The third, thank God ! still lives, and long may he live to enlighten his countrymen by his wisdom, and set them the example of exalted patriotism. Sir, in the lives and characters of these great men, there is much resembling those of the great triumvirate of the British Parliament. It differs principally in this : Burke pre- ceded Fox and Pitt to the tomb. Webster survives Clay and Calhoun. When Fox and Pitt died, they left no peer behind them. Webster still lives, now that Calhoun and Clay are dead, the unrivaled statesman of his country. Like Fox and Pitt, Clay and Calhoun lived in troubled times. Like Fox and Pitt, they were each of them the leader of rival parties. Like Fox and Pitt, they were idolized by their respective friends. Like Fox and Pitt, they died about the same time, and in the public service ; and as has been said of Fox and Pitt, Clay and Cal- houn died with "their harness upon them." Like Fox and Pitt— " With more than mortal powers endowM, How high they soar above the crowd ; Theira was no common party race, Jostling by dark intrigue for place; — Like fabled gods their mighty war Shook realms and nations in its jar. 3S4 EULOGY OF MR. BAYLY. Beneath each banner proud to stand, Look'd up the noblest of the land. * * * * Here let their discord 'with them die. Speak not for those a separate doom, Whom fate made brothers in the tomb, But search the land of living men, Where wilt thou find their like again ?" EULOGY OF MR. VENABLE. Mu. VENABLE then addressed the House :— Mr. Speaker — I trust that I shall be pardoned for adding a few words upon this sad occasion. The life of the illustrious statesman which has just terminated is so interwoven with our history, and the luster of his great name so profusely shed over its pages, that simple admiration of his high qualities might well be my excuse. But it is a sacred privilege to draw near ; to contemplate the end of the great and good. It is profitable, as well as purifying, to look upon and realize the office of death in removing all that can excite jealousy or produce distrust, and to gaze upon the virtues which, like jewels, have survived his powers of destruction. The light which radiates from the life of a great and patriotic statesman is often dimmed by the mists which party conflicts throw around it. But the blast which strikes him down purifies the atmosphere which surrounded him in life, and it shines forth in bright examples and well-earned renown. It is then that we witness the sincere acknowledgment of gratitude by a people who, having enjoyed the benefits arising from the services of an eminent statesman, embalm his name in their memory and hearts. We should cherish such recollections as well from patriotism as self-respect. Ours, sir, is now the duty, in the midst of sadness, in this high place, in the face of our Republic, and before the world, to pay this tribute, by ac- knowledging the merits of our colleague, whose name has orna- mented the Journals of Congress for near half a century. Few, 33 386 EULOGY OF MK. VENABLK. very few, have ever combined the high intellectual powers and distinguished gifts of this illustrious Senator. Cast in the finest mold by nature, he more than fulfilled the anticipations which were indulged by those who looked to a distinguished career as the certain result of that zealous pursuit of fame and usefulness upon which he entered in early life. Of the inci- dents of that life it is unnecessary for me to speak — they are as familiar as household words, and must be equally familiar to those who come after us. But it is useful to refresh memory, by recurrence to some of the events which marked his career. "We know, sir, that there is much that is in common in the his- tories of distinguished men. The elements which constitute greatness are the same in all times ; hence, those who have been the admiration of their generations present in their lives much which, although really great, ceases to be remarkable, because illustrated by such numerous examples — " But there are deeds -which should not pass away And names that must not wither." Of such deeds the life of Henry Clay affords many and bright examples. His own name, and those with whom he associated, shall live with a freshness which time can not impair, and shine with a brightness which passing years can not dim. His ad- vent into public life was as remarkable for the circumstances as it was brilliant in its effect. It was at a time in which genius and learning, statesmanship ami eloquence, made the American Congress the most august body in the world. He was the co- temporary of a race of statesmen, some of whom — then admin- istering: the Government, and others retiring and retired from office — presented an array of ability unsurpassed in our history. The elder Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Gallatin, Clinton, and Monroe, stood before the Republic in the maturity of their fame ; while Calhoun, John Quincy Adams, Lowndes, Randolph, Crawford, Gaston, and Cheves, with a host of others, rose a bright galaxy upon our horizon. He who won his spurs in such a field earned his knighthood. Distinction amid such com- petition was true- renown — ECLOGY OF MK. YEN ABLE. ;>7 " The fame which a man wins for himself is best That he may call bis own." It was such a fame that lie made for himself in that most eventful era in our history. To me, sir, the recollections of that dav, and the events which distinguish it, are tilled with an over- powering interest. I never can forget my enthusiastic admira- tion of the boldness, the eloquence, and the patriotism of Henry Clay during the war of 1812. In the bright array of talent which adorned the Congress of the United States ; in the con- flict growing out of the political events of that time ; in the struggles of party, and amid the gloom and disasters which depressed the spirits of most men, and well nigh paralyzed the energies of the Administration, his cheerful face, high bearing, commanding eloquence, and iron will, gave strength and con- sistency to those elements which finally gave not only success but glory to the country. When dark clouds hovered over us, and there was little to save from despair, the country looked with hope to Clay and Calhoun, to Lowndes and Crawford, and Cheves, and looked not in vain. The unbending will, the un- shaken nerve, and the burning eloquence of Henry Clay did as much to command confidence and sustain hope as even the news of our first victory after a succession of defeats. Those great names are now canonized in history ; he, too, has passed to join them on its pages. Associated in his long political life with the illustrious Calhoun, he survived him but two years. Many of us heard his eloquent tribute to his memory in the Senate Chamber, on the annunciation of his death. And we this dav unite in a similar manifestation of reverential regard to him, whose voice shall never more charm the ear, whose burning thoughts, borne on that medium, shall no more move the hearts of listening assemblies. In the midst of the highest specimens of our race, he was always an equal ; he was a man among men. Bold, skillful, and determined, he gave character to the party which acknowledged him as a leader ; impressed his opinions upon their minds, and an attachment to himself upon their hearts. No man, sir, can do this without being eniiueutlv great. Whoever attains this 388 EULOGY OF MR. VENABLE. position must first overcome the aspirations of antagonist am- bition, quiet the clamors of rivalry, hold in check the murmurs of jealousy, and overcome the instincts of vanity and self-love in the masses thus subdued to his control. But few men ever attain it. Very rare are the examples of those whose plastic touch forms the minds and directs the purposes of a great polit- ical party. This infallible indication of superiority belonged to Mr. Clay. He has exercised that control during a long life ; and now through our broad land the tidings of his death, borne with electric speed, have opened the fountains of sorrow. Every city, town, village, and hamlet, will be clothed with mourning, alontr our extended coast, the commercial and militarv marine, with flags drooping at half-mast, own the bereavement; State- houses draped in black proclaim the extinguishment of one of the great lights of Senates ; and minute-guns sound his requiem ! Sir, during the last five years I have seen the venerable John Quincv Adams, John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay, pass from among us, the legislators of our country. The race of giants who "were on the earth in those days" is well-nigh gone. Despite their skill, their genius, their might, they have sunk under the stroke of time. They were our admiration and our glory ; a few linger with us, the monuments of former greatness ; the beacon-lights of a past age. The death of Henry Clay can not fail to suggest melancholy associations to each member of this House. These walls have re-echoed the silvery tones of his bewitching voice ; listening assemblies have hung upon his lips. The chair which you till has been graced by his presence, while his commanding person and unequaled parliamentary attain- ments inspired all with deference and respect. Chosen by ac- clamation, because of his high qualifications, he sustained him- self before the House and the country. In his supremacy with his party, and the uninterrupted confidence which he enjoyed to the day of his death, he seems to have almost discredited the truth of those lines of the poet Laberius — "Non possunt primi esse omnes omni in tempore, Sumnnim ad gradum cum claritatis veneris, Consistes aegre, et citius, quani ascendas, cades. Kl'LOGY OF MR. VKNABLE. 389 If not at all times first he stood equal with the foremost, and a brilliant rapid rise knew no decline in the confidence of those whose just appreciation of his merits had confirmed his title to renown. The citizens of other countries will deplore his death ; the struggling patriots who, on our own continent, were cheered by his sympathies, and who must have perceived his influence in the recognition of their independence by this Government, have tauLrht their children to venerate his name. He won the civic crown, and the demonstrations of this hour own the worth of civil services. It was with great satisfaction that I heard my friend from Kentucky [Mr. Breckinridge], the immediate representative of Mr. Clay, detail a conversation, which disclosed the feelings of that eminent man in relation to his Christian hope. These, Mr. Speaker, are rich memorials, precious reminiscences. A Christian statesman is the glory of his age, and his memory will be glorious in after times ; it reflects a light coming from a source which clouds can not dim nor shadows obscure. It was my privilege, also, a short time since, to converse with this dis- tinguished statesman on the subject of his hopes in a future state. Feeling a deep interest, I asked him frankly what were his hopes in the world to which he was evidently hastening. "I am pleased," said he, "my friend, that you have introduced the subject. Conscious that I must die very soon, I love to medi- tate upon the most important of all interests. I love to con- verse and to hear conversations about them. The vanity of the world, and its insufficiency to satisfy the soul of man, has long been a settled conviction of my mind. Man's inability to secure by his own merits the approbation of God, I feel to be true. I trust in the atonement of the Saviour of men, as the ground of my acceptance and my hope of salvation. My faith is feeble, but I hope in His mercy and trust in His promises." To such declarations I listened with the deepest interest, as I did on another occasion, when he said : " I am willing to abide the will of Heaven, and ready to die when that will shall determine it." He is gone, sir, professing the humble hope of a Christian. 390 EITLOGY OF Mil. VEXABLK That hope, alone, sir, can sustain you or any of us. There is one lonely and crushed heart that has bowed before this afflictive event. Far away at Ashland, a widowed wife, prevented by feeble health from attending his bedside and soothing his painful hours, she has thought even the electric speed of the intelligence daily transmitted of his condition too slow for her aching, anx- ious bosom. She will find consolation in his Christian submis- sion, and will draw all of comfort that such a case admits, from the assurance that nothing was neglected by the kindness of friends which could supply her place. May the guardianship of the widow's God be her protection, and His consolations her support ! "All can not be at times first, To reach the topmost step of glory ; to stand there More hard. Even swifter than we mount, we fall." EULOGY OF MR. HAVEN. Mr. HAVEN then addressed the House : — Mr. Speaker — Representing- a constituency distinguished for the constancy of its devotion to the political principles of Mr. Clat, and for its unwavering attachment to his fortunes and his person — sympathizing deeply with those whose more inti- mate personal relations with him have made them feel most profoundly this general bereavement — I desire to say a few words of him, since he has fallen among us, and been taken to bis rest. After the finished eulogies which have been so eloquently pronounced by the honorable gentlemen who have preceded me, I will avoid a course of remark which might otherwise be deemed a repetition, and refer to the bearing of some of the acts of the deceased upon the interests and destinies of my own Siato. The influence of his public life, and of his purely American character, the benefits of his wise forecast, and the results of his efforts for wholesome and rational progress, arc nowhere more strongly exhibited than in the State of New York. Our appreciation of his anxiety for the general diffusion of knowledge and education, is manifested in our twelve thousand public libraries, our equal number of common schools, and a large number of higher institutions of learning, all of which draw portions of their support from the share of the proceeds of the public lands, which his wise policv gave to our State. 392 EULOGY OF MR. HAVEN. Our whole people are thus constantly reminded of their great obligations to the statesman whose death now afflicts the nation with sorrow. Our extensive public works attest our conviction of the utility and importance of the system of internal improve- ments he so ably advocated ; and their value and productive- ness afford a most striking evidence of the soundness and wisdom of his policy. Nor has his influence been less sensibly felt in our agriculture, commerce, and manufactures. Every department of human industry acknowledges his fostering care ; and the people of New York are, in no small measure, indebted to his statesmanship for the wealth, comfort, contentment, and happiness so widely and so generally diffused throughout the State. Well may NeAv York cherish his memory and acknowledge with gratitude the benefits that his life has conferred. That memory will be cherished throughout the Republic. When internal discord and sectional strife have threatened the integrity of the Union, his just weight of character, his large experience, his powers of conciliation and acknowledged patriotism, have enabled him to pacify the angry passions of his countrymen, and to raise the bow of promise and of hope upon the clouds which have darkened the political horizon. He has passed from among us, ripe in wisdom and pure in character — full of years and full of honors — he has breathed his last amid the blessings of a united and grateful nation. He was, in my judgment, particularly fortunate in the time of his death. He lived to see his country, guided by his wisdom, come once again unhurt out of trying sectional difficulties and domes- tic strife ; and he has closed his eyes in death upon that coun- try, while it is in the enjoyment of profound peace, busy with industry, and blessed with unequaled prosperity. It can fall to the lot of but few to die amid so warm a gratitude, flowing from the hearts of their countrymen ; and none can leave a brighter example, or a more enduring fame. EULOGY OF MR. BROOKS. Me. BROOKS then addressed the House : — Mr. Speaker — I rise to add my humble tribute to the mem- ory of a great and good man now to be gathered to his fathers. I speak for, and from, a community in whose heart is enshrined the name of him whom we mourn ; who, however much Vir- ginia, the land of his birth, or Kentucky, the land of his adop- tion, may love him, is, if possible, loved where I live yet more. If idolatry had been Christian, or allowable even, he would have been our idol. But as it is, for a quarter of a century now, his bust, his portrait, or some medal, has been one of our house- hold gods, gracing not alone the saloons and the halls of wealth, but the humblest room or workshop of almost every mechanic or laborer. Proud monuments of his policy as a statesman, as my colleague has justly said, are all about us ; and we owe to him, in a good degree, our growth, our greatness, our pros- perity and happiness as a people. The great field of Henry Clay, Mr. Speaker, has been here, on the floor of this House, and in the other wing of the Capitol. He has held other posts of higher nominal distinction, but they are all eclipsed by the brilliancy of his career as a Congressman. What of glory he has acquired, or what most endears him to his countrymen, has been wou, here, amid these pillars, under these domes of the Capitol. " Si quaeris monumentum, circumspice." The mind of Mr. Clay has been the governing mind of tho < 393 ) 3 f »l EULOGY OF mi:, brooks. country, more or less, ever since he has been on the stage of public action. In a minority or majority — more, perhaps, even in a minority than in a majority — he seems to have had some commission, divine as it were, to persuade, to convince, to govern other men. His patriotism, his grand conceptions, have created measures which the secret fascination of his manners, in-doors, or his irresistible eloquence without, have enabled him almost always to frame into laws. Adverse administrations have yielded to him, or been borne down by him, or he has taken them captive as a leader, and carried the country and Con- gress with him. This power he has wielded now for nearly half a century, with nothing but Reason and Eloquence to back him. And yet, when he came here, years ago, he came from a then frontier State of this Union, heralded by no loud trumpet of fame, nay, quite unknown ! unfortified even by any posiiion, Bocial or pecuniary — to quote his own words, " My only heritage has been infancy, indigence, and ignorance." In these days, Mr. Speaker, when mere civil qualifications for high public places — when long civil training and practical states- manship are held subordinate — a most discouraging prospect would be rising up before our young men, w r ere it not for some such names as Lowndes, Crawford, Clinton, Gaston, Calhoun, Clay, and the like, scattered along the pages of our history, as stars or constellations along a cloudless sky. They shine forth and show us, that if the Chief Magistracy can not be won by such qualifications, a memory among men can be — a hold upon posterity, as firm, as lustrous — nay, more imperishable. In the Capitolium of Rome there are long rows of marble slabs, on which are recorded the names of the R)man consuls ; but the eye wanders over this wilderness of letters but to light up and kindle upon some Cato or Cicero. To win such fame, thus un sullied, as Mr. Clay has won, is worth any man's ambition. And how was it won? By courting the shifting gales of popu- larity ? No, never ! By truckling to the schemes, the arts, and seductions of the doma"-oK MB. KAlI.KXF.K. 397 our national renown ; not until time bad enabled it to bequeath the rich treasures of its thought and experience for the guidance and instruction of the present and of succeeding generations. Sir, it is difficult — it is impossible — within the limit allowed for remarks upon occasions of this kind, to do justice to a great historical character like Henry Claw He was one of that class of men whom Scaliger designates as homines centenarii — men that appear upon the earth but once in a century. His fame is the growth of years, and it would require time to unfold the elements which have combined to impart to it so much of sta- bility and grandeur. Volumes have already been written, and volumes will continue to be written, to record those eminent and distinguished public services w r hich have placed him in the front rank of American statesmen and patriots. The highest talent, stimulated by a fervid and patriotic enthusiasm, has already and will continue to exhaust its powers to portray those striking and generous incidents of his life — those shining and captivating qualities of his heart, which have made him one of the most beloved, as he was one of the most admired, of men ; and yet the subject itself will remain as fresh and exhaustless as if hundreds of the best intellects of the land had not quaffed the inspiration of their genius from the ever-gushing and over- flowing fountains of his fame. It could not be that a reputation so grand and colossal as that which attaches to the name of Henry Clay could rest for its base upon any single virtue, how- ever striking ; nor upon any single act, no matter how marked or distinguished. Such a reputation as he has left behind him, could only be the result of a long life of illustrious public ser- vice. And such in truth it was. For nearly half a century he has been a prominent actor in all the stirring and eventful scenes of American history, fashioning and molding many of the most important measures of public policy by his bold and sagacious mind, and arresting others by his unconquerable energy and resistless force of eloquence. And, however much the members of this body may differ in opinion as to the wisdom of many of his views of national domestic policy, there is not one upon this floor — no, sir, not one in this nation — who will deny to him 39S EULOGY OF MR. FAULKSE11. frankness and directness as a public man ; a genius for states- manship of the highest order ; extraordinary capacities for pub- lic usefulness, and an ardent and elevated patriotism, without stain and without reproach. In referring to a career of public service so varied and ex- tended as that of Mr. Clay, and to a character so rich in every great and manly virtue, it is only possible to glance at a few of the most prominent of those points of his personal history, which have given to him so distinguished a place in the affec- tions of his couutrymen. In the whole character of Mr. Clay, in all that attached or belonged to it, you find nothing that is not essentially American. Born in the darkest period of our Revolutionary struggle ; reared from infancy to manhood among those great minds which gave the first impulse to that mighty movement, he early im- bibed, and sedulously cherished, those great principles of civil and political liberty, which he so brilliantly illustrated in his subsequent life, and which have made his name a watchword of hope and consolation to the oppressed of all the earth. In his intellectual training he was the pure creation of our own repub- lican soil. Few, if any, allusions are to be seen in his speeches or writings to ancient or modern literature, or to the thoughts and ideas of other men. His country, its institutions, its policy, its interests, its destiny, form the exclusive topics of those elo- quent harangues which, while they are destitute of the elaborate finish have all the ardor and intensity of thought, the earnest- ness of purpose, the cogency of reasoning, the vehemence of style, and the burning patriotism which mark the productions of the great Athenian orator. One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Mr. Clat, as a public man, was his loyalty to truth, and to the honest con- victions of his own mind. He deceived no man ; he would not permit his own heart to be deceived by any of those seductive influences which too often warp the judgment of men in public station. He never paused to consider how far any step which he was about to take would lead to his own personal advance- ment ; he never calculated what he might lose or what he might EULOGY OF MK. FAI I.K.M.K. 399 gain by his advocacy of, or his opposition to, any particular measure. His single inquiry was, Is it right ? Is it in ac- cordance with the Constitution of the land ? Will it redound to the permanent welfare of the country ? When satisfied upon these points, his determination was fixed ; his purpose was im- movable. "I would rather be right than President," was the expression of his genuine feelings, and the principle by which he was controlled in his public career — a saying worthy of im- mortality, and proper to be inscribed upon the heart of every young man in this Republic. And yet, sir, with all of that per- sonal and moral intrepidity which so eminently marked (he character of Mr. Clay; with his well-known inflexibility of pur- pose and unyielding resolution, such was the genuine sin- cerity of his patriotism, and such his thorough comprehension of those principles of compromise, upon which the whole structure of our Government was founded, that no one was more prompt to relax the rigor of his policy the moment he perceived that it was calculated to disturb the harmony of the States, or to endanger, in any degree, the stability of the Gov- ernment. With him the love of this Union was a passion — an absorbing sentiment — which gave color to every act of his pub- lic life. It triumphed over party ; it triumphed over policy ; it subdued the natural fierceness and haughtiness of his temper, and brought him into the most kindly and cordial relations with those who, upon all oilier questions, were deeply and bitterly opposed to him. It has been asserted, sir, upon high medical authority, and doubtless with truth, that his life was, in all prob- ability, shortened ten years by the arduous and extraordinary labors which he assumed at the memorable session of 1850. If so, he has added the crowning glory of the martyr to the spot- less fame of the patriot; and we may well hope that a great national pacification, purchased at such a sacrifice, will long continue to cement the bonds of this now happy and prosperous Union. Mr. Clay possessed in an eminent degree, the qualities of a great popular leader ; and history, I will assume to say. affords no example in any Republic, aucieut or modern, of any iudi- 400 EULOGY OF MR. FAULKNER. vidual that so fearlessly carried out the convictions of his own judgment, and so sparingly nattered the prejudices of popular feeling, who, for so long a period, exercised the same controlling influence over the public mind. Earnest in whatever measure he sustained, fearless in attack — dexterous in defense — abound- ing in intellectual resource — eloquent in debate — of infk-xible purpose, and with a "courage never to submit or yield," no man ever lived with higher qualifications to rally a desponding party, or to lead an embattled host to victory. That he never attained the highest post of honorable ambition in this country, is not to be ascribed to any want of capacity as a popular leader, nor to the absence of those qualities which attract the fidelity and devotion of "troops" of admiring friends. It was the for- tune of Napoleon, at a critical period of his destiny, to be brought into collision with the star of Wellington; and it was the fortune of Henry Clay to have encountered, in his political orbit, another great and original mind, gifted with equal power for commanding success, and blessed with more fortunate ele- ments, concurring at the time, of securing popular favor. The struo-ofle was such as might have been anticipated from the col- lision of two such fierce and powerful rivals. For near a quar- ter of a century this great Republic has been convulsed to iis center by the divisions which have sprung from their respective opinions, policy, and personal destinies ; and even now, when they have both been removed to a higher and a better sphere of existence, and when every unkind feeling has been quenched in the triumphs of the grave, this country still feels, and for years will continue to feel, the influence of those agitations to which their powerful and impressive characters gave impulse and direction. But I must pause. If I were to attempt to present all the aspects in which the character of this illustrious man will chal- lenge the applause of history, I should fatigue the House, and violate the just limit allowed for such remarks. I can not, however, conclude, sir, without making some more special allusion to Mr. Clay, as a native of that State which I have the honor, in part, to represent upon this floor. We are all EULOGY OF MB. FAULKNER. 401 proud, and very properly proud, of the distinguished men to whom our respective States have given birth. It is a just and laudable emulation, and one, in a confederated government like ours, proper to be encouraged. And while men like Mr. Clay very rapidly rise above the confined limits of a State reputation, and acquire a national fame, in which all claim, and all have an equal interest, still there is a propriety and fitness in preserving the relation between the individual and his State. Virginia has given birth to a large number of men who have, by their distin- guished talents and services, impressed their names upon the hearts and memories of their countrymen ; but certainly, since the colonial era, she has given birth to no man, who, in the mas- sive and gigantic proportions of his character, and in the splen- dor of his native endowments, can be compared to Henry Clay. At an early age he emigrated from his native State, and found a home in Kentucky. In a speech which he delivered in the Senate of the United States, in February, 1842 — and which I well remember — upon the occasion of his resigning his seat in that body, he expressed the wish that, when that event should occur which has now clothed this city in mourning, and filled the nation with grief, his "earthly remains should be laid under the green sod of Kentucky, with those of her gallant and patri- otic sons." Sir, however gratifying it might be to us that his remains should be transferred to his native soil, to there mingle with the ashes of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Lee, and Henry, we can not complain of the very natural preference which he has himself expressed. If Virginia did give him birth — Kentucky has nourished him in his manhood — has freely lavished upon him her highest honors — has shielded him from harm when the clouds of calumny and detraction gathered heavily and lower- ingly about him, and she has watched over his fame with the tenderness and zeal of a mother. Sir, it is not to be wondered that he should have expressed the wish he did, to be laid by the side of her gallant and patriotic sons. Happy Kentucky ! Happy, in having an adopted son so worthy of her highest hon- ors. Happv. in the unshaken fidelity and loyalty with which, 34 402 EULOGY OF MR. FAULKNER. for near half a century, those honors have been so steadfastly and gracefully accorded to him. Sir, while Virginia, in the exercise of her own proper judg- ment has differed from Mr. Clay in some of his views of national policy, she has never, at any period of his public career, failed to regard him with pride, as one of her most distin- guished sons ; to honor the purity and the manliness of his character, and to award to him the high credit of an honest and sincere devotion to his country's welfare. And now, sir, that death has arrested forever the pulsations of that mighty heart, and sealed in eternal silence those eloquent lips, upon whose accents thousands have so often hung in rapture, I shall stand justified in saying that a wail of lamentation will be heard from her people — her whole people — reverberating through her moun- tains and valleys, as deep, as genuine, and as sincere as that, which I know, will swell the noble hearts and the heaving bosoms of the people of his own cherished and beloved Ken- tucky. Sir, as I walked to the Capitol this morning, every object which attracted my eye admonished me that a nation's benefac- tor had departed from among us. He is gone ! Hexry Clay, the idol of his friends, the ornament of the Senate Chamber, the pride of his country ; he whose presence gathered crowds of his admiring fellow-men around him, as if he had been one descended from above, has passed forever from our view. "His soul, enlarged from its vile bonds, has gone To that refulgent world, -where it shall swim In liquid light, and float on seas of bliss." But the memory of his virtues, and of his services, will be gratefully embalmed in the hearts of his countrymen, and gen- erations yet unborn will be taught to lisp, with reverence and enthusiasm, the name of Henry Clay. EULOGY OF MR. PARKER. Mr PARKER then addressed the House : — Mr. Sfeakeb — This is a solemn — a consecrated hour. And I would not detain the members of the House from indulging in the silence of their own feelings, so grateful to hearts chastened as ours. But I can not restrain an expression from a bosom pained with its fullness. When my young thoughts first took cognizance of the fact that I have a country — my eye was attracted by the maguificent proportions of Henry Clay. The idea absorbed me then, that he was, above all other men, the embodiment of my country's genius. I have watched him; I hare studied him; I have ad- mired him — and, God forgive me! for he was but a man, "of like passions with us" — I fear I have idolized him, until this hour. But he has gone from among men ; and it is for us now to awake and apply ourselves, with renewed fervor and increase 1 fidelity, to the welfare of the country he loved so well, and served so truly and so long — the glorious country yel aaved to us ! Yes, Henry Clay has fallen, at last ! — n> the ripe <>ak falls in the stillness of the forest. But the verdant and gorgeous rich- ness of his glories will only fade and wither from the earth, when his country's history shall have been forgotten. 404 EULOGY OF MR. TARKER. "One generation passeth away and another generation eom- eth." Thus it has been from the beginning, and thus it will be, until time shall be no longer. Yesterday morning, at eleven o'clock, the spirit of Hexry Clay — so long the pride and glory of his own country, and the admiration of all the world — was vet with us, though Struerfflinff to be free. Ere "high noon" came, it had passed over "the dark river," through the gate, into the celestial city, iuhabited by all the "just made perfect." May not our rapt vision contemplate him there, this day, in sweet communion with the dear friends that have cone before him? — with Madison, and Jefferson, and Washington, and Henry, and Franklin — with the eloquent Tully, with the "divine Plato," with Aaron the Levite, who could "speak well" — with all the great and good, since and before the flood! His princely tread has graced these aisles for the last time. These Halls will wake no more to the magic music of his voice. Did that tall spirit, in its ethereal form, enter the courts of the upper sanctuary, bearing itself comparably with the spirits there, as was his walk among men? Did the mellifluous tones of his greeting there enrapture the hosts of Heaven, comparably with his strains " to stir men's blood" on earth? Then, may we not fancy, when it was announced to the in- habitants of that better country, He comes! — He comes! — there was a rustling of angel-wings — a thrilling joy — up there, only to be witnessed once in an earthly age ? Adieu ! — a last adieu to thee, Henry Clay ! The hearts of all thy countrymen are melted, on this day, because of the though! that thou art gone. Could we have held the hand of the " insatiate archer," thou hadst not died ; but thou wouldst have tarried with us, in the full grandeur of thy greatness, until we had no longer need of a country. EULOGY OF Mi;. l'ARKEK. 405 But we thank our Heavenly Father that thou wast given to us ; and that thou didst survive so long. We would cherish thy memory while we live, as our country's jewel — than which none is richer. And we will teach our children the lessons of matchless patriotism thou hast taught us; with the fond hope that our Liberty and our Union may only expire with " the last of earth." EULOGY OF MR. GENTRY. Mr. GENTRY then addressed the House :— Mr. Speaker — I do not rise to pronounce a eulogy on the lite and character, and public services, of the illustrious orator and statesman whose death this nation deplores. Suitably to per- form that task, a higher eloquence than I possess might essay in vain. The gushing tears of the nation, the deep grief which oppresses the hearts of more than twenty millions of people, constitute a more eloquent eulogium upon the life and character, and patriot services of Henry Clay, than the power of language can express. In no part of our country is that character more admired, or those public services more appreciated, than in the State, which I have the honor, in part, to represent. I claim for the people of that State a full participation in the general woe which the sad announcement of to-day will every where inspire. (400) EULOGY OF MR. BOWIE. Mr. BOWIE then addressed the House :— Mr. Speaker — I rise not to utter the measured phrases of premeditated woe, but to speak, as my constituency would, if they stood around the grave now opening to receive the mortal remains, not of a statesman only, but of a beloved friend. If there is a State in this Union, other than Kentucky, which sends up a wail of more bitter and sincere sorrow than another, that State is Maryland. In her midst, the departed statesman was a frequent and a welcome guest. At many a board, and many a fireside, his noble form was the light of the eyes, the idol of the heart. Throughout her borders, in cottage, hamlet, and city, his name is a household word, his thoughts are familiar sentences. Though not permitted to be the first at his cradle, Maryland would be the last at his tomb. Through all the phases of political fortune, amid all the storms which darkened his career. Maryland cherished him in her inmost heart, as the most gifted, patriotic and eloquent of men. To this hour, prayers ascend from many domestic altars, evening and morning, for his temporal comfort and eternal wel- fare. In the language of inspiration, Maryland would exclaim. " There is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel." Daughters of America! weep for him -'who hath clothed you in scarlet and fine linen." The husbandman at his plow, the artisan at the anvil, and 40S EULOGY OF Mil. BOWIE. the seaman on the mast, -will pause and drop a tear when he hears Clay is no more. The advocate of freedom in both hemispheres, he will be la- mented alike on the shores of the Hellespont and the banks of the Mississippi and Orinoco. The freed men of Liberia, learning and practicing the art of self-government, and civilizing Africa, have lost in him a patron and protector, a father and a friend. America mourns the eclipse of a luminary, which enlightened and illuminated the continent ; the United States, a counselor of deepest wisdom and purest purpose ; mankind, the advocate of human rights and constitutional liberty. ECLOGY OF MR. WALSH. Mr. WALSH then addressed the House : — Mr. Speaker — The illustrious man whose death we this day mourn, was so long my political leader — so long almost the ob- ject of my personal idolatry — that I can not allow that he shall go down to the grave, without a word at least of affectionate remembrance — without a tribute to a memory which will exact tribute as long as a heart shall be found to beat within the bosom of civilized man, and human agency shall be adequate in any form to give them an expression ; and even, sir, if I had no heartfelt sigh to pour out here — if I had no tear for that coffin's lid, I should do injustice to those whose representative, in part, I am, if I did not in this presence, and at this time, raise my voice to swell the accents of the profoundest public sorrow. The State of Maryland has always vied with Kentucky in love and adoration of his name. Her people have gathered around him with all the fervor of a first affection, and with more than its duration. Troops of friends have ever clustered about his pathway with a personal devotion which each man of them regarded as the highest individual honor — friends, BIT, to whose firesides the tidings of his death will go with all the withering influences which are felt when household ties are severed. I wish, sir, I could offer now a proper memorial for such a subject and such an affection. But as I 6trive to utter it, I feel 35 c «w ) 410 EULOGY OF MK. WALSIT. the disheartening influence of the well-known truth, that in view of death all minds sink into triteness. It would seem, indeed, sir, that the great leveler of our race would vindicate his title to be so considered, by making all men think alike in regard to his visitation — " the thousand thoughts that begin and end in one " — the desolation here — the eternal hope hereafter — are influences felt alike by the lowest intellect and the loftiest genius. Mr. Speaker, a statesman for more than fifty years in the councils of his country, whose peculiar charge it was to see that the Republic suffered no detriment — a patriot for all times, all circumstances, and all emergencies — has passed away from the trials and triumphs of the world, and gone to his reward. Sad as are the emotions which such an event would ordinarily excite, their intensity is hightened by the matters so fresh within the memories of us all : " Oh ! think how to his latest day, When death, just hovering, claim'd his prey, With Palinurus' unalter'd mood, Finn at his dangerous post he stood Each call for needful rest repell'd, With dying hand the rudder held ; Then while on Freedom's thousand plains One unpolluted church remains, Whose peaceful bells ne'er sent around The bloody tocsin's maddening sound, But still upon the hallow'd day, Convoke the swains to praise and pray, While faith and civil peace are dear, Greet his cold marble with a tear; He who preserved them — Clay — lies here." In a character, Mr. Speaker, so illustrious and beautiful, it is difficult to select any point for particular notice, from those which go to make up its noble proportions ; but we may now, around his honored grave, call to grateful recollection that in- vincible spirit which no personal sorrow could sully, and no disaster could overcome. Be assured, sir, that he has in this regard left a legacy to the young men of the Republic, almost EULOGY OF MR. WALSH. 411 as sacred and as dear as that liberty of which his life was a blessed illustration. We can all remember, sir, when adverse political results dis- heartened his friends, and made them feel even as men without hope, that his own clarion voice was still heard in the purpose arid the pursuit of right, as bold and as eloquent as when it first proclaimed the freedom of the seas, and its talismanic tones Btruck off the badges of bondage from the lands of the Incas, and the plains of Marathon. Mi-. Speaker, in the exultation of the statesman he did not forget the duties of the man. He was an affectionate adviser on all points wherein inexperienced youth might require counsel. He was a disinterested sympathizer in personal sorrows that called for consolation. He was ever upright and honorable in all the duties incident to his relations in life. To an existence so lovely, Heaven, in its mercy, granted a fitting and appropriate close. It was the prayer, Mr. Speaker, of a distinguished citizen, who died some years since in the me- tropolis, even while his spirit was fluttering for its final flight, that he might depart gracefully. It may not be presumptious to say, that what was in that instance the aspiration of a chival- ric gentleman, was in this the realization of the dying Christian, in which was blended all that human dignity could require, with all that Divine grace had conferred ; in which the firmness of the man was only transcended by the fervor of the penitent. A short period before his death he remarked to one by his bedside, "that he was fearful that he was becoming selfish, as his thoughts were entirely withdrawn from the world and cen- tered upon eternity." This, sir, was but the purification of his noble spirit from all the dross of earth — a happy illustration of what the religious muse has so sweetly sung — " No sin to stain — no lure to stay The soul, as home she springs ; Thy sunshine on her joyful way Thy freedom in her wings." Mr. Speaker, the solemnities of this hour may soon be for- 412 EULOGY OF ME. WALSH. gotten. We may come back from the new-made grave only still to show that we consider "eternity the bubble, life and time the enduring substance." We may not pause long enough by the brink to ask which of us revelers of to-day shall next be at rest. But be assured, sir, that upon the records of mortality will never be inscribed a name more illustrious than that of the statesman, patriot, and friend whom the nation mourns. EULOGY OF MR. CRITTENDEN. DELIVERED AT LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1852. Ladies and Gentlemen: — I am very sensible of the difficulty and magnitude of the task which I have undertaken. I am to address you in commemo- ration of the public services of Henry Clay, and in celebration of his obsequies. His death filled his whole country with mourning, and the loss of no citizen, save the Father of his Country, has ever produced such manifestations of the grief and homage of the public heart. His history has indeed been read " in a nation's eyes." A nation's tears proclaim, with their silent eloquence, its sense of the national loss. Kentucky has more than a common share in this national bereavement. To her it is a domestic grief — to her belongs t he sad privilege of being the chief mourner. He was her favorite son, her pride, and her glory. She mourns for him as a mother. But let her not mourn as those who have no hope of* consolation. She can find the richest and the noblest solace in the memory of her son, and of his great and good actions ; and his fame will come back, like a comforter from his grave, to wipe away her tears. Even while she weeps for him her tears shall be mingled with the proud feelings of triumph which his name will inspire ; (413) 414: EULOGY OF MR. CRITTENDEN. and Old Kentucky, from the depths of her affectionate and heroic heart, shall exclaim, like the Duke of Ormond, when in- formed that his brave son had fallen in battle, " I would not exchange my dead son for any living son in Christendom." From these same abundant sources we may hope that the widowed partner of his life, who now sits in sadness at Ashland, will derive some pleasing consolation. I presume not to offer- any words of comfort of my own. Her grief is too sacred to permit me to use that privilege. You, Sons and Daughters of Kentucky, have assembled hero to commemorate his life and death. How can I address you suitably on such a theme ? I feel the oppressive consciousness that I can not do it in terms adequate to the subject, or to your excited feelings. I am no orator, nor have I come here to attempt any idle or vainglorious display of words ; I come as a plain Kentuckian, who, sympathizing in all your feelings, pre- sents you with this address, as his poor offering, to be laid upon that altar which you are here erecting to the memory of Henry Clay. Let it not be judged according to its own value, but ac- cording to the spirit in which it is offered. It would be no difficult task to address you, on this occasion, in the extravagant and rhetorical language that is usual in funeral orations. But my subject deserves a different treatment. The monumental name of Henry Clay rises above all mere personal favor and flattery ; it rejects them, and challenges the scrutiny and the judgment of the world. The noble use to which his name should be applied is to teach his country, by his example, lessons of public virtue and political wisdom ; to teach patriots and statesmen how to act, how to live, and how to die. I can but glance at a subject that spreads out in such bright and boundless expanse before me. Henry Clay lived m a most eventful period, and the history of his life for forty years has been literally that of his country. He was so identified with the Government for more than two- thirds of its existence, that during that time hardly any act, which has redounded to its honor, its prosperity, its present rank among the nations of the earth, can be spoken of without LOOT OF MB. cuii'iKXl'KX. 415 calling to mind, involuntarily, the lineaments <>f hia noble per- son. It would be difficull to determine whether in peai r in war ; in the tit-Id of legislation or of diplomacy : in the spring- tide of his life, or in its golden ebb, he won the highest honor. It can be no disparagement to any one of his coteniporaries to say, that, in all the points of practical statesmanship, he en- countered no superior in any of the employments which his con- stituents or his country conferred upon him. For the reason that he had been so much and so constantly in the public eye, an elaborate review of his lit".- will not be ex- pected of me. All that I shall attempt will be to Bketch a few leading traits, which may serve to give those who have had fewer opportunities of observation than 1 had, something like a just idea of his public character and services. If, in doing this, I speak more at large of the earlier than of the later period of his life, it is because, in regard to the former, though of vast consequence, intervening years have thrown them Bomewhat in the back ground. Passing by, therefore, the prior service of Mr. Clay in the Senate for brief periods in 1806 and '1U-'11, I come at once to his Speakership in the House of Representatives, and his con- sequent agency in the war of 1812. To that war our country is indebted for much of the security, freedom, prosperity, and reputation, which it now enjoys. It has been truly said by one of the living actors in that perilous era [Hon. Mr. Rush}, that the very act of going to war was heroic. By the supremacy of the naval power of England, the 5 of all Europe had been swepl from the seas; the banner of the United States alone floated in solitary fearlessness. England seemed to encircle the earth with her aavies, and to be the un- disputed mistress of the ocean. "We went out upon the deep with a sling in our hands. When, in all time, wen such fearful odd.-- seen as we had against us? The events of the war with England, so memorable, and even wonderful, are too familiar to all to require any particular recital on this occasion. Of that war — of its causes and consequ* •.■ • — ■ of us disasters, its bloody battles, and its glorious victories by 416 EULOGY OF ME. CRITTENDEN. land and sea, history and our own official records have given a faithful narrative. A just national pride has engraven that nar- rative upon our hearts. But even in the fiercest conflicts of that war, there was nothing more truly heroic than the declaration of it by Congress. Of that declaration — of the incidents, personal influences, and anxious deliberations, which preceded and led to it — the history is not so well or generally known. The more it is known, the more it will appear how important was the part that Mr. Clay acted, and how much we are indebted to him for all the glorious and beneficial issues of the declaration of that war, which has not inappropriately been called the Second War of Independence. The public grounds of the war were the injustice, injury, and insults inflicted on the United States by the Government of Great Britain, then engaged in a war of maritime edicts with France, of which the commerce of the United States was the victim ; our merchant ships being captured by British cruisers on every sea, and confiscated by her courts, in utter contempt of the rights of this nation as an independent power. Added to this, and more offensive than even these outrages, was the ar- rogation by the same power, of a right to search American ves- sels, for the purpose of impressing seamen from vessels sailing under the American flag. These aggressions upon our national rights constituted, undoubtedly, justifiable cause of war. With equal justice on our part, and on the same grounds (impress- ment of seamen excepted) we should have been warranted in declaring war against France also ; but common sense (not to speak of policy) forbade our engaging with two nations at once, and dictated the selection, as an adversary, of the one that had power, which the other had not, to carry its arbitrary edicts into full effect. The war was really, on our part, a war for national existence. "When Congress assembled in November, 1811, the crisis was upon us. But, as may be readily imagined, it could be no easy matter to nerve the heart of Congress, all unprepared for the F.rLOOY OF MR. C1UTTI NLKN. 417 dread encounter, to take the step, which there could be no re- tracing, of a declaration of war. Nor could that task, in all probability, ever have been accom- plished, but for the concurrence, purely accidental, of two < ir- onmstancee ; the one, the presence of Henry Clay in the Chair of the popular branch of the National Legislature, and the other, that of James Monroe, as Secretary of State, in the Executive Administration of the Government. Mr. Monroe had returned but a year or two before from a course of public service abroad, in which, as Minister Plenipo- tentiary, he had represented the United States at the several courts, in succession, of France, Spain, and Great Britain. From the last of these missions he had come home thoroughly disgusted with the contemptuous manner in which the rights of the United States were treated by the belligerent Powers, and especially by England. This treatment, which even extended to the personal intercourse between their Ministers and the Rep- resentatives of this country, he considered as indicative of a settled determination on their parts — presuming upon the sup- posed incapacity of this Government for war — to reduce to system a course of conduct calculated to debase and prostrate us in the eyes of the world. Reasoning thus, he had brought his mind to a serious and firm conviction, that the rights of the United States, as a nation, would never be respected by the Powers of the Old World until this Government summoned up resolu- tion to resent such usage, not by arguments and protests merely, but by an appeal to arms. Pull of this sentiment, Mr. Monroe was called, upon a casual vacancy, when it was Leasl expected bv himself or the country, to the head of the Department of S a e. That sentiment, and the feelings which w- have thus accounted for, Mr. Monroe Boon communicated to his asso- ciates in the Cabinet, and, in some degree, it might well be supposed, to the great statesman then at the head of the Govern- ment. The tone of President Madison's first message to Congress (November 5, 1811), a few months only after Mr. Munroe's ac- 418 EULOGY OF MR. CEITTEXDEN. cession to the Cabinet, can leave hardly a doubt in any mind of such having been the case. That message was throughout of the gravest cast, reciting the aggressions and aggravations of Great Britain, as demanding resistance, and urging upon Con- gress the duty of putting the country "into an armor and an attitude demanded by the crisis, and corresponding with the national spirit and expectations." It was precisely at this point of time that Mr. Clay, having resigned his seat in the Senate, appeared on the floor of the House of Representatives, and was chosen, almost by acclama- tion, Speaker of that body. From that moment he exercised an influence in a great degree personal, which materially affected, if it did not control, the judgment of the House. Among the very first acts which devolved upon him, by virtue of his office, was the appointment of the committees raised upon the Presi- dent's message. Upon the Select Committee of nine members, to which was referred "so much of the message as relates to our foreign relations," he appointed a large proportion from among the fast friends of the Administration, nearly all of them being new members, and younger than himself, though he was not then more than thirty-five years of age. It is impossible, at this day, to call to mind the names of which this committee was composed (Porter, Calhoun and Grundy, being the first named among them), without coming to the conclusion that the com- mittee was constituted with a view to the event predetermined in the mind of the Speaker. There can be no question that when, quitting the Senate, Mr. Clay entered the Representative body, he had become satisfied that, by the continued encroachments of Great Britain on our national rights, the choice of the country was narrowed down to war or submission. Between these there could be no hesitation, in such a mind as that of Mr. Clay, which to choose. In this emergency he acted for his country, as he would, in a like case, have acted for himself. Desiring and cultivating the good will of all, he never shrank from any personal responsibility, nor cowered before any danger. More than a year before Ids accession to the House of Representatives lie had, in a debate in the Senate, taken occasion to sav, that BCLOGT OF MR. CRITTEXI>KN\ 410 "he most sincerely desired peace and amity with England ; that he even preferred an adjustment of all differences with her, to one with any other nation ; but, if she persisted in a denial of justice to us, he trusted and hoped that all hearts would unite in a bold and vigorous vindication of our rights." It was in this brare spirit, animated to increased fervency by intervening aggressions from the same quarter, that Mr. Clav entered into the House of Representatives. Early in the second month of the session, availing himself of the right then freely used by the Speaker, to engage in discus- sions while the House was in Committee of the Whole, he dashed into the debates upon the measures of military and naval preparation recommended by the President, and reported upon favorably by the committee. He avowed, without reserve, that the object of this preparation was war, and war with Great Britain. In these debates he showed his familiarity with all the weapons of popular oratory. In a tempest of eloquence, in which he wielded alternately argument, persuasion, remonstrance, ridicule, and reproach, he swept before him all opposition to the high re- solve to which he exhorted Congress. To the argument (for example) against preparing for a war with England, founded upon the idea of her being engaged, in her conflict with France, in lighting the battles of the world, he replied, that such a pur- pose would be best achieved by a scrupulous observance of the rights of others, and by respecting that public law which she professed to vindicate. '"Then," .-aid he, "she would com- mand the sympathies of the world. But what are we required to do, by those who would engage our feelings and wishes in her behalf? To bear the actual cuffs of her arrogance, thai we may escape a chimerical French subjugation. We are called upon to submit to debasement, dishonor, and disgrace; to b >w the neck to royal insolence, as a course of preparation for manly resistance to Gallic invasion! "What nation, what individual, was ever taught in the schools of ignominious submission I patriotic lessons of freedom and independence!" And to the argument that this Government was unlit for any war but a war 420 EULOGY OF MR. CRITTENDEN. against invasion — so signally since disproved by actual events — he exclaimed, with characteristic vehemence, " What ! is it not equivalent to invasion, if the mouth of our harbors and outlets are blocked up, and we are denied egress from our own waters ? Or, when the burglar is at our door, shall we bravely sally forth and repel his felonious entrance, or meanly skulk within the cells of the castle ?****** What ! shall it be said that our amor patriae is located at these desks ; that we pusillanimously cling to our seats here, rather than boldly vindicate the most inestimable rights of our country?" While in debate upon other occasions, at nearly the same time, he showed how well he could reason upon a question, which de- manded argument rather than declamation. To his able sup- port of the proposition of Mr. Cheves to add to our then small but gallant navy ten frigates, may be ascribed the success, though by a lean majority, of that proposition. Replying to the objection urged with zeal by certain members, that navies were dangerous to liberty, he argued that the source of this alarm Mas in themselves. "Gentlemen fear," said he, "that if we provide a marine, it will produce collision with foreign na- tions, plunge us into war, and ultimately overturn the constitu- tion of the country. Sir, if you wish to avoid foreign collision, you had better abandon the ocean, surrender all your commerce, give up all your prosperity. It is the thing protected, not the instrument of protection, that involves you in war. Commerce engenders collision, collision war, and war, the argument sup- poses, leads to despotism. Would the counsels of that states- man be deemed wise, who would recommend that the nation should be unarmed ; that the art of war, the martial spirit and martial exercises, should be prohibited ; who should de- clare, in a word, that the great body of the people should be taught that national happiness was to be found in perpetual peace alone ? " While Mr. Clay, in the Capitol, was, with his trumpet tongue, rousing Congress to prepare for war, Mr. Monroe, the Secretary of Slate, gave his powerful co-operation, and lent the Nestor-like EULOGY OF MK. OBITTSNDFJf. 1 •_» 1 sanction of his age and experience to the bold measures of his young and more ardent compatriot. It was chiefly through their fearless influence that Congress was gradually warmed up to a war spirit, and to the adoption of some preparatory measures. But no actual declaration of war had yet been proposed. There was a strong opposition in Congress, and the President, Mr. Madison, hesitated to recommend it, only because he doubted whether Congress was yet sufficiently determined and resolved to maintain such a declaration, and to maintain it to all the ex- tremities of war. The influence and counsel of Mr. Clay again prevailed. He waited upon the President, at the head of a deputation of mem- bers of Congress, and assured him of the readiness of a majority of Congress to vote the war if recommended by him. Upon this the President immediately recommended it by his message to Congress of the first Monday of June, 1812. A bill de- claring war with Great Britain soon followed in Congress, and, after a discussion in secret session for a few days, became a law. Then began the war. When the doors of the House of Representatives were opened, the debates which had taken place in secret session were spoken of and repeated, and it appeared, as must have been expected by all, that Mr. Clay had been the great defender and champion of the declaration of war. Mr. Clav continued in the House of Representatives for some time after the commencement of the war, and having assisted in doing all that could be done for it in the way of legislation, was withdrawn from his position in Congress to share in the delib- erations of the great Conference of American and British Com- missioners held at Ghent. His part in that Convention was such as might have been expected from his course in Congress, high- toned and high-spirited, despairing of nothing. I need not add, but for form, that, acting in this spirit, Mr. Clay and his patriotic and able associates succeeded beyond all the hopes at that time entertained at home in making a treaty, which, in putting a stop to the war, if it did not accomplish 422 EULOGY OF MR. CRITTENDEN. every tiling contended for, saved and secured at all points the honor of the United States. Thus began and ended the war of 1812. On our part it was just and necessary, and, in its results, eminently beneficial and honorable. The benefits of it have extended to all the world ; for in vin- dicating our own maritime rights we established the freedom of the seas to all nations, and since then no one of them has arro- gated or exercised any supremacy upon that ocean, given by the Almighty as the common and equal inheritance of all. To Henry Clay, as its chief mover and author belongs the statesman's portion of the glory of that war ; and to the same Henry Clay, as one of the makers and signers of the treaty by which it was terminated, belong the blessings of the peace- maker. His crown is made up of the jewels of peace and of war. Prompt to take up arms to resent our wrongs and vindicate our national rights, the return of peace was yet gladly hailed by the whole country. And well it might be. Our military character, at the lowest point of degradation when we dared the fight, had been retrieved; the national honor, insulted at all the courts of Europe, had been redeemed ; the freedom of the seas secured to our flao- and all who sail under it ; and, what was most influential in inspiring confidence at home, and assur- ing respect abroad, was the demonstration, by the result of the late conflict, of the competency of this Government for effective war, as it had before proved itself for all the duties of a season of peace. The Congress which succeeded the war, to a seat in which Mr. Clay was elected while yet abroad, exhibited the features of a national jubilee, in place of the gravity and almost gloom which had settled on the countenance of the same body during the latter part of the war and of the conferences of Ghent. Joy shone on every face. Justly has that period been termed " the era of good feeling." Again placed in the chair of the House of Representatives, and all-important questions being then considered as in Committee of the Whole, in which the EULOGY OF MR. I i:i 1 I I M >KN\ 42.°, Speaker descends to the floor of tlie House, Mr. Clay di-tin- guished himself in the debates upon every question of im- that came up, and was the author, during that and following Congresses, of more important measures than it has been the fortune of any other member, either then or since, to have his name identified with. It would exceed the proper limits of this discourse to particu- larize all those measures. I can do no more than refer to a very- few of them which have become landmarks in the history of our country. First in order of these was his origination of the first proposi- tion for a recognition of the independence of the States of South America, then stnifjsdin^ for liberty. This was on the 24th of March, 1818. It was on that day that he first formally presented the proposition to the House of Representatives. But neither the President nor Congress was then prepared for a measure so bold and decisive ; and it was rejected by a large majority of the House, though advocated and urged by him with all the ve- hemence and power of his unsurpassed ability and eloquence. Undaunted by this defeat, he continued to pursue the subject with all the inflexible energy of his character. On the 3d of April, 1820, he renewed his proposition for the recognition of South American Independence, and finally succeeded, against strong opposition, not only in passing it through the House of Representatives, but in inducing that body to adopt the em- phatic and extraordinary course of sending it to the President by a committee, specially appoint-d for the purpose. Of that committee Mr. Clay was the chairman, and, at its head, per- fbrmed the duty assigned them. In the Year 1822 Mr. Clay's noble exertions on this great subject were crowned with com- plete success, by the President's formal recognition of South American Independence, with the sanction of Congress. It requires some little exertion, at this day, to turn our minds back, and contemplate the vast importance of the revo- lutions then in progress in South America, as the subject was then presented, with all the uncertainties and perils that sur- rounded it. Those revolutions constituted a great movement in 424 EULOGY OF MR. CRITTENDEN. the moral and political world. By their results great interests and great principles, throughout the civilized world, and es- pecially in our own country, might and probably would be ma- terially affected. Mr. Clay comprehended the crisis. Its magnitude and its character were suited to his temper, and to his great intellect. He saw before him, throughout the vast continent of South America, the people of its various States, or provinces strug- gling to cast off that Spanish oppression and tyranny which for three hundred years had weighed them down, and seeking to reclaim and re-establish their long-lost liberty and independence. He saw them not only struggling, but succeeding; and with their naked hands, breaking their chains, and driving their op- pressors before them. But the conflict was not yet over ; Spain still continued to wage formidable and desperate hostilities against her colonies, to reduce them to submission. They were still struggling and bleeding, and the result yet depended on the uncertain issue of war. What a spectacle was there presented to the contemplation of the world ! The prime object of attention and interest there to be seen was man bravely struggling for liberty. That was enough for Henry Clay. His generous soul overflowed with sympathy. But this was not all ; there were graver and higher considerations that belonged to the subject, and these were all felt and appreciated by Mr. Clay. If South America was re-subjugated by Spain, she would, in effect, become European, and relapse into the system of Eu- ropean policy — the system of legitimacy, monarchy, and abso- lutism ; on the other hand, if she succeeded in establishing her independence, the principle of free institutions would be estab- lished with it, and republics kindred to our own would rise up to protect, extend, and defend the rights and liberties of mankind. It was not, then, a mere struggle between Spain and her colo- nies. In its consequences, at least, it went much further, and, in effect, was a contest between the great antagonist principles and systems of arbitrary European Governments and of free EULOGY OF Mi:. CRITTENDEN. ■1_ > 5 American Governments. Whether the millions of people who inhabited or were to inhabit, South America, were to become the victims and the instruments of the arbitrary ]jrincij)le, or the sup- porters of the free principle, was a question v( momentous con- sequence now and in all time to come. Willi these views Mr. Clay, from sympathy and policy, em- braced the cause of South American Independence. He pro- posed no actual intervention in her behalf, but he wished to aid her with all the moral power and encouragement that could be given by a welcome recognition of her by the Government of the United States. To him belongs the distinguished honor of being first among the statesmen of the world to espouse and plead the cause of South America, and to propose and urge the recognition of her independence. And his own country is indebted to him for the honor of being the firsl nation to offer that recognition. When the magnitude of the subject and the weighty interest and consequences attached to it are considered, it seems to me that there is no more palmy day in the life of Mr. Clay than that in which, at the head of his committee, he presented to the President the resolution of the House of Representatives in favor of the recognition of South American Independence. On that occasion he appears in all the sublimity of his nature, and the statesman, invested with all the sympathies and feelings of hu- manitv, is enlarged and elevated into the character of the friend and guardian of universal liberty. How far South America may have been aided or influenced in her struggles bv the recognition of our Government, or by the noble appeals which Mr. Clay had previously addressed, in her behalf, to Congress and to the world, I can not say; but it is known that those speeches were read at the head of her armies, and that grateful thanks were returned. It is not too much to suppose that he ex^ rcia d greal influence in her affairs and destinies. Years after the first of Mr. Clay's noble exertions in the cause of South America, and some time after those exertions had led the Government of the United Stales to recognize the new 3Q 426 EULOGY OF MR. CRITTENDEN States of South America, they were also recognized by the Government of Great Britain, and Mr. Canning, her minister, theretipon took occasion to say, in the House of Commons, "there (alluding to South America), I have called a new world into existence !" That was a vain boast. If it can be said of any man, it must be said of Henry Clay that he called that "new world into existence !"* Mr. Clay was the Father of the policy of Internal Improve- ment by the General Government. The expediency of such legislation had indeed been sup-o-ested, in one of his later an- nual messages to Congress, by President Jefferson, and that suggestion was revived by President Madison in the last of his annual messages. The late Bank of the United States having been then just established, a bill passed in supposed conformity to Mr. Madison's recommendation, for setting aside the annual bonus to be paid by the Bank, as a fund for the purposes of Internal Improvement. This bill Mr. Madison very unexpect- edly, on the last day of the term of his office, returned to the House of Representatives without his signature, assigning the reasons for his withhold in o- it — reasons which related rather to the form than the substance — and recommending an amendment to the Constitution to confer upon Congress the necessary power to carry out that policy. This bill, of course, fell through for that session. While this bill was on its passage, Mr. Clay had spoken in favor of it, declaring his own decided opinion in favor of the constitutionality and expediency of the measure. Mr. Monroe, immediately succeeding Mr. Madison in the Presi- dency, introduced into his first annual message a declaration, in advance of any proposition on the subject, of a settled convic- tion on his mind that Congress did not possess the right to enter upon a system of Internal Improvement. But for this declara- tion, it may be doubted that the subject would have been again agitated so soon after Mr. Madison's veto. The threat of a re- currence to that resort by the new President, roused up a spirit •See Mr. Rush's letter to Mr. Clay, 1st vol. Cotton's Life of Henry Clay. fiULOQY OF Mi;. < kii i i.mh \. 427 of defiance in the popular branch of Congress, and especially in the lion heart of Mr. Clay ; and, by his advice and counsel, a resolution was introduced, declaring that Congress has power, under the Constitution, to make appropriations for the construc- tion of military roads, post roads, and canals. Upon this prop- osition, in committee of the whole House, Mr. Clay attacked, with all his powers of argument, wit, and raillery, the interdic- tion in the message. He considered that the question was now one between the Executive, on the one hand, and the Represent- atives of the people on the other, and that it was so understood by the country ; that if, by the communication of his opinion to Congress, the President intended to prevent discussion, he had "most woefully failed ;" that in having (Mr. Clay had no doubt with the best motives) volunteered his opinions upon the subject, he had "inverted the order of legislation, by beginning where it should end;" and, after an able and unanswerable argu- ment on the question of the power, concluded by saying: "If we do nothing this session but pass an abstract resolution on the stibjeet I shall, under all circumstances, consider it a triumph for the best interests of the country, of which posterity will, if we do not, reap the benefit." And the abstracl resolution did pass, by a vote of ninety to seventy-five ; and a triumph it was which Mr. Clay had every right to consider as his own, and all the more grateful to his feelings, because he had hardly hoped for it. Referring to the final success, at a distance of thirty-five Years, of the principle thus established, in the recent passage bv Congress of the act for the improvement of certain of the ports and harbors and navigable rivers of the country, let "Pos- terity " oof forget, on this occasion, to what honored name is undoubtedly due the credit of the first legislative assertion of the power. Mr. Clay was, perhaps, the only man since Washington who could have said, with entire truth, as be did, "/ had rather be right than be President." Honor and Patriotism were his and distinguishing traits. The first bad its Bpring and support in his fearless .-pint ; the Becond, in his peculiar Americanism of sentiment. It was those two principles which ever threw his 428 : ; LOGT OF MB, CRITTENDEN. whole soul into every contest where the public interest was deeply involved, and, above all, into every question which in the least menaced the integrity of the Union. This last was, with him, the ark of the covenant; and he was ever as ready to peril his own life in its defense, as he was to pronounce the doom of a traitor on any one who would dare to touch it with hostile hands. It was the ardor of this devotion to his country, and to the sheet-anchor of its liberty and safety, the Union of the States, that rendered him so conspicuous in every conflict that threatened either one or the other with harm. All are fa- miliar with his more recent, indeed his last o-reat struggle for his country, when the foundation of the Union trembled under the fierce sectional agitation, so happily adjusted and pacified by the Avise measures of compromise which he proposed in the Senate, and which were, in the end, in substance adopted. That bril- liant epoch in his history is fresh in the memory of all who hear me, and will never be forgotten by them. An equally glorious success achieved by his patriotism, his resoluteness, and the great power of his oratory, was one which few of this assembly are old enough vividly to remember, but which, in the memory of those who witnessed the effort, and the success of that great- est triumph of his master spirit, will ever live the most interest- ing 1 in the life of the great statesman. I mean the Missouri controversy. Then, indeed, did common courage quail, and hope seem to shrink before the storm that burst upon and threat- ened to overwhelm the Union. Into the history of what i.s still familiarly known as the "Mis- souri question," it is not necessary, if time would allow, that I should enter at any length. The subject of the controversy, as all my hearers know, was the disposition of the House of Rep- resentatives, manifested on more than one occasion, and by repeated votes, to require, as a condition of the admission of the Territory of Missouri into the Union as a Slate, the perpetual prohibition of the introduction of slavery into the Territories of t!ii' United States wesl of the Mississippi. During the conflict to which this proposition gave rise in 1820, the debates were from the beginning earnest, prolonged, and excited. In the I I LOGY OF MB. ( RCT I i.M'l.N. 429 earlier stages of them Mr. Clay exerted, to the utmost, bifl powers of argument, conciliation, and persuasia iking on one occasion, it is stated, for four and a half hours without in- termission. A bill finally passed both Houses, authorizing the people of the Territory of Missouri to form a Constitution of State Government, with the prohibition of slavery restricted to the territory lying in nth of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes of north latitude. This was in the first session of the sixteenth Congress, Mr. Clay still being Speaker of the House. On the approach of the second session of this Congress, Mr. Clay being compelled by his private affairs to remain at home, forwarded his resigna- tion as Speaker, but retained his seat as a member, in view of the pendency of this question. Mr. Taylor of New York, the zealous advocate of the prohibition of slavery in Missouri and elsewhere in the West, was chosen Speaker to succeed Mr. Clay. This fact, of itself, under all the circumstances, was ominous of what was to follow. Alarmed, apparently, at this aspect of things, Mr. Clay resumed his seat in the House on the 16th of January, 1821. The Constitution formed by Mis- souri and transmitted to Congress, under the authority of the act passed in the preceding session, contained a provision (su- perfluous even for its own object) making it the duty of the General Assembly, as soon as might be, to pass an act to pre- vent free negroes and mulattoes from coming to, or settling in, the State of Missouri, "upon any pretext whatever." The re- ception of the Constitution, with this offensive provision in it, was the signal of discord, apparently irreconcilable; when, just as it had risen to its hight, Mr. Clay, on the 16th of January, 1821, resumed his seat in the House of Representatives. 1. as than six weeks of the term of Congress then remained. The great hold which he had upon the affections, as well as the re- spect, of all parties, induced upon his arrival a momentary lull in the tempest. He a earnestly and solieiuusly in counsel with all parlies in this alarming controversy, and, on the second of February, moved the appointment of a committee of thirteen members to coiuidcr the subject. The report of that 430 EULOGY OF Mil. CRITTENDEN. committee, after four days of conference, in -which the feelings of all parties had clearly been consulted, notwithstanding it was most earnestly supported by Mr. Clay in a speech of such power and pathos as to draw tears from many hearers, was re- jected by a vote of eighty-three nays to eighty yeas. No one, not a witness, can conceive the intense excitement which existed at this moment within and without the walls of Congress, aggra- vated as it was by the arrival of the day for counting the elec- toral votes for President and Vice President, among which was tendered the vote of Missouri as a State, though not yet admitted as such. Her vote was disposed of by being counted hypothet- ically — that is to say, that with the vote of Missouri, the then state of the general vote would be so and so ; without it, so and so. If her vote, admitted, would have changed the result, no one can pretend to say how disastrous the consequences might not have been. On Mr. Clay alone now rested the hopes of all rational and dispassionate men for a linal adjustment of this question ; and one week only, with three days of grace, remained of the exist- ence of that Congress. On the twenty-second of the month, Mr. Clay made a last effort, by moving the appointment of a Joint Committee of the two Houses, to consider and report whether it was expedient or not to make provision for the admis- sion of Missouri into the Union, on the same footing of the original States ; and if not, whether any other provision, adap- ted to her actual condition, ought to be made by law. The motion was agreed to. and a committee of twentv-three members appointed by ballot under it. The report by that committee (a modification of the previously rejected report) was ratified by the House, but by the close vote, eighty-seven to eighty-one. The Senate concurred, and so this distracting question was at last sen led, with an acquiescence in it by all parties, which has never been since disturbed. I have already spoken of this as the great triumph of Mr. Clay; 1 might have said, the greatest civil triumph ever achieved by mortal man. It was one toward which the com- bination of the highesl ability, and the most commanding elo- EULOGY OF MB. < IBID T.Nnr.N. 431 quence, would have labored in vain. There would still have been wanting the ardor, the vehemence, the impetuousness of character of Henry Clay, under the influence of which he sometimes overleaped all barriers, and carried his point literally by storm. One incident of this kind is well remembered in connection with the Missouri question. It was in an evening sitting, while this question was yet in suspense, Mr. Clay had made a motion to allow one or two members to vote who had been absent when their names were called. The Speaker (Mr. Taylor), who, to a naturally equable temperament, added a most provoking calmness of manner when all around him was excite- 1 ment, blandly stated, for the information of the gentleman, that the motion "was not in order." Mr. Clay then moved to sus- pend the rule forbidding it, so as to allow him to make the motion; but the Speaker, with imperturbable serenity, informed him that, according to the Rules and Orders, such a motion could not be received without the unanimous consent of the House. "T/ten," said Mr. Clay, exerting his voice even beyond its highest wont, "I move to suspend all the rules of the House. Away with them! Is it to be endured that we shall be tram- meled in our action by mere forms and technicalities at a mo- ment like this, when the peace, and perhaps the existence, of this Union is at stake ?" Besides those to which I have alluded, Mr. Clay performed many other signal public services, any one of which would have illustrated the character of any other American statesman. Ainontr these we can not refrain from mentioning his measnree for the protection of American Industry, and his compromise measures of 1833, by which the country was relieved from the dangers and agitations produced by the doctrine and spirit of "nullification." Indeed his name is identified with all the great measures of Government during the long period of his public life. But the occasion does not permit me to proceed further with the review of his public Bervices. History will record them to his honor. Henry Clay was indebted to no adventitious circumstances 432 EULOGY OF MB. CRITTENDEN. for the success and glory of his life. Sprung from an humble stock, he "was fashioned to much honor from his cradle;" and he achieved it by the noble use of the means which God and nature had given him. He was no scholar, and had none of the advantages of collegiate education. But there was a "divinity that stirred within him." He was a man of genius mighty enough to supply all the defects of education. By its keen, penetrating observation, its quick apprehension, its comprehen- sive and clear conception, he gathered knowledge without the study of books ; he could draw it from the fountain-head, pure and undeiiled. It was unborrowed — the acquisition of his own observation, reflection, and experience, and all his own. It en- tered into the composition of the man, forming part of his mind, and strengthening and preparing him for all those great scenes of intellectual exertion or controversy in which his life was spent. His armor was always on, and he was ever ready for the battle. This mighty genius was accompanied, in him, by all the qual- ities necessary to sustain its action, and to make it irresistible. His person was tall, and commanding, and his demeanor — "Lofty ami bout to them that loved him not ; But to those men that sought him, sweet as summer." He was direct and honest, ardent and fearless, prompt to form his opinions, always bold in their avowal, and sometimes im- petuous, or even rash, in their vindication. In the performance of his duties he feared no responsibility. He scorned all evasion or untruth. Xo pale thoughts ever troubled his decisive mind. "Be just and fear not," was the sentiment of his heart, and the principle of his action. It regulated his conduct in private and public: life ; all the ends he aimed at were his country's, his God's, and truth's. Such was Henry Clay, and such were his talents, qualities, and objects. Nothing hut success and honor could attend such a character. I have adverted briefly to some portions of his public lit''. For nearly half a century he was an informing spirit, a brilliant and heroic iigure in our political sphere, mar- shaling our country in the way she ought to go. The "bright BULOGY OF Mi:. ( 1:1 m ENDSH. 433 track of his fiery car" may be traced through the whole sjaeo over which, in his day, his country and iis Government havo passed in the way to greatness and renown. It will still point the way to further greatness and renown. The great objects of his public life were to preserve and strengthen the Union ; to maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States ; to cherish industry ; to protect labor ; and facilitate, by all proper national improvements, the communica- tion between all parts of our widely extended country. This was his American system of policy. With inflexible patriotism he pursued and advocated it to his end. He was every inch an American. His heart and all that there was of him, were de- voted to his country, to its liberty, and its free institutions. He inherited the spirit of the revolution, in the midst of which he was born ; and the love of liberty and the pride of freedom were in him principles of action. A remarkable trait in his character was his inflexibility in de- fending the public interest against all schemes for its detriment. His exertions were, indeed, so steadily employed and so often successful in protecting the public against the injurious designs (if visionary politicians or party demagogues, that he may be almost said to have been, during forty years, the guardian angel of the country. He never would compromise the public interest for any body, or for any personal advantage to himself. He was the advocate of liberty throughout the world, and Ins voice of cheering was raised in behalf of every people who struggled for freedom. Greece, awakened from a long sleep of servitude, heard his voice, and was reminded of her own De- mosthenes. South America, too, in her struggle for indepen- dence, heard his brave words of encouragement, and her fainting heart was animated, and her arm made strong. Henry Clay was the fair representative of the age in which he lived ; an age which forms the great and brightest era in the history of man ; an age teeming with new discoveries and de- velopments, extending in all directions the limits of human knowledge, exploring the agencies aud elements of th* 1 physical world, and turning and subjugating them to the use of man ; 37 434 EULOGY OF MR. CBTTTENDEH. unfolding and establishing practically the great principles of popular rights and free governments, and which, nothing doubt- ing, nothing fearing, still advances in majesty, aspiring to and demanding further improvement and further amelioration of the condition of mankind. With the chivalrous and benignant spirit of this great era Henby Clay was thoroughly imbued. He was, indeed, molded by it, and made in its own image. That spirit, be it remem- bered, was not one of licentiousness, or turbulence, or blind in- novation. It was a wise spirit, good and honest as it was resolute and brave ; and truth and justice were its companions and guides. These noble qualities of truth and justice were conspicuous in the whole public life of Mr. Clay. On that solid foundation he stood, erect and fearless ; and when the storms of State beat around and threatened to overwhelm him, his exclamation was still heard, "truth is mighty and public justice certain." What a magnificent and heroic fisrure does Henry Clay here present to the world ! We can but stand before and look upon it in silent reverence. His appeal was not in vain ; the passion of party subsided ; truth and justice resumed their sway, and his' generous countrymen repaid him, for all the wrong they had done, with gratitude, affection, and admiration in his life, and with tears for his death. It has been objected to Henry Clay that he was ambitious. So he was. But in him ambition was a virtue. It sought only the proper, fair objects of honorable ambition, and it sought these by honorable means only — by so serving the country as to deserve its favors and its honors. If he sought office, it was for the purpose of enabling him, by the power it would give, to serve his country more effectually and pre-eminently ; and, if he expected and desired thereby to advance his own fame, who will Bay that was a fault? Who will say that it was a fault to seek and to desire office for any of the personal gratifications it may afford, so long as those gratifications are made subordinate to the public good ? That Henry Clay's object in desiring office was to serve his BDLOOY OF MR. CBITTBKDSBI. 4H.") country, and thai he would have made all other considerations subservient) I have no doubt. I know him well ; I had full op- portunity of observing him in his most unguarded moments and conversations, and I can say that I have never known a more un- selfish, a more faithful or intrepid representative of the people, of the people's rights, and the people's interests than Hk.nhv Clay. It was most fortunate for Kentucky to have such a repre- sentative, and most fortunate for him to have such a constituent as Kentuekv — fortunate for him to have been thrown, in the early and susceptible period of his life, into the primitive society of her bold and free people. As one of her children, I am pleased to think that from that source he derived some of the magnanimity and energy which his after life so signally dis- played. I am pleased to think that, mingling with all his great qualities, there was a sort of Kentiickyism (I shall not undertake to define it), which, though it may not have polished or refined, gave to them additional point and power, and a freer scope of action. Mr. Clat was a man of profound judgment and strong will. He never doubted or faltered ; all his qualities were positive and peremptory ; and to his convictions of public duty he sacrificed every personal consideration. With but little knowledge of the rules of logic or of rhetoric, he was a great debater and orator. There was no art in his elo- quence, no studied contrivances of language. It was the natural outpouring of a great and ardent intellect. In his sp li-s there were none of the trifles of mere fancy and imagination ; all was to the subject in hand, and to the purpose ; and (hey may be regarded as great actions of the mind rather than fine displays of words. I doubt whether the eloquence of Demosthenes or Cicero ever exercised a greater influence over the minds and pas- sions of the people of Athens and of Rome than did Mr. Cla.'s over the minds and passions of the people of the United Slates. You all knew Mr. Clay ; your knowledge and recollection of him will present him mure vividly to your minds than any pic- ture I can draw of him. This I will add : he was in the highest, truest sense of the term, a great man, and we ne'er shall 436 EULOGY OF MR. CRITTENDEN. look upon his like again. He has gone to join the mighty- dead in another and better world. How little is there of such a man that can die ! His fame, the memory of his benefactions, the lessons of his wisdom, all remain with us ; over these death has no power. How few of the great of this world have been so fortunate as he ! How few of them have lived to see their labors so re- warded. He lived to see the country that he loved and served advanced to great prosperity and renown, and still advancing. He lived till every prejudice which, at any period of his life, had existed against him was removed ; and until he had become the object of the reverence, gratitude, and love of his whole country. His work seemed then to be completed, and fate could not have selected a happier moment to remove him from the troubles and vicissitudes of his life. Glorious as his life was, there was nothing that became him like the leaving of it. I saw him frequently during the slow and linoferincr disease which terminated his life. He was con- scious of his approaching end, and prepared to meet it with all the resignation and fortitude of a Christian hero. He was all patience, meekness, and gentleness ; these shone around him like a mild, celestial light, breaking upon him from another world. " And, to add greater honors to his age Than man could give, he died fearing God." THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF HENRY CLAY. AN ORATION DELIVERED BEFORE THE CITIZENS OP MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, BY HENRY W". HILLIARD, SEPTEMBER, 1852. Pericles, in his oration over those Athenians who had first fallen in the Peloponnesian war, declared it to be a debt of justice to pay superior honors to men who had devoted their lives in fighting for their country. What honors, then, are due to one who devoted his whole life to the service of his country ; who did not reserve his heroism for a single impetuous act of self-sacrifice, but who, in his early manhood, consecrated himself to the Republic ; who, throughout a long career, was identified with its glory ; whose declining days were irradiated with a sunset glow of patriotism ; and whose heart flamed, up to the last moment of his earthly existence, with the great passion of his life ? It becomes us to bring our noblest offerings to him who thrice saved the Republic ; who rose above a horizon yet glowing with the expiring lights of the Revolution, and for half a century shed the splendor of a great intellect upon our hemisphere ; who, belonging to our (irn-'s, is regarded with the veneration which we are accustomed to pay to the illustrious men who laid the foundations of the government; and who, though so lately a living actor in the scenes of public life, is already sent to history with an imperishable crown upon his brow (U7) 438 EULOGY OF MR. MILLIARD. It is a noble facility of our nature which prompts our homage to greatness. We recognize in those who have toiled in the cause of humanity the qualities which assimilate man to the Deity, — which seem to lessen the distance between the finite and the infinite. They appeal to that profound love for the good and the beautiful which lies hidden in every human heart. Hero worship is not a development of modern society. The benefactors of their race, in ancient times, passed away from the earth to take their places among the stars, and were elevated to the circle of the gods ; and in this time of ours, ruled as the world is by the commercial spirit, — prone as it is to gold-seeking and all forms of materialism, the heart of this nation beats with generous emotion when a true man appeals to it in tones of real earnestness, or performs some heroic exploit, or falls in the service of the State. No man of our times has ruled the heart of the nation with a more potent or resistless sway than the great statesman to whose memory we are assembled this day to pay the last honors. For nearly half a century, the name of Henry Clay has been associated with the eventful and glorious history of our country ; and I could not pay a nobler tribute to his genius and his patri- otism than to enumerate the great measures which he either originated, or of which he was the most ardent and powerful advocate. It was the boast of Augustus that he found Rome of brick and left it of marble. Mr. Clay might, in the closing days of his life, have lifted his illustrious head to a prouder survey than an imperial city converted from brick into marble ; he might have swept the broad horizon of his country with an undimmed eye, and have claimed her wealth, her industry, her enterprise, her power, her glory, all that constitutes the pride of independent America, with the Mississippi sending its mighty tide to the sea free from foreign sway, with ships which bear the flag of freedom to the remotest waters of the earth, with a government stretching its power without check over a continent, and planting its triumphant eagles upon the shores of the two great oceans of the world, — he might have claimed all this, in a large sense, as the work of his hands, and looked upon it as BULOGX OF MB. HILLIABD. 430 emblazoning his fame : To his labors we are indel i for the freedom of the ity with Qreal Britain which left us in undisputed possession of our own waters, for the suc- cess of manufacturers, for the great works of internal impi men t, and, above all, for that CTnioh which to-day exists in die full pride of its power and its glory. Cicero, when about to speak to Pompey, congratulated him- self that he had a theme so crowded with glorious associations that he could not fail to interest his audience, for the exploits of the great Roman transcended those of the proudest names in imperial history, and conferred increased splendor upon the Republic. Let this be my inspiration to-day ; let me take cour- age, as I look over this great multitude, in the reflection that, although I am not to speak of a military chieftain, the recital of whose great deeds in arms would rouse the hearts of all men, yet 1 am to speak of one who reached a still loftier eminence than can be attained in the field of battle; whose majestic char- acter lifts its summit to the heavens in the clear light of peace; whose hand was raised to bless, and not to destroy; whose name, for years past, has never been uttered in assemblies of the people without calling out shouts of enthusiasm ; and whose renown is bounded only by the limits of the civilized world. I am to speak of Henry Clay. It is not possible, perhaps, t" speak of so recent a career with- out catching something of the spirit of the times ; and it may be that the simple language of truth will arouse passions which have not vet settled down into that calm which Time alike over the convulsions of nature and of States. But 1 must be allowed to speak of the character of the greal lan with freedom, and to pom-ay tie' events which called out his po* and over which he exerted an influence so potential, with the fidelity which Bhould distinguish the pages of histor the record be made before I >u;ik out of ii e \ '.■ w of the living generati mi. or whether it be I across the cold atmosphere of inten the s. which he describes. Surrounded a- I am by Americans, who assemble here, irrespective of party differences, to bring a garland 440 EULOGY OF ME. IIILLIAED. for the tomb of an illustrious patriot, I shall seek to treat Mr. Clay's acts, opinions, and merits as those of an American in whose fame we all have now a common interest. Mr. Clay was born in Hanover county, Virginia, on the 12th of April, 1777. He was fortunate both in the time and place of his birth. His youth was passed among men who had taken part in the strug- gles of the revolution, and who, after the storm had gone by, were engaged under the serene heavens in laying the foundations of a free government. In Virginia, that renowned Commonwealth which has nour- ished at her generous bosom so many illustrious sons, who, deriving their existence from a noble lineage, were among the first to defy the power of Great Britain, — in Virginia, within whose limits the last great battle of the revolution was fought, and where so many statesmen arose who shared the perils of that great contest, and who, after achieving the independence of the country, had established the Republic, — there Mr. Clay formed the opinions and adopted the principles which governed his whole life. He grew up under the training of Edmund Pendleton, John Marshall, Bushrod Washington, and other eminent men who were engaged in public affairs, and with whom a young man of ardent and high aspirations could not associate without having his mind liberalized and his nature ennobled. No circumstance can be more fortunate for one who is to take part in the great affairs of life than the privilege of seeing and hearing, in his youth, illustrious men, — a privilege which often does more for the development of genius and the elevation of character than the most rii>id training of the schools. Cicero traveled to Rhodes that he might be instructed in the celebrated school of eloquence established there by ^Eschines, and we have the immortal orations which he delivered in the forum and in the Senate chamber. Henry Clay, destitute of the gifts of fortune, of the means of foreign travel, of the advantages of a collegiate course, stood in the presence of Patrick Henry, and, while he heard the thunder of his eloquence, he caught an inspiration as fortunate I (7L0G? OF MB. BUXIABD. 1 1 L as that which the Roman senator found in his youth. Who can say how far the whole career of Mr. Clay was influenced hy that early and eager listening bo the voice of Patrick Benryt Did not the mighty energies of that resistless orator find an echo in the bosom of the obscure youth who stood up to hear his trumpet tones? The sain.- ^'-nerous tire, the same clarion voice, the same rushing, impetuous power of intellect belonged to both. The same spirit of patriotic fervor which animated the Demos- thenes of Virginia flamed up in Henry Clay with equal ardor and brilliancy. It is worth while, for the sake of a cheering principle which the fact contains, to say that the early life of Mr. Clay was one of toil; in the fields, or wherever »dse tin- wants of his mother's family required, he labored; and the hand which, in the prime of manhood, directed the movements of the Government, had guided the plow as it turned up the soil to receive the seed. At fifteen, he entered the office of Mr. Tinsley, of Richmond, who was connected with the Court of Chancery, and there he attracted the attention of Chancellor Wythe, who employed him as an amanuensis, directed his studies, introduced him to authors of solid worth, and opened his mind to receive the generous influence of classical learning. "There upon his opening soul First the genial ardor stole." At twenty, in the true spirit of self-reliance, be left Virginia, and established himself in Lexington Kentucky. The fii.-ndl.-~s youth took his place at the bar. and, relying upon his int.-llect, his energy, his industry, his honest purpose t.> do his duty, he established his claim to consideration in the midst of full-grown men already eminent Withoul a large acquaintance with law 1 ks, or an extensive survey of the broad foundations of the system of jurisprudence inherited from England, Mr. Glat had applied Ids mind to a philosophical investigation of its leading principles. T had yraspsd with a mind singularly clear, rapid, and compre- hensive; and with an energy quite indomitable, and a faithful 442 EULOGY OF MR. H1LLIARD. consecration of himself to every task which he undertook, he continued to rank through life as a lawyer in the highest and best sense, and to win triumphs at the bar which many men of more research, with inferior abilities, would in vain have attempted. He was not destined to continue at the bar. He entered early into the service of his country, and it is his political career which we are to review, — a review of which it is not too much to say that it was the most splendid ever witnessed among the statesmen of this country. Rising rapidly to the highest heavens, he flooded the country with his light through a long day, and when he sank toward the horizon which touches eternity, he threw the milder beams of his majestic intellect over the Republic from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Mr. Clay's first appear- ance in Congress was as a senator from the State of Kentucky, a post which he held but for a short time. He was elected to the House of Representatives, and took his seat in the Congress which was convened by the President's proclamation in Novem- ber, 1811, when the aspect of our foreign relations was threat- ening. He was instantly chosen Speaker, by an overwhelming majority. A higher proof of confidence in his abilities and character, or a nobler tribute to his patriotism, could not have been accorded ; nor has any parliamentary body, in any country, ever brought to its service a presiding officer more richly en- dowed with those great qualities, so rarely found blended in a single individual, which are required in one who rules the deliberations of a free popular assembly. Prompt, firm, and decided, he impressed the House with a profound respect for his authority, while the manliness, frankness, and elegance of his manners secured to him the sincere good-will of the body, even in the midst of the most momentous and exciting debates. He continued to preside over the House throughout his pro- tracted service as a representative. Passing through the most eventful times, he continued firmly seated in the Speaker's chair, and exerted over the delibera- tions of that great popular body almost unlimited control. The House of Representatives, created by the people, — exhibiting EULOGY OK KB. llli.I.I AIU>. 443 the popular sympathies, — swayed by the tempests which sweep over the country, — affording, from its large number of members, opportunities for the powerful appeals of oratory, — the seat of the nation's strength, where every tax bill must originate, and where the quick indignation excited by any assertion upon the- rights or honor of the country may at once tiame up into a declaration of war, was the proper theater for the display of Mr. Clay's transcendent abilities. The Senate is a smaller body, embodying the conservative elements of the Government, removed from the direct influence of the people, and so consti- tuted as to withstand the surges of popular passions which some- times thunder against its portals. In the Hon.-' Mr. Clay acquired a commanding influence over the country. He became the popular leader, animating the Republican ranks to heroic exertions, denouncing in vehement and indignant terms all opposition to the measures of the admin- istrations which he sustained, and on some occasions bearing away not only the House, but the Senate and the Executive, by his resistless will. His great strength was with the people. His heart beat in sympathy with their hearts ; they comprehended him ; they loved him; they put their trust in him; and the pealing notes of his voice, uttered in the Capitol, found an echo in the remotest border of the American wilderness. He acquired the name of the "Great Commoner," a prouder title than kings can bestow with Btars, or garters, or ribbons. Henry Brougham, when in the House of Commons, was the most powerful man in the British empire. The civilized world rang with his tones. No administration, backed as it might bo by the powers of the crown, could stand before his assaults; but from the day when he took his seat in the Bouse of Lords, and became a titled j r, hie -way began to decline, and the consideration which he nowenjoya is due to the splendid fame which he won as a representative of the people. Pitt, the younger, neverwould surrender hie Beal in the Commons, which was to him a throne more powerful than that upon which his monarch sat. 444 EULOGY OF MR. IIILLIARD. Mr. Clay, if he had continued in the House of Representa- tives, refusing to abandon that post for any office to which he was not called by the people, could have strode with the majesty of a demigod into the Presidency of the United States. In the Senate he was still powerful, the leading mind in thai body when it was crowded with men of the highest order, great in intellect, splendid in reputation ; it rivaled the Roman Senate in dignity, and transcended it in power. In that body he was great as Lord Chatham was in the House of Lords ; he could not be otherwise than great ; but the day of his full-orbed splendor was when he stood in the House of Representatives, a tribune of the people. Refulgent he stood in the view of his country, full of promise, of hope, and of manhood. When Mr. Clay entered the House of Representatives, all Europe was engaged in a war which shook the world, and our commerce was exposed to its fury. It became a prey to the contending powers. England swept the seas with her fleets, and plundered our unprotected vessels, while she stripped them of such seamen as might be supposed to owe allegiance to the British crown. France seized our property wherever it could be found, and confiscated it under the decrees of Napoleon, who strove to range the world against his imperial and powerful enemy. France at length yielded to our remonstrances, but Great Britain persisted in a course of aggression which roused the spirit of the nation, and drove us into a war which, although costly in treasure and in blood, vindicated our rights, and shed new luster upon the flag of the Republic. Reluctant as the nation was to engage in war, Mr. Clay urged its policy and necessity; he organized the com- mittees of die House so as to control its action ; he denounced the policy, the objects, and the measures of the British Govern- ment, and attributed its hostility to the United States not to any wisli to attack the interests of France by destroying our com- merce, but to her dread of a young and powerful rival, who already sent her ships to every sea, manned by one hundred and twenty tars. He advocated an increase of the navy, for he com- prehended that no modern nation can be really independent which is not prepared to protect its people and its commerce in the most EULOGY OF ill:. HILLIABD. -1 1 ."> distant seas, and to cause its flag i" be respected under what- ever sky it is displayed. The country was put into an altitude of resistance, and in June, 1012, the committee on foreign relations reported to the House a bill declaring war against Great Britain. Mr. Clay advocated its passage with resistless power ; associ- ated with him stood Mr. Lowndes, Mr. Calhoun, and Mr. Cheves, and they bore down all opposition. In the van of that group of statesmen Mr. Clay stood proudly eminent ; throughout the war he animated the country with his own spirit; no reverses could dishearten, no disasters could depress him. He exuhingly announced every victory upon the seas, and his voice announced with vehement indignation every proposition for peace which did not secure to us the amplest guarantees that our rights and our honor should be respected. He overwhelmed the opposition, — he fired the friends of the administration with his own ardor, — he inflamed the representa- tives of the people with a burning indignation against the imperi- ous and haughty nation with whom the country was at war, by describing the wrong, the cruelty, and the suffering which resulted from the practice of impressment, until, as he advanced in his glowing philippic, the utter degradation of submitting to such a system was felt by the members of the House so intensely that the tide of passion could be pent up no longer; it burst forth before the eloquent statesman who was pleading for the honor and rights of the nation, and swept away all resistance to the war. Having urged the country to vindicate its rights by war, Mr. Clay was equally prompt and energetic in securing an honorable peace. He was associated with Mr. Adams, Mr. Gallatin, Mr. Bayard and Mr. Russell, in negotiating, at Ghent, a treaty of peace with the commissioners appointed on the part of Great Britain. The fisheries and the navigation of the Mississippi formed the chief difficulties in bringing the negotiation to a friendly issue. The British commissioners insisted upon a recognition in the treaty of the right of Great Britain to navigate the Mississippi from its mouth to its source, — a right which had 446 EULOGY OF ME. niLLIAED. hitherto been enjoyed in consideration of the privilege granted to citizens of the United States to fish within the British waters, and to dry and cure their fish upon British soil. Some of the American commissioners thought it best to perpetuate this stipu- lation, but Mr. Clay announced his unalterable determination "never to consent to purchase temporary and uncertain privileges within the British limits at the expense of putting a foreign and degrading mark upon the noblest of all our rivers." His views prevailed. Mr. Clay returned to his own country with the proud consciousness of having placed her honor and her rights upon a footing which the whole world would respect. The success of our arms upon the land, and the brilliant victories achieved by our young navy over the powerful fleets of Great Britain upon the sea, had caused the American name everywhere to be respected ; and the splendid example of a republic formidable in war, and yet ready to adjust all causes of controversy with moderation and justice, was beheld by the civilized world with unbounded admiration. The treaty of peace left us in possession of every right which we had asserted, and which we had undertaken to vindicate by war ; our seamen might visit the remotest seas, and find protec- tion in the flag that floated over them ; our commerce was safe from spoliation ; and the noble river which rolls its waters through great States, beginning at the extreme north, and empty- ing into the Gulf of Mexico, was freed from foreign vassalage, and became, for the first time, American. In anticipation of his return, Mr. Clay had been elected to Congress by his con- stituents, and, entering the House of Representatives, he was immediately chosen Speaker, by a vote almost unanimous. The South American colonies, animated by the example of the United States, were struggling for independence. The spectacle could not fail to interest our people and our Government, nor was it possible for a statesman like Mr. Clay, with quick sym- pathies and enlarged philanthropy, to look on such a contest with indifference. He proposed to provide in the Appropriation Bill for the pay of a minister to the independent provinces of the River de la FTLOGT OF MR. IIII.I.IAUD. 117 Plata, and supported his motion by one of the moat brilliant, comprehensive, and powerful speeches which he ever delivered. The mural grandeur of his position was never higher than on that occasion. He stood up to plead for the recognition of the independence of the South American States against the opinion of the world. Europe was, of course, opposed to the measure ; Congress would not consent to favor it ; the President was un- willing to commit the Government of the United States to that extent; and yet Mr. Clav arose, refulgent and undismayed, against this universal opposition. He spoke in behalf of human freedom, and he drew from history his illustrations in support of the right of every people suffering under despotic rule, to throw off the yoke of subjection, to create new defenses for their protection, or to take an independent station among the nations of the earth. England and our own country had both nobly vindicated this great right. It is emblazoned in characters of unfading light in the history both of the English and American Revolut; His speech in this great cause was replete with learning and eloquence. It announced in exulting tones the advent of free- dom, and proclaimed with bounding hope the overthrow of despotic power. Mr. Clay succeeded in bringing our Govern- ment to a recognition of South American independence, and he was well rewarded for his generous exertions by the assurance that his words had infused new ardor into the bosoms of a brave people. His speech was read at the head of their armies, to excite them to still nobler struggles for liberty, and Bolivar addressed to him a grateful letter, acknowleging the essential service which he had rendered to their great cause. Upon certain great questions of American policy Mr. Clav entertained opinions which be frankly avowed through life. Ho believed that Congress possessed the power to appropriate money for works of internal improvement, and he urged the adoption of a comprehensive system to facilitate intercourse between the people of the several States, and to bind more closely the various parts of one wide-spread Republic. The leading statesmen of our country have been divided upon this question ; it is yel a 44S EULOGY OF MR. HILLIARD. subject of debate, after all the light which has been shed upon it. The power was conceded by Mr. Jefferson, for he favored the construction of the Cumberland Road. Mr. Madison invited the attention of Congress to the expediency of exercising their powers to effectuate a comprehensive system of roads and canals. Mr. Monroe proposed to make appropriation of money for like objects ; while Mr. Gallatin and Mr. Calhoun, when at the head of the War Department, the one in 1808 and the other ten years later, advocated extensive measures of internal improvement ; but the last named of these statesmen subsequently reviewed and modi- fied his opinions. Mr. Clay persevered through life impressing the subject upon the attention of Congress, and to him more than any other of our statesmen is the country indebted for such public works as have been already accomplished, and for the vindication of the power of the Government to undertake such enterprises, — a power which, when guided by the spirit of the Constitution, is a most important and beneficent one. The Cumberland Road, conceived and executed in a spirit as bold as that which constructed the Simplon road over the Alps, opens a way across the Alleghanies, and spreads before the eye of the traveler a noble memorial of the great statesman who labored so ardently and so faithfully to accomplish it. Upon another question, which, like that of internal improve- ments, has ranged the public men of the country in fierce oppo- sition to each other, and which has more than once threatened to disturb the tranquillity of the Government, — the Tariff, — Mr. Clay entertained opinions which, formed early in life, were cher- ished throughout his career. He was the advocate of the system for the protection of Ameri- can industry. He thought it essential to the true prosperity and the real independence of the United States, that our people should pro- duce at home the chief articles suited to the wants of man in civilized life. The variety of soil and climate, — the adaptation of some parts of the country to agricultural productions, — the aptness of some of our people to engage in commerce, — all these EL'I.-u.v OF MB. HII.I.IAKH. 1 19 natural elements would be supposed to worl out their results ; but the skill required in the mechanic arts, the fluctuations in prices occasioned by changes in the affairs of European Suites, ami the advantages possessed by foreign capitalists in the employ- ment of pauper labor, seemed to him to require some protection for the manufacturing interests, and he perseveringly insisted thai certain articles imported into the country, and coming into opposition with our own productions, should be taxed, to enable the American manufacturer to compete with rival establishments abroad. This system he named the American System. This is not the occasion to enter upon an examination of the merits of a system which has been so long and so fiercely de- bated ; but it is due to the truth of history to say, that it found in Mr. Clay far the ablest advocate employed in its cause, while his enemies acknowledged him I" be the most magnanimous statesman that had ever conducted a great measure to which he was deeply committed through a long course of years and changing fortunes. He did not hesitate to yield up, from time to time, some of his cherished ideas in regard to it from a patriotic desire to secure to the Government as large a share of confidence and satisfaction as could be attained amid the conflicting opinions of public men representing the diversified interests of the country. It was the good fortune of Mr. Clay to find himself more than once holding a controlling influence over important questions which tried the strength of the Government, and on every occa- sion he displayed qualities so noble, so magnanimous, and so full of the spirit which in ancient or modern times has impelled men to sacrifices for the good of their country, that he has Long I ranked with patmois who shed along the track of history the light of resplendent examples, to encourage mankind to the per- formance of deeds which deserve to be calk 1 heroic. In the controversy which Bprang np upon the application of Missouri to be admitted into the Union as R State, Mr. Clai displayed his great qualities, and rendered the most important services to the country. That controversy was far the do formidable which has ever occurred under our Government 38 450 EULOGY OF MK. IIILLIARD. Mr. Jefferson, looking out upon the State of the country from his retirement in Virginia, was startled by the alarming aspect of affairs ; he declared that he regarded the question as the most momentous which had ever threatened the Union, and that, in the darkest hour of the Revolutionary struggle, he had never felt such apprehensions as then oppressed him. From the beginning to the end of that perilous agitation, Mr. Clay labored without ceasing to bring about an adjustment, and at length succeeded in carrying through both Houses of Congress a com- promise which saved the Union and gave repose to the country. The services rendered bv him on that occasion were so signal, that he acquired, in addition to the title of the " Great Com- moner," another title still more illustrious, that of the "Great Pacificator," — a title to which he subsequently vindicated his name by services still more important and splendid. Mr. Clay had now attained the most commanding position ; his brilliant talents, his important public services, his ardent patriotism, which, like that of the ancient Greeks, made him regard every thing as subordinate to the glory of the State ; his national views, which would not allow him to belong to a section of the Republic, had endeared him to the people, and, young as he was, he was presented to the country as a candidate for the Presidency. Beside Mr. Clay, Mr. Adams, General Jackson and Mr. Craw- ford became candidates. No choice was made by the people, and the election devolved upon the House of Representatives, by whom the Constitution provides one of the three candidates having the highest number of electoral votes shall be chosen President in cases where no one of the persons voted for shall have received a majority of the whole number. The throe can- didates highest on the list were General Jackson, Mr. Adams and Mr. Crawford. The provision in the Constitution which directs the election to be made by the House of Representatives in the event of a failure on the part of the people to choose the President, and which limits the choice to the three persons receiving the largest vote in the electoral colleges, of course leaves to the House the unrestricted privilege of selecting from KDLOOT OK MR. iriu.l \U!>. 1 .M the list either of the candidates; otherwise it would he unneces- sary to devolve upon the representatives of the people the duty of performing a formal act, and it would have been a provision in the fundamental law thai a plurality of votes Bhould entitle a candidate to the office of President It waswell known thai Mr. Clay's influence in the House would suable him to decide the contest between the three persons returned to that body. It is believed that Mr. Crawford would have been Mr. ('lav's choice if the splendid intellect of that statesman had not been partially impaired by disease; in its meridian effulgence, the Bhadows of an eclipse which never passed away began to Bteal over it. Between Mr. Adams and General Jackson Mr. Clay did not hesitate, and decided in favor of the former. His long public services, his learning, his eminent qualifications, and hie position in the country, might have accounted satisfactorily for Mr. Clat's preference; but -no sooner was it ascertained that he intended to vote for Mr. Adams, than the fiercest and most vindictive assault was made upon him, and reckless partisans of General Jackson persevered in charging upon him a corrupt bargain with the new President for office, which would have di^-rac-d a Mailman in the time of Walpole, when the venality of the House of Com- mons was proverbial. Calumny found a great name to fasten upon, and it adhered to it, with a tenacity as Bhameless as i| was malignant. That name has been triumphantly vindicated by the subsequent career of the great statesmen ; like the eagle soaring toward the sun, he ]••-■ hiirh in the heavens, his eye biasing with ardor, and his wings flashing with light Mr. Clay accepted the place of Secretary of State in the cabinet of Mr. Adams. That was his error; it exposed him to detraction, and gave that color to the injurious charge of his enemies which, if he had declined the office, ii never could have possessed. But it was an error into which a pure and Bti man was apt to fall. Conscious of his own integrity, be looked down with unmeasured scorn upon those who calumniated him. In this world of ours, it is. perhaps, not wise to do bo; yet who can withhold his sympathy from the true man who will not swerve from his course to escape the attacks of his enemies? In 452 EULOGY OF MB. IIILLIARD. this rapid glance at Mr. Clay's career, we have reached the period when he took leave of the House of Representatives, never to return to it. We have already said that ii was the proper field for the exercise of his great abilities. He had earned there a splendid reputation ; he had controlled the action of the Govern- ment by the power which he exerted over the House ; he had originated the most important measures of the country ; he had roused the nation to wage war with a haughty and powerful empire ; he had cheered the friends of liberty throughout the world by words of generous sympathy ; and he had effected a pacific adjustment of an angry and momentous domestic contro- versy which shook the Republic; and now the " Great Com- moner " strode through the portal of that magnificent chamber which had so long rung: with his tones, and ceased forever to be a Representative of the People. Mr. Clay, when Secretary of State, was distinguished for the energy and comprehensiveness which he displayed in conducting the intercourse of the United States with foreign nations. His statesmanship was of the highest order. He established the relations of the United States with other powers upon a foot- ing which gave security to commerce ; he extended to the young States of South America and to Greece, when fighting for inde- pendence, all the aid which a sound policy would allow ; he extended our foreign trade, and conducted the negotiations which accomplished these objects in a spirit so firm and just, that the triumphs of peace rivaled those of war. At the expiration of the term for which Mr. Adams was elected, Mr. Clay left Wash- ington and returned to Ashland. He soon appeared in the Senate of the United States. The memorable tariff dispute with South Carolina had grown to be a formidable and portentous one. It turned upon a great constitu- tional principle, and it is well known that the most dangerous of all disputes are those which involve a principle. Temporary abases may be ridiculed ; an odjous measure maybe repealed; the pressure of the Government may be borne when the limes require it ; but a law which overrides a constitutional barrier wdl be resisted by a high-spirited people in a temper so heated by a ; . iQS 1 1] mi:. iiii.i.i.\i:i>. 453 sense of wrong that it Bometimefl Barnes up into .1 revolution South Carolina, in solemn convention, passed an ordina declaim"- the revenue laws of 1 1 1 « - United States to be null and void within her limits, ami adopted decided measuri - for putting the State into an attitude of resistance t" the < teneral Government General .lark-. .a. who was at the head of the Government, issued a proclamation, in which he denounced the proceedings ..f South Carolina as treasonable, urged the good citizens of that State who were opposed to Nullification to co-operate with him in main- taining the supremacy of the laws, and invited those who had hitherto taken part in the revolutionary movement to abandon the perilous course upon which they had entered. He leveled his thunders against the doctrine of Nullification and that of Seces- sion, denying the right of the State either to set aside a law of the United States, or to withdraw from the Confederacy without the consent of all the States. In a special message to Congress, he depicted the state of the country, and demanded to be clothed with power to suppress by force any attempt at resistance on the part of South Carolina. Governor Hayne issued a counter-proclamation, encouraging the citizens of South Carolina to a steady and heroic support of their State in her daring and perilous position. The sky grew darker every hour. The day fixed upon by South Carolina for resistance to the revenue laws was rapidly approaching. The State planted herself in the pass of Thermopylae, and her sons were prepared to die in her defense. Mr. Calhoun had resigned the office of Vice President, and was chosen by his Btate a Benator in that crisis. The energy and resolution of his character were well known; and entering the Senate when it was believed that Ids own person was nol safe, he brought that intellectual p.wer for which hewafi sodistingn into the defense of his State, and delivered in her cause tar the ablest speech which he ever uttered in his whole career. His great antagonist was Mr. Webster, who had. in a previous d< with Mr. Hayne, delivered a Bpeech in defense of the Union which statin's unsurpassed by any oration of ancient or modern times. It combines the etega ' with the power of 45-4 EULOGY OF MR. MILLIARD. Demosthenes, — the splendor of Burke with the vigor of Pitt. The Senate and the country witnessed the debate between Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Webster with the profoundest interest. It involved great organic principles, and the impending collision between the Government and a State gave them an intenser sig- nificance and a higher grandeur. At that conjuncture, when the light seemed to have faded from the darkening horizon, Mr. Clay brought forward a measure which promised to restore peace to the country. He offered to the Senate his Compromise Bill, which provided for a decided but gradual reduction of the duties upon imported articles up to the year 1842, at which period they were to be fixed at a rate of twenty per cent upon the home valuation, — a principle of the greatest importance in the revenue system. Mr. Calhoun rose in the Senate, and gave his reluctant consent to Mr. Clay's bill. It passed both Houses of Congress, after encountering determined opposition in each of them, and South Carolina acquiesced in the measure of recon- ciliation. Civil war was averted, and the Republic was saved. As the storm-cloud rolled away, the ship of State was seen ridino- proudlv over the subsiding billows, and it was the hand of Mr. Clay which grasped the helm and guided it into the open sea. Illustrious man ! he had twice saved the Republic. The North gave up, and the South no lono-er held back. Even Mr. Clay's enemies were at peace with him. Mr. Randolph was seated in the Senate chamber, lingering upon the theater of his former fame, when Mr. Clay rose to speak upon the Compromise Bill. "Help me up," he said to his half-brother, Mr. Tucker, "I have come here to hear that voice." At the close of his speech, Mr. Clay walked to where Mr. Randolph was seated, and, grasping each other's hands, they lost all traces of their former feud. Mr. Clay now belonged more than ever to his country. He stood upon a proud eminence, and the gratitude of the people for his services rose to enthusiasm. His name mingled with the tones of patriotic exultation which hailed the adjustment of a controversy so portentous all over the country, and wherever lie traveled, he was greeted with acclamations, and honored with EULOGY OF Mi:. HTLLIABD. -1 .").") the noblest triumphal progress which ever cheered . man. He had realized the reward bo exquisitely expressed in those lines of Gray : "The applause of listening Senates to command, Tlie threats of pain and ruin to despise, — To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land, And read his history in a nation's eyes." Mr. Clay's views in regard to the public lands wore matured after a thorough examination of the subject, and he succeeded in carrying through both Houses of Congress a bill which promised the best results, and which was only defeated by the action of the President, General Jackson, who retained it in his possession until after the adjournment of Congress, and it, of course, tailed to become a law. Mr. Clay's views as to the currency were also well matured ; and it was his opinion that a national bank, in some form, was important, if not essential to the prosperity of the country. Congress agreed with him, and passed a bill for the re-charter of the Bank of the United States, which the President met with his veto. Then began the fierce contest between General Jack- son and the bank, — a contest which ended in the destruction of the bank, but which involved the country in the heaviest com- mercial disasters. An intense excitement pervaded Congress. Mr. Clay led the opposition to that memorable administration, and a more courageous or powerful leader has never appeared in any parliamentary body. The President, remarkable for the energy of bis character and the strength of his will, with a per- sonal popularity which seemed boundless, and at the head of a powerful party, marshaled all his fon-t-s, and hurled them against the opposing ranks; but he was confronted by a leader as full of courage as himself, and whoa idy bou] nothing could intimidate, — a leader who roused the Senate to the I spirit of resistane.- to Kv-.-nnv.- power, and who succeeded in Bpn ing upon the records of thai augusl body a resolution condemning the course of the President On the last day of March, lui,\ Mr. Clay rose to take a formal, and, as he supposed, a final leave of that body. The 456 ETI-OGY OF Mil. IIII.I.IARD. chamber was thronged with representatives, foreign ministers, and others who had the privilege of entering it, and the gallery was filled with ladies, all eager to hear once more the tones of a voice unrivaled in its richness and power, and to witness a scene which was to be an epoch in the annals of the country. It has been immortalized, not only by being spread upon the pages which record the history of the times, but the pencil of the painter has sketched the scene with lifelike fidelity. In look- ing upon the picture, the great scenes of English history rush upon the mind, and the event is associated with the last speech of the Earl of Chatham in the House of Lords. The speech, full of dignity and pathos, moved the Senate to tears. As the last words were uttered, ''And now, Mr. President and sena- tors, I bid you all a long, a lasting, and a friendly farewell," he resumed his seat amid a stillness as unbroken as if the living mass which thronged the Senate chamber had been the ideal creation of a painter. After an interval, Mr. Preston, of South Carolina, moved that the Senate adjourn without proceeding to any business, and it did so. Mr. Clay stepped into the area, when a senator, who, like himself, had earned an imperishable fame in the service of his country, but between whom and the great statesman who had just taken leave of the Senate an estrangement had grown up in trying and stormy times, ap- proached him. It was Mr. Calhoun. Their intercourse had been interrupted for five years, but now the}' grasped each other's hands and exchanged salutations which were prompted by their great hearts. Early in the spring of 1844, Mr. Clay made an extensive tour throuoh the Southern States. It was well known that he was to be the Whig candidate for the Presidency, yet his opinions upon all political questions which interested the country were expressed with perfect unreserve. It became known that a negotiation was in progress for the annexation of Texas to the United States, and Mr. Clay, without hesitation, announced his decided opposition i,, ill- scheme. He addressed a letter to the people, depicting in strong terras the dangers which surrounded the question; for his was a nature too honest and too proud to conceal any opinion ii i.i »< i v OF KB. mi.r IABD. 457 for the sake of acquiring power. Texas was in a revolutionary siale ; her independence had not been acknowledged by Mexico, and Mr. Clay declared his unconquerable opposition to any plan of annexation which did not embrace that republic as a pan v. With a full knowledge of his opinions, he was nominated bv the Whigs for the Presidency with an enthusiasm which promised a brilliant victory. For some months it seemed to the American people that Mr. Clay would be elected by acclamation. His splendid reputation, his illustrious public services, his acknowl- edged ability and experience as a statesman, the popular confi- dence which he enjoyed so largely, all seemed to render his success certain ; but, as the canvass advanced, it was perceived that his opinions in regard to Texas alienated friends, and ren- dered doubtful a contest which had opened for him so auspi- ciously. Mr. Van Buren, who had been looked to as the opposing candidate, had been set aside by the Democratic Convention on account of his declared opposition to the annexation of Texas, and Mr. Polk, an ardent friend of the measure, received the nomination. The result is well known. The canvass turned upon the Texas question ; the popular feeling in favor of the measure rose so high as to surmount every other consideration, and Mr. Clay, with his brilliant personal qualities and his great public services, failed to reach the Presidency. Coriolanus was refused the consulship of the people, though his scars had for a time influenced them in his favor. Mr. Clay re-entered the Senate on the third day of December, 1849, and was welcomed to a seat in that body by the assembled senators from every State, and by the voice of the American people. The state of the country induced him to return to a seat which he had relinquished, as he supposed, forever. The results of the annexation of Texas, which he had so clearly foreseen, and against which he had warned the countrv, had occurred, and he came, in the midst of the dangers which surrounded the Republic, to rescue and to save it, or to perish with it. The war with Mexico had been brought to a close by a treaty which left us in p. -ss»\-~ioii of new and extensive Territories. Portentous questions grew out of the splendid acquisition. 39 458 EULOGY OF MR. MILLIARD. The discovery of exhaustless beds of gold in California at- tracted thousands to its distant shores, and a bold, intelligent, and spirited people, finding themselves on the coast of the Pacific without a regular government, organized a State, and applied to be admitted into the Union. Territorial governments were de- manded for the protection of the people spreading over the vast regions now known as New Mexico and Utah. Texas insisted upon the recognition of her boundaries, stretching to the Rio Grande del Norte, and running far into New Mexico. To com- plicate these great subjects of legislation still further, an alarming question, which has more than once threatened the disruption of the Government, sprang up, — the question of Slavery- The people of California had, by their Constitution, prohibited the introduction of slaves within the limits of the large State carved out of the new Territory, and it was proposed to prohibit their introduction into the Territories of New Mexico and Utah by an act of Congress. The anti-slavery sentiment of the country was roused into new activity by these momentous questions, and it became more imperious and exacting in its demands. It announced that the limits of Slavery were forever fixed. As if these disturbing elements were insufficient to agitate the country and endanger the Government, they were inflamed yet more by an attempt to confine Texas within narrower limits than those to which that young and gallant State was entitled, — even leaving out of view her claim upon the magnanimity of the United States, — and to bring about a collision between her people and the troops of the General Gorernment by precipitating a decision adverse to her claims. The convulsion that shook the country while Congress was eno-ao-ed in settling these momentous questions is too recent to make it necessary to describe it. The ocean, when it has been swept by a tempest, even when the skies have cleared up, con- tinues to heave its billows and to send its surges against the resounding shore, and we find ourselves yet in the midst of political events which remind us of the strength and fury of the storm with which the country was so lately visited. But we to-day send up, from hearts glowing with gratitude, our fervent EDLOGY OF MK. HII.1,1 AHD. 459 thanks to Almighty God that the heavens are cloudless ; that the Republic covers with its protecting eagles kindred States touch- ing on the one side the Atlantic and on the other the Pacific -waters, and that its great standard, hailed all over the world as the banner of freedom, still displays upon its ample folds the gorgeous emblem of the Union which constitutes us one people. Mr. Clay is eminently entitled to the merit of the success of the great measures which rescued the country from its perils. He brought forward, at an early day, his report and bill from the Committee of Thirteen, which proposed to admit California as a State into the Union ; to establish Territorial governments for New Mexico and Utah without any prohibition of Slavery, and to tender proposals to Texas for the establishment of her western and northern boundaries which could not fail to be satisfactory to that State, — measures which he continued to advocate, with unabated ardor and exhaustless energy, up to the day of their triumphant passage through both Houses of Congress. The great task which he had undertaken upon entering the Senate was accomplished. He had saved the Republic for the third time. It was the boast of Antony over the body of Caesar, that, although he had fallen under the avenging dagger of Brutus, he had thrice refused a kingly crown. How transcendently does the form of Mr. Clay rise above that of the Roman when we fix our eyes upon him in the last great act of his career, and see him as he stands in the sublime attitude of an American senator who had thrice saved his country from civil war ! Themistocles earned imperishable fame by the victory which he achieved over the Persians in the Bay of Salamis, but what was such a victory, brilliant as it was, compared with that great civic achievement of Mr. Clay which crowned his long and illustrious life? After the accomplishment of his last great Lask, Mr. Clat's health gradually declined. He returned to Washington, at the opening of the late session of Congress, to defend the measures to which he had consecrated his last davs. But the "Teat soul which had so long urged his enfeebled bodv v> patriotic tasks could no longer command his failing strength. Unable to take part in the deliberations of the Senate, he remained almost 460 EULOGY OF MR. HILLIARD. constantly in his chamber. The hope of visiting Ashland, and of closing his days in the sacred retirement of his home, for some time cheered him. He resigned his seat in the Senate, intending to quit Washington at the close of the session of Con- gress. Spring came, with its genial influence reviving the face of Nature, but it brought with it no restoration to the declining powers of Mr. Clay. The hope of revisiting Ashland was relinquished, and he calmly awaited the stroke of death. In the summer of 1847 he had become a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and he found now in his chamber, about which the shadows of death were be»-inning to close, the cheering and sustaining power of an immortal hope. The dying statesman gradually withdrew his thou<>-hts from the affairs of this world. He was never more to stand in the Senate chamber, — never again to sway the passions of assembled thousands by his resistless eloquence. The eyes which had flashed with patriotic fire were filled now with the mild radiance of the heaven to which they were turned. He spoke of his family, his friends, and his country, and said to a friend, "I am not afraid to die, sir. I have faith, hope, and some confidence. I do not think any man can be entirely certain in regard to his future state, but I have an abiding trust in the merits and mediation of our Saviour." The sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered to him, and he meekly received those emblems of a death out of which spring our immortal hopes. He expired tranquilly on the twenty-ninth of June, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. Statesman, yet friend to truth, of soul sincere, Of action faithful, and in honor clear, Who broke no promise, served no private end, Who gained no title, and -who lost no friend; Ennobled by himself, by all approved, Praised, wept, and honored by the land he loved." The announcement of Mr. Clay's death produced throughout the whole country the deepest sensation. It struck most hearts as if the intelligence of the death of a personal friend had reached them, and the whole people rose up to pay such honors to his EULOGY OF MR. IIILI.IARD. 461 memory as had never been accorded to any statesman of this country. The popular enthusiasm which was accustomed to greet him in his travels, was now converted into a pervading grief, which covered the multitudes who thronged about his honored remains, as they were borne to the tomb, with the habiliments of a mourn- ing distinguished as much for its depth and sincerity as for its solemn magnificence. Mr. Clay's cast of character was American, — distinctly American. It was his aim to develop the resources of his country, and to elevate it to a night of prosperity and grandeur never before reached by any nation in ancient or modern times. His plans were bold and comprehensive, looking to the happiness and glory of the whole Republic rather than to the advancement of any particular section. lie comprehended the complex char- acter of our Government ; and while he left local interests to the protection of the States where they existed, he devoted his energies to the support of great measures, whose success he deemed essential to the full development of the boundless ele- ments of wealth and power which the nation possessed. He has been charged with a purpose to enrich one section of the count ry at the expense of another, but no man ever less deserved the charge. He could not belong to a section, but he gave his great faculties to the cause of his country, — his whole country. The lofty summit upon which he stood as a statesman enabled him to see the country in its broadest extent ; and while many stood upon a lower level, — would see only the narrow district to which they happen to h.-lotig. — Ids eyes swept the remotest verge of the vast domain embraced by our Government Fortu- nately, most of the great questions as Inch have arrayed the American people in opposing parties have been national and not sectional. A settled geographical division of parties, such as on one or two occasions we have witnessed, would be fatal to the Republic. Mr. 0x4.7 was, beyond a question, the noblest illustration of a national statesman which his country has ever produced. He kept his views rigidly within the limits of the Constitution, but 462 EULOGY OF MS. HILLIARD. within those limits all his faculties were employed in a steady and heroic struggle to give success to systems embracing the interests of the American people. His American System was an illustration of the breadth and nationality of his views. The South opposed it generally, but even here opinion was divided in regard to it. The opinion, however, that its tendency was to foster the manufacturing enter- prises of the North at the expense of the planting interest of the South gradually gained ground with us, and the utmost hostility existed against it in most of the Southern States. But Mr. Clay's aim never was for a moment to depress the one section and elevate the other. He believed that the system would be so adjusted by a wise discrimination in fixing the duties on imports as to result in an actual benefit to the whole country, making us independent of foreign establishments, preventing the balance of trade against us with other countries, and securing to the Southern people a domestic market for their products above that which they could find elsewhere. His magnificent system of Internal Improvements, limited to objects strictly national, was also the result of the comprehensive views which characterized him as a statesman. If he had administered the Government, it would not have been necessary to associate any one with him to keep the supreme Executive power from swerving from a national course. The two councils of Rome did not look more steadily to the glory of the empire than he would have looked to the glory of the Republic. Mr. Clay's nationality was the result of a pro- found study of the nature of our Government, — of the character of the American people. He contended for what seemed to him a just construction of the Constitution, and he felt that, while a narrower interpretation of its meaning might save the Government from occasional abuses, it. would, at the same time, deny to it the powers which it really possessed, and render that a feeble and an inefficient system which was designed to be a great and beneficent one. Some of our statesmen, apprehending danger from the power of the Central Government, have steadily resisted its growth, and, like Patrick Henry, have sought to hedge it in, as if it were eulogy, of icb. nu.i.iAKi >. ■!•;:; a formidabl ism. With them the President is a monarch likely i" become a despot. Others have desired to usurp the rights of th( States, and to buiM up a powerful consolida Government. Mr. Clay escaped both these extremes, and planted himself upon ground which the eminent French statesman, Casimir Perrier, would have pronounced le juste milieu. He the rights of the States, and be claimed for the Federal Govern- ment its full power. Mr. Clay has been charged with ambition. That he desired to attain power it would be useless to deny. Where is the statesman of noble aims and great abilities who does not desire it? The remark of Burke is a philosophical truth, "Ambition is the malady of every extensive genius." But Mr. Clay's ambition was pure and generous. He never sought to attain power by unworthy means ; he never Bwerved from the direct path of duty to conciliate public favor. His sympathies with the people were full and sincere, but he never pandered to their passions or bent before their clamors. His opinions upon all subjects were frankly expressed ; he dis- dained concealment. He never surrendered his own independent sentiments, but courageously encountered the fiercest opposition to them, whether that opposition was presented by executive power, or by the representatives of the people, or by the people themselves. His remark, made to his friend. Mr. Preston, of South Carolina, revealed his character. In reply to a >u_ that the opinion which he was about to avow on a certain i sion might affect his position before the people, and endanger his election to the Presidency, be exclaimed, " I would rather be riffht than be President." The hen : timent will !■• immortal. Mr. Cult did not exhibit thi Roman --which acterized Mr. Calhoun, yel he p ssessed firmness in the highest degree. No man could plant himself i lutely in nse of a position than Mr. Clat. Like Fitz-James, be would have met the whole band of ft derick Dim without the yiel of a muscle. 5 el no statesman of our country \ Whatever may have been his ambition, it always gave way b 4G4. EULOGY OF MR. IIILLIARD. the call of his country. He would meet, unmoved, any dangers which threatened him personally, but he relinquished, without reluctance, his most cherished opinions when the welfare of his country demanded the sacrifice. When urging upon the Senate the adoption of his Compromise Bill for adjusting the perilous contest with South Carolina, he said, "If I had yielded myself to the dictates of a cold, calcu- lating, and prudential public policy, I would have stood still and unmoved. I might even have silently gazed on the raging storm, enjoyed its loudest thunders, and left those who were charged with the care of the vessel of State to conduct it as they could." But he hastened to restore harmony to a distracted land. Mr. Clay's attachment to the Union was profound and unconquerable. His failure to reach the highest office in the country never alien- ated his affections. While others enjoyed the supreme power, he never ceased to labor for the good of Rome. No personal success could have compensated him if his elevation to power had endangered the perpetuity of the Government. He believed our system to be capable of vast expansion ; and when he saw our institutions seated on the Pacific shores, he insisted that Congress should promptly receive into the Union the State of California. A republic covering the continent with its institutions, and gathering under one common government the mighty population spread from the Atlantic to the Pacific, was the vision which filled his heart with exultation as he looked out upon his country for the last time. He sought to strengthen the Government, not by usurpations of power, but by measures which would bind the remotest parts of the country in willing and indestructible political bands. He preferred to cany his measures by enlisting in their support men of all parties, rather than to press them upon the country by the mere power of dis- ciplined numbers. He saw clearly all the aspects of every ques- tion ; and while his own courage was never intimidated, nor his resolute purpose ever shaken, he was at all times ready to modify his measures, so far as they could be modified without impairing their efficiency, or sacrificing the principles upon which they were based, that he might make them acceptable to those who EULOGY OF MB. BILLIABD. 463 did not agree with him. As a parliamentary leader, Mr. <\vv has never been equaled in this country. He combined with great abilities that faculty so important In su in political life, — tact. His abilities commanded the attention of the political bodies in whose debates he took part, and his (act enabled him to carry his measures. He was the boldest of all our statesmen. Whether in the Ihni.se of Representatives sustaining an administration, or in the Senate opposing the Government, his courage never sank for a moment, and his crest rose still higher when leading the opposi- tion than it did when defending its powers. He attacked the Government, however powerfully intrenched, with as much vigor as Richard Coeur de Lion did the castle of Front-de-Bceuf, when he thundered against its gates with his battle-ax, amid the missiles which were showered upon him from iis defenders, regarding them no more than if they had been feathers or the thistle's down; and his eve flashing alon«- the wavering columns of his allies, fired them with his own indomi- table spirit. For years he presented to General Jackson a front which never blanched, and he defied his boundless popular power with a steady and heroic firmness which won for him the admiration of friends and foes, and presented to the country the noblest illustration of the august character of an American senator which has ever been witnessed. He possessed the qualities which would have made him a transcendently great military leader; the high courage, — the quick perception, — the comprehensive view of details x-ittered over a wide field, — the decision which adopts, without hesitation, the true course of action, — the power to infuse his own ardor into the bosoms of those about him, ami the faculty <•(' inspiring the followers of his standard with undoubted Confidence in his abilities. It is understood that Mr. Madison would have placed him at the head of the army, in the last war with England, if he could have been spared from the House of Representati Mr. Clay's intellectual powers pre-eminently fitted him for a parliamentary career. Without the massive strength of Mr. 460 EFL.OGY OF Mil. HII.LIAKD. Webster, or the condensed and logical force of Mr. Calhoun, he was more efficient than either. His mind was not in the least degree metaphysical ; it was altogether practical, rapid, and direct. He was capable of profound and patient analysis, and he has, in some of his more elaborate speeches, displayed this faculty with high success ; but he preferred to present the great features of a subject, that it might be seen whole, rather than to pursue its remote and less striking relations. His mind was characterized by originality, power, and comprehensiveness. His resources were inexhaustible. The measures which Mr. Clai* conceived and brought before Congress, displayed states- manship of the very highest order ; and his fame will rest upon them as firmly as a mountain, lifting its head to the heavens, stands upon its granite base. As an Orator, Mr. Clat stood unrivaled among the statesmen of our times ; and if the power of a statesman is to be measured by the control which he exerts over an audience, he will take rank among the most illustrious men who, in ancient or modern times, have decided great questions by resistless eloquence. Mr. Calhoun Avas the finest type of the pure Greek intellect which this country has ever produced. His speeches resemble Grecian sculpture, with all the purity and hardness of marble, while they show that the chisel was guided by the hand of a master. Demosthenes transcribed the history of Thucydides eight times, that he might acquire the strength and majesty of his style; and Mr. Calhoun had evidently studied the orations of the great Athenian with equal fidelity. He had much of his force and ardor, and his bearing was so full of dignity that it was easy to fancy, when you heard him, that you were listening to an oration from the lips of a Roman senator, who had formed his style in the severe schools of Greece. Mr. Webster's oratory reaches the highest pitch of grandeur. He combines the pure philosophical faculty of investigation, which characterized the Greek mind, with the athletic power and majesty which belonged to the Roman stvle. There is in his orations a blended strength and beauty surpassing any thing to be found in ancient or modern productions. He stands like a statue of Hercules wrought out Err.OGY OF KB. Hir.r.iAuii. M7 of gold. He has been sometimes called (lie Demosthenes of this country, but the attributes which he displayed are doI tl which belonged to the Athenian orator. His sj .■),,•., display the same power and beauty, and equal, if they do not BUT] in consummate ability, the noblest orations of Demosthenes ; but he wants the vehemence, the boldness, the impetuosity of the orator who wielded the fierce Democracy of Athens at liis will, and who, in his impassioned harangues, "shook the Arsenal, and fulmined over Greece." Mr. Clay's oratory differed from that of Mr. Webster and of Mr. Calhoun, and it was more effective than that of either of his cotemporaries. Less philosophical than the one, and less majestic than the other, he surpassed them both in the sway which he exerted over the assemblies which he addressed. Clear, convincing, impassioned, and powerful, he spoke the lano-ua< r e of truth in its most commanding tones, and the deduc- tions of reason uttered from his lips seemed to have caught the glow of inspiration. Lord Brougham thinks that the ancient orators fell nearly as far short of the modern, in the substance of their orations, as they surpass them in their composition. He attributes this to the character of modem assemblies, which are places of business, where practical questions are dis- cussed, and where the audience must be convinced, and not merely entertained. Mr. Clay was eminently successful in addressing such assemblies. Hi< large riews, his sterling set the enererv of his character, the earnestness of his manner, the sympathy between his mind and his body, gave him an ascen- dency over the intellect and the passions never displayed bj other American Btati -man. His form was tall and commanding; his voice was unrivaled for its compass and richness : and when he rose to animation, in Bpeaking, his countenance was lighted up with a glow which Bhed a luster upon his whole person. II - sensibility was deep, and sometimes displayed itseli in the n affecting manner. In the debates of the Compromi of the last Congress, it became proper for him, as a aei allude to his son who fell at Buena Vista. He was fur a moment 468 EULOGY OF MR. HILLIAED. overcome with emotion, and, putting his hand before his eyes, he sought in vain to repress the tears which gushed from them. These elements constituted him the prince of orators ; and whether before the Senate or in the midst of the people, in their great assemblies, he asserted and maintained a dominion which none could dispute with him. He realized Mr. Webster's de- scription of oratory : " The clear conception outrunning the deductions of logic ; the high purpose ; the firm resolve ; the dauntless spirit, speaking on the tongue, beaming from the eye, informing every feature, and urging the whole man onward, right onward, to his object : this, this is eloquence, or, rather, it is something greater and higher than eloquence ; it is action, — noble, sublime, godlike action." His noblest efforts were invested with a fiery splendor ; and he rushed onward in his impetuous career, like an ancient hero, upon poised feet, his formidable spear lifted in his strong right hand, the wheels of his chariot glowing from the velocity of the onset, and their scythes sweep- ing down the adversaries that stood in his way. In conversation Mr. Clay excelled. Always ready, sometimes playful, often brilliant, there was a fascination in his manner which drew around him friends outside of the circle of his political associates, and his frankness and generosity gave inde- scribable charm to social life. "He was a man, take him for all in all, "We shall not look upon his like again." Yet, with all these brilliant personal qualities, Hexrv Clay never became the President of the United States. In lookim-- back to the times in which Mr. Clay, Mr. Calhoun, and Mr. Webster lived, the succeeding generations will be at a loss to account for the fact, that neither of them ever attained the highest goal of their ambition. In Rome, they would have divided the consulship. In England, they would have administered the government, and have received the highest aristocratic distinc- tions. In this Republic, they could never reach the highest post in the Government. Two of the great triumvirate have passed away from the world ; their course is run. The third yet lingers i LOOT OF MB. Hll.i.iAK!'. 469 upon the field of his glory, but without the slightest prospect of reaching the Presidency. Indeed, that splendid orb which has so long lighted our heavens is rapidly descending toward the horizon, and will soon disappear from it forever. The theory of our Government requires a first-rate man to be placed at the head of the administration. In England, the boyo- reign power is vested in a hereditary monarch. His capacity is a matter of no great moment; the first minister of the crown is responsible for the government. But with us, the sovereignty resides with the people, and the President ought to be a man of the highest order, for he holds the same relation to our govern- ment that the Prime Minister holds to the British government. In reviewing Mr. Clay's career, the wonder is that he could have failed to become President. The statue of Brutus, left out of the procession, will awaken inquiry as to the cause. Cromwell is not allowed to rank with the sovereigns of England, although he controlled the government as Protector, and gave the country the wisest and most brilliant administration which it ever enjoyed. Henry Clay, who has impressed his great character upon the institutions of this country, never became its President. But it is perhaps well that he died without reaching that station. His immortal words, "I would rather be right than be Presi- dent," will thrill upon the hearts of the statesmen of the country, and animate them to a nobler aim than a mere lust of power. They will strive to serve their country, and to bear with them to the grave the consciousness of deserving its honors, even if the laurel should never encircle their brows. Mr. Clay's fame is imperishable ; no office could have added to its towering grandeur, or have shed upon it any additional luster. It was becoming that he should die, as he had lived, "The Great Commoner. " E U L, o a Y OF THE LATE COL. ALEXANDER K. M'CLUXG. DELIVERED IX THE HALL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, OCT. 11, 1852. Ladies and Gentlemen : We have met to commemorate the life and services of Henrt Clat. After a long life — after a long, useful, and illustrious career — he has passed away. The fiery and aspiring spirit, whose earthly life was one long storm, has at length sunk to rest. Neither praise nor censure can now reach him. "When his haughty soul passed away from the earth, and the grave closed over his dust, it also entombed, in its dark and narrow chamber, the bitterness of detraction, and the tiger ferocity of part}- spirit, with which he had so long wrestled. Death has hallowed his name and burnished his services bright in the memory of his countrymen. We have met to express, in the manner which the custom of our country has established, our appreciation of those services and our sense of his glory. We have met, not as par- tisans or friends — political or personal — of the illustrious dead, but as Americans, desirous to do honor to a great American. In attempting to discharge the duty which has been imposed upon me, I shall avoid the indiscriminate eulogy which is the <«70> i.i LOOT OF COL. M OL1 KG. 471 proverbial blemish of obituaries and funeral discourses, and shall essay, however feebly, to presenl Mr. Clay as he was, or, at least, as he seemed to me. Cinat beings — grand human creatures — scattered sparsely throughout time, should be painted with truth. An indiscriminate deluge of praise drowns medioc- rity and greatness in the same grave, where none can distinguish betweeu them. When that greatest of all Englishmen, Oliver Cromwell, sat to the painter, Lely, for his portrait, whose pencil was addicted to flattery, he said : " Paint me as I am ; leave not out one wrinkle, scar, or blemish, at your peril." He wished to go to the world as he was ; and greatness is wise in wishing ir. No man the world ever saw was equally great in every quality of intellect and in every walk of action. All men are unequal ; and it is tasteful, as well as just, to plant the praise where it is true, rather than to drown all individuality and all character in one foaming chaos of eulogy. Henry Clay was most emphatically a peculiar and strongly- marked character ; incomparably more peculiar than any of thoso who were popularly considered his mental equals. Impetuous as a torrent, yet patient to gain his ends; overbearing and trampling, yet winning and soothing ; haughty and fierce, yet kind and gentle ; dauntlesslv brave in all kinds of courage, yet eminently prudent and conservative in all his policy, all these moral attributes, antithetical a^ they Beem, would shine out under different phases of his conduct I need not detain this audience with a lengthened biographical sketch of Mr. Clay. The leading historical incidents of his life are universally known. He was born in Virginia, certainly not later than 1775, most probably a year or two earlier. His pa- rentage was extremely humble. At the age of twenty, twenty- one, oi twenty-two, he emigrated to Lexington, Kentucky, where he undertook to pursue the great American road to eminence — the bar. For this career, it would have seemed, at that time, that his advantages were small, indeed, foxing, poor, and un- connected, with scarcely ordinary attainments of education, he entered the lists with numerous and able competitors. ^ • , Henry Clay, destitute as he was of all adventitious advantages. 473 EULOGY OF COL. m'cLCNG. was not destined to struggle upward along the weary and labo- rious path through which mediocrity toils to rank. The cedar imbedded in barren rocks, upon the mountain side, with scarcely soil to feed its roots, will tower above the tallest of the forest ; for it is its nature so to do. So this great Genius at once shot up like a shaft. He rose to high rank at the bar. In 1799 he was elected to the Kentucky Legislature ; in 1806, to the U. S. Senate ; in 1 8 1 1 , to the House of Representatives ; and there began his national career. Since that time Mr. Clay has filled a laro-e space in the public eye. His career has been checkered, stormy and tempestuous. Now the object of universal praise ; now attacked with very general censure ; now culminating upon the crest of fortune's wave ; then dashed upon the rocks and overwhelmed with roar and clamor. It was his fate at periods of his career to drain to the bottom that measure of relentless hate with which mean souls resent the imperial pride of haughty genius. It was his fate to feel that constant success is the only shield which greatness and glory can rear against the poison of envy and slander's venomous sting. " He who ascends the mountain top shall find « Its loftiest peaks most wrapped in clouds and snow; He who surpasses or subdues mankind, Must look down on the hate of those below : Though far above the sun of glory glow, And far beneath the earth and ocean spread Round him are icy rocks, and loudly blow Contending tempests on his naked head, Thus to reward the toils which to those summits led." That strong mind was tried by every extremity of fortune, and if sometimes inflated by success, yet borne up by the all- deathless thirst for renown, the grand incentive to all great toils or glorious deeds, he was never depressed by defeat. He faced his enemies, he faced fortune, aud he faced defeat, with the same dauntless heart and the same unquailing brow, in youth and in age, regardless when or how they came, or what the peril might be. Yet, when most overborne with calumny ; when hatred raged fiercest against his person, and he was most stained with EULOGY OF OOL. MOLl NO. •] ~:\ slander — even at that time, to enemies as to friends, lie was an object of admiring respect. When lashed into fury by disap- pointment, defeat, and opposition, ami the Btormy passions of his tempestuous soul raged like a whirlwind, his bitterest oppo- nents would gaze curiously upon him with a strange mixture of hatred, fear, and admiration. There are many phases in which it is necessary to regard Mr. Clat, to reach a correct estimate of his character ; and to ac- complish their delineation without a degree of jumbling confu- sion, is a work of some difficulty. As an orator he was brilliant and grand. None of his cotemporaries could so stir m blood. Xone approached him in his mastery over the heart and the imagination of his hearers. Of all the gifts with which nature decks her favorites, not the greatest or grandest certainly, but the most brilliant, the most fascinating, and for the moment the most powerful, is exalted eloquence. Before its fleeting and brief glare, the steady light of wisdom, logic, or philosophy pales, as the stars fade before the meteor. With this choice and glorious gift nature had endowed Mr. Clay beyond all men of the age. Like all natural orators, he was rery unequal; some- times sinking to commonplace mediocrity ; then again, when the occasion roused his genius, he would soar aloft in towering majesty. He had little or none of the tinsel of Rhetoric, or the wordy finery which always lies within the reach of the Rhetor- ician's art. Strong passions, quick sensibility, lofty sentiment, powerful reason were the foundation of his oratory, a- they are of all true eloquence. Passion, feeling, reason, wit, poured fn-th from his lips in a torrent so strong ami inexhaustible, a- to whirl away hi- bearers for the time, in despite of their opinions. Nor should it be forgotten, slight and unimportant as physical qualities may appear in our estima f the mighty (had, that his were eminently tilted for the orator. A tall. Blender, erect | son, changing under the excitement of speech its loo-, fla scidity of muscle into the rous and nerved ei an eye, small indeed, but deep ami bonily Bet, and flaming with expres- sion ; and last and most important of all, a \ , power- ful, mellow, and rich beyond expression— rich is a feeble phrase 40 474 EFLOGT OF COL. m'cLUNG. to express its round, articulate fullness, rolling up with the sub- lime swell of the organ — all these together formed wonderful aids to eloquence. And his great and numerous triumphs attest their power. He had the true mesmeric stroke of the orator — the power to infuse his feelings into his hearers ; to make them think as he thought, and feel as he felt. No one can form any- adequate conception of the power of his eloquence, who has not heard Mr. Clay when his blood was up, and the tide of inspira- tion rolling full upon him. His words, indeed, might be written down ; but the flame of mind which sent them forth redhot and blazing from its mint, could not be conveyed by letters. As well attempt to paint the lightning. The crooked, angular line may be traced ; but the glare, and the flame, and the roar, and the terror, and the electric flash, are gone. Stormy, vehement, and tempestuous, as were his passions and his oratory, there was Still underneath them all, a cool stream of reason running through the bottom of his brain, which always pointed him to his object, and held him to his course. No orator, so passionate, ever committed fewer imprudences. No passions so stormy ever left their possessor so watchful of his objects. Reason held the helm while passion blew the gale. As a debater, it Avould be unjust to say that Mr. Clay held the same rank ; at least it may be said with justice, that in all the walks of debate he was not equally eminent. He was able everywhere ; and it is but gentle criticism to say, that in some trains of thought he did not shine forth with the power and luster which marked his eloquence. It appears to me, afier a critical study of his speeches, that he discussed facts with as much power as any of his greatest rivals. It appears to me, also, that he fell beneath some of them in the discussion of principles. One of the greatest of his compeers taunted him once, in the Senate, with an inability to analyze abstruse subjects. The taunt was made stronger, probably, by anger, than truth or can- dor would warrant ; yet it seems to me to have been partially just. No one who studies Mr. Clay's arguments upon points of political economy, can avoid perceiving how rarely he ana- lyzes the principle involved. We see a vast array of facts, many EULOGY OF OOL. u'CLUNG 475 keen and thoughtful remarks about the results of the measure, but an analysis of its principle is scarcely ever attempted. Ho doubtless understood the protective tariff Bystem betb r than ho did an)' other subject in the range of political economy ; and no one can read his speeches upon that question without being struck with this feature. It is still more marked •whenever he discusses the subject of finance. A philosophic discussion of a principle, independent of the practical condition of things, is never to be found in his speeches ; and in this he presented a most pointed contrast to his great rival, who so short a time pre- ceded him to the grove. It may be said that this was the result of imperfect education, and the barely hasty study which a busy, stirring life enabled him to bestow upon abstruse subjects ; but the better opinion seems to be, that he was eminently a practical man, and the bent of his genius called him away from the meta- physics of politics. Mr. Clay was undoubtedly a far greater man than the Scotch economist, Adam Smith ; yet it is not probable that any extent of education, or any amount of labor, or any length of study, would have enabled him to write Adam Smith's book. Yet was he a very great debater, also. None of his compeers arrayed facts more skillfully — none urged them with so much power. He had not the compact, clean cut, sententious brevity, which marked some of those the public ranked as his equals ; on the contrary, without being diffuse, he abounded in episodes ; he introduced much matter, bearing upon his point, certainly, but bearing upon it indirectly — not unfrequently, also, introducing matter which did not much help on the question in hand. He abounded in the argvmentum ad hominem, in personal appeal, in sarcasm, with much of | • n allusion and circumstantial explanation, often carrying him away from his subject for some time, to which, however, be always returned at precisely the point where he bad left it. It is difficult among the great masters of oratory and debate, to select one whom he closely resembled. It is not probable that he had ever studied any of them closely : and even had he done bo, the originality of his genius and the intense pridt his haughty temper Mould have prevented him from Btooping to 476 EOLOffx of col. m'olunq. select a model. If he resembled any of them, he did not know it, and he would have cared as little to abolish the points of re- semblance as to make them. To Demosthenes, to whom he has been often compared, he bore a likeness in his passion, his inten- sity, and in Ins occasional want of logic; but he was utterly unlike him in other respects. He had none of his terseness, his naked- ness, and the straight-forward, unhalting directness with which he dashed on to his end. To Cicero he bore no resemblance what- ever. Among- the eminent English speakers it would be almost as difficult to (race with him a parallel, in any considerable degree exact or close. The profound philosophy of Burke, with his gorgeous, lurid, and golden language, rolling on with the pomp and power of an army blazing with banners, he in no degree ap- proached. Sheridan's bright and pungent style, glittering with antithesis and point, was equally unlike him. I am inclined to think, that of all the speakers I have read, though with less of logic and wit, and more of passion, he most resembled Charles Fox. The same rigid adherence actually to his point, even when seeming to be away from it ; the same abundance and exuber- ance of matter; the same gladiatorial struggle to strike down his opponent, though the victory might slightly affect the question involved ; the same felicitous blending of passion and logic, with sparkles of sarcasm and personality spangling the whole — all produced strong points of resemblance, not to be traced with any other orator. To all these eminent merits as a speaker, was united a pro- found knowledge of men, of their motives and of their weak- nesses. Though it may be thai in the early part of his life, he had learned but little from books, yet, amid the frank, bold, and reckless pioneers which formed Kentucky's early population, where the man stood forth in all the originality and nakedness of his nature, and amid the stormy scenes of the hustings in which he was early plunged, he had gained that quick insight into the human heart, which in practical life goes farther to attain success than reams of reading. He knew men thor- oughly, and not only knew how, but possessed the magnetic power to bend them to his purposes. EUL0G1 "l I OL. M*i [.; NO. 477 There is probably do position in life which requires such a combination <>f rare and high qualities aa thai of a greal popular r. He musl be bold and prudent, prompt and patient, stern and conciliating, captivatipg, commanding, far-seeing, above all, brave to perfection. The first man in the nation, the in power, undoubtedly, whatever may be his place, is tho leader of the administration, be he in Congress or the Cabinet, President or private. The leader of the opposition can hardly be called the second man in rank or power ; but if his party bo strong and struggling, his position is one of great strength, and enables him, though out of the government, to strongly affect it in the direction of the affairs of the nation. One of these alti- tudes, Mr. Clay held throughout the greater part, and all the latter portion, of his life. He led the administration party, under Mr. Madison's presi- dency, throughout the living scenes of the war, and upon him fell the brunt of that fierce congressional struggle. "When the cowardice of some commanders, and the incapacity of all of them in the commencement of the war, had brought about a Beries of shameful disasters, which made every American blush for his country, Henry Clay stood forth in advance of all, to encourage, to console, and to rouse his countrymen to renewed efforts. De- feats, disasters, blunders, and shame hung heavy upon the party in power, and disheartened its followers, while the eloquent chiefs of the opposition poured forth a tempe.-t of invective, de- nunciation, and ridicule against the feeble and futile efforts, in which the honor of the nation was sullied and its strength lost. But the fiercer roared the storm, the Bterner and higher pealed forth his trumpet voice i" rally his broken forces, and marshal them anew for the struggle. To IIknrv ('lav, far in front "f all others, that administration owed its support through the trying lies of that bitter c<>nt. He afterward led tl 9ition through the terms of Jackson, Van Buren, and Tyler. The unexampled dexterity, skill, pa- tience, firmness, and ! 38, with which, in "1" re- peated defeats, he still maintained the war, must excite unmixed admiration in all who may study his career. 473 EULOGY OF COL. m'cLUNG. Courage is a high quality. Courage — perfect, multiform, and unquenchable, one of the highest and rarest of all moral quali- ties ; — it is the most essential to a great popular leader, most especially the leader of an opposition ; and with that glorious gift nature had endowed Mr. Clay to extremity. There was no political responsibility which he ever avoided to take ; there was no personal peril which he ever shunned to dare ; there was no iaw in the opposing party which he ever failed to strike. His heart never failed him in any extremity. He met every crisis promptly and at once, and in this he bore a remarkable contrast to almost every other politician of the age. None of his cotem- poraries approached him, in this bold, unhesitating promptness, but the man of his destiny, his great rival, Jackson, with whom, in so many other points, so close a parallel might be traced. In Democracies, where the will of the people must be the ultimate law of the land, and uncertainty as to their decision is apt to induce politicians to wait and watch for indications of the prob- able result, the timid timeserver will fear to move ; he will fear to take ground upon any question until some gleam of light break out from the mass of the people, to show him the probable path to safety. Fears, misgivings, uncertainty as to his per- sonal interest, keep him silent and still, while the masses stumble onward to their decision without the light of a leader. But no fainthearted doubts ever clouded his bright eye, when Harry Clay was in the field. Like the white plume of Mnrat, amid the smoke, and the roar, and the turmoil of battle, Ins lofty crest was ever o-lkterim>- in the van for the rally of his host. He waited fur no indications of popularity, for he received his in- spirations from his own clear head and dauntless heart. His convictions were so strong, his self-confidence so unbounded, his will so indomitable, his invention so rapid, his genius so grand and lofty, that he seemed to bear, stamped upon his brow, nature's patent to command. He moved among his partisans With an imperial, never-doubting, overpowering air of authority, which few were able to resist. He tolerated no insubordination. Opposition seemed to him to be rebellion, and obey or quit the Camp, death or tribute, was his motto ; and he rarely failed to EULOGY OF COL. MVi.rxo. 479 force obedience. Though the powerful rally which was made against liim among his associates in 1840 and '48, when fortune furnished the weapon to Btrike, exposed how much of secret dislike his despotic will had banded against him, yet it was gen- erally beaten down to submission. His ablest and haughtiest comrades would, in general, sullenly obey — "willing to wound, but yet afraid to strike." When in 1832, he wheeled short upon his footsteps, with his Compromise Bill upon the Tariff', ho carried widi him the great bulk of his partisans in Congress, and the whole of them in the country, though directly committed to the support of that measure. In 1825, he carried with him his friends from Ohio, Missouri, and Kentucky, for Mr. Adams, against Gen. Jackson, though with that vote, political destruc- tion loomed up darkly in their front. Nor was it necessary that the question should lie in his path to make him meet it. He spoke out bold and free on all point-, in front or around him, far or near. In 1825, he was Secretary of State, and not neces- sarily involved in the ephemeral domestic politics of his State. Kentucky was boiling like a mighty caldron upon the subject of her relief laws. True to his nature, Mr. Clay spoke out clear and strong in behalf of justice and sound policy against the current of an overpowering majority. Under the same circum- stances he took the same responsibility two years afterward, upon the question of the old and new courts. This unhesitating and honest audaciiy necessarily entailed upon him many tempo- rary disasters, but he always came up again fresh and strong. Like the fabled wrestler of antiquity, he rose from his mother earth stronger in his rebound than before his fall. Overwhelmed with calumny, he encountered a defeat in 1828, which would have broken the heart and blighted the tame of anv other popular leader in the nation. Even Kentucky, the last covert of the hunted stag, was beaten from his grasp ; yet he still made head, banded his broken forces, and four years afterward strain met his destiny in the same man. lie encountered a defeat terrible and overwhelming, \.-t he stood under it erect and lofty as a tower. He had now Left the retirement, from whence, as a »>-en- eral, he had marshaled his array, and had come down into the 4S0 eulogy 01 col. m'clcjng. arena of the halls of Congress to strike as well as order. And in the tremendous struggles of those stormy sessions, the battle of the giants, most gloriously did he lead the assault. It is in- spiriting to see how manfully he upheld the day. The repeated disasters which had crushed the hope and cowed the spirit of his partisans, broke vainly upon his haughty front. Defiance, stern and high, blazed in every feature, and war to the knife in every word. It was a brave sight to see how gallantly he would dash into the melee, deal his crashing blows right and left, among Van Buren, Benton, Forsylhe, and Wright ; trample the wretched curs of party into the dust beneath his feet, and strike, with all his strength full at the towering crest of Jackson. Nor was it only in the bold and stern qualities of the party leader that he excelled ; he could be winning and gentle, too. While there was any hope of winning an opponent to the sup- port of a measure, no man was more conciliating ; while his partisans would obey, no man was more kind and gentle ; and his hiofh-struntr nature rendered his courtesy more attractive than the most dextrous flattery of other men. As instances of this skill, I may mention that he twice carried through his Land Bill against a dead majority in both houses ; that he carried through his Missouri Compromise, when at first the effort seemed hopeless ; and that he Avon a passage for his Bank Bills in 1832 and '41, with a minority of supporters in the first in- stance, and with an uncertain, hesitating, unreliable majority in the last. He was patient too, and could bide his time. In 1840, intestine commotion first appeared in his party, and he first met formidable and organized resistance to his will. He had for years fought out every campaign, as the leader of the opposition ; his tactics had been brilliant, dextrous, and admirable. The party in power was broken down, and he thought he saw himself close upon the long- delayed fruition of all his hopes. The bright crown of glory which had so lono- fflittered before his eves, but to elude his grasp, was n<>\v within his reach. But another was selected to wear, when he had won it. Another was chosen to reap the harvest which he had worked, and watched, and tended. Then, EC LOGY OF COL, m'< I 4S1 for the first time, he met, what be felt to be, r* bellion in his camp. Then, for the firsl time, be saw hie standard deserted. His own appreciation of the services he bad rendered bis party was Btrong ami intense ; and under so crushing a blow, a fiery, impetuous man might be expected to commit some imprudence. Doubtless his heart beat thick with a sense of injustice, and his blood boiled in resentment. Yet he betrayed nothing of it, at least not in public. The great party leader knew how to bide his time, lie bowed gracefully to the decision, threw himself cordially into the movement, and was still the recognized chief of the host which mustered under the banner of another. His was the power behind the throne, greater than the throne itself. Four years afterward he reaped the fruit of his prudence and his patience. He was supported with zeal and unanimity by i'.,.-<- Mho before had struck him down ; and certainly nothing but the mine which was so suddenly sprung beneath his feet, prevented his triumph. After a close and most desperate snuggle, he fell again, and apparently forever. Yet, even after this apparently final blow, another effort was made, which most Strikingly illustrates his character, and displayed upon a broad ground his prodigious power over men, and his buoyant, confi- dent, sanguine, unbreakable spirit. When he was struck down in 1844, it seemed that his race was run. His defeats had been so numerous and continued, he had been BO long in the public eye, he was so far advanced in years, the rivals of his middle age, Adams, Jackson, Crawford, had all passed away, and bo seemed to be of a former gem-ration. The public li. art f.-lt that his career was closed. The old make way for the young, and a new race had arisen. Taylor's victories bad arrested the public mind, and the veteran statesman of Ashland was forgotten ; yet, he attempted to Btem the tide of victory in the very fullness of its power. His control over men was bo prodigious, he best; himself so vigorously, he Btruck so hard and true to his mark, that, with most of his close friends directly committed against him, and in spite of th< of the public, he scarcely failed to win. None but a Bpiril as dauntless as bis own, would 41 482 eulogy of col. m'clcng. have dared the struggle. None but a power so great could have made it. As a statesman, undoubtedly, Mr. Clay was entitled to the very highest rank among all his cotemporaries. It has been generally conceded, that his learning was not profound or va- rious. Of science, in its limited sense, he knew but little, and of the lighter and less important branches of study and accom- plishment, still less. It is said, that he cared nothing for liter- ature ; had never searched deeply into history ; and it is remark- able, that though at one time a minister abroad, and for four years as Secretary of State, in constant relations and intercourse with foreign envoys of every nation, he spoke no language but his own. But he knew thoroughly, that which it most imported him to know. He was profoundly versed in the theory and practices of our own government, and in a knowledge of the powers of each branch of it. He knew intimately and to the bottom, the connection, political and commercial, of America with all other nations. He knew perfectly the relation which each part of the country bore to the other, and he understood profoundly the character, genius, and wants of the American people. There was nothing sectional in his policy. His broad and comprehensive genius held in its vision the interest of the whole nation, and his big American heart throbbed for it all. He was intenselv American in all his thoughts and all his feel- •J O ings. To cherish the interest and the glory, and to build up the power of his country, and his whole country, was the aim of all his policy and the passion of his life. No candid reader who may study his career can deny, that on all great occasions, he was not only purely patriotic, but eminently self-sacrificing. Far brighter examples of this patriotic spirit, Avill at once occur to all who are familiar with his career; but at this moment, I will only allude to the instances in which he took ground upon Kentucky state politics, which I cited as examples of his unhes- itating boldness, when I was discussing his character as a party leader. Like all other true statesmen, his ideas were all relative, not absolute. He was in no degree n man of one idea. He was l.. LOG! "i < "I • M*< l.i HO. 4^3 not wedded peremptorily and .it all hasards to any measure, or any principle. He understood the policy of ;i nation, not as a fixed mathematical theorem, where, under all circumstances and at all times, every result but one must be wrung ; but as ihe practical science of fitting- measures to the occasion, to necessity, and to the times. The best practical good which could be se- cured was his aim, and under some circumstances he would maintain wliat, under a different condition of affairs, he would oppose. Without discussing the philosophical soundness of his political economy, or the correctness of all his measures, it may be stated with truth, that in them all, he looked to the integrity and independence, political and commercial, of the nation. The energv of his support of it, gave to him the rank of the champion of the protective tariff policy, though it was estab- lished before he came into political life; and his arguments in its favor, principally turn upon the maintenance of the commercial independence of the country. Yet, he was not wedded to it ; and when its continuance menaced danger to the country, he himself led the way in pulling it down. The monument to his memory on the Cumberland road, bears testimony to his efforts in behalf of national works of in- ternal improvement. He was also the author of some important, and of some great and vital measures. He originated the scheme for the distribution among the Slates, of the public lands; he was the author of the Missouri Compromise, and ■■( the adjustment of the last stormy agitation of the Slavery sub- ject. These three measures were his own. They were Btruok off in the mint of his own mind. The first of tin-.- measures must be criticised both as the movement of a party leader and a statesman, and with regard to the condition of things at the time, to understand its real merit, and to deal justice t" its author. Shortly after the revolution, in the magnanimous spirit of that immortal age, the States ceded the laml> to the general government, as a security for the payment of the national debt That debt was nearly satisfied, when Mr. Clay's measure was devised, and the treasury was overflowing with revenue. It was the general sense of all parties, thai the land fund should be 4S4 EULOGY OF COL. il'cLCNG. withdrawn from the current support of the general government; and Congress was overrun with schemes to squander it. Some of the States asserted the monstrous heresy of a title to all, within their limits, by right of their sovereignty. Propositions for grants to States, companies, and individuals were rife in each Hall ; and, probably, by no other movement would it have been possible to rescue and preserve, for the benefit of the Union, that immense fund from squandering dissipation. Considered without reference to the schemes of abandonment, which it was necessary to oppose, the measure .does not appear to be founded on philosophical soundness and policy. In the United States, we have two circles of government, with a common constit- uency. The State and Federal governments are organs of the same people. They have separate and distinct powers, different circles and measures of authority and action, but a common and the same constituency. Both governments are mere abstrac- tions ; while the living, breathing power, is the people and the same people. The same men are citizens of one government and the other. The same people bear the burden, pay the revenue, and enjoy the benefits of them both. Both govern- ments are ideal existences, artificial organs of one common master. Therefore, it does not appear, when abstractly con- sidered, to be sound or philosophical statesmanship, to give to the people, through one organ, a portion of the public revenue, when the same people will be compelled to pay it back again in a different shape to the other. It seems to be shifting a treasure from one pocket to the other, with some loss on the passage. But, considered as a movement to prevent that great fund from being squandered, it was the stroke of a statesman, and as the tactics of a party leader the conception was most dextrous. The country was upon the eve of a presidential election, and the disposition of the land fund was to the candidates a most per- ilous and embarrassing question. Mr. Clay's opponents in the Senate constituting a majority, determined to complicate hini with the subject, and in spite of the remonstrances and votes of himself and his friends, they referred it to the committee upon manufactures, of which he was chairman — the last committee in BULOQY OF OOL. mVuni .. !^5 the House to which the subject was appropriate and german. This disposal of the subject, unjust as il was compelled him to take it up. If he favored or opposed any of the numerous grants for various purposes, somewhere in the nation, loss to him would ensue. If lie favored the proposition to cede the lands to the new States, he disgusted the old. If he opposed it, he offended the new. But the invention of the old party leader came to his rescue, and, as his return blow, he conceived the counterstroke of a distribution among all the States. On the two other great occasions, when sectional excitement shook the Union to its center, to which I have referred, he ap- peared as a mediator. He was the author of the Missouri Com- promise, and of the adjustment measures of the stormy session of 1850. The completely relative cast of all his political ideas, the total absence from his character of fanaticism upon any opinion or principle, eminently fitted him for a mediator; and upon all dangerous questions he always acted that part. When- ever conflicting interests or opinions menaced the integrity of the Union, he stood forth as the harbinger and the champion of peace and conciliation. He saw the wretched condition of the miserable little republics of South America, feeble, demoralized, and contemptible, at war with each other, trampled upon by every European power, and despised by the world. He was a member of a givat nation ; he loved his country, and his whole country, from North to South, from the big lakes to the Gulf, from ocean to ocean, from the sunrise to the sunset, and every feeling of his heart, every thought of his brain, revolted at dis- memberment It is enough to say. in eulogy of those measures, and it should immortalize the great statesman who conceived them, that both the great divisions of the American people have adopted them both, as a part of their political creed. Doubtless, some portion of his influence in the adjustment of those perilous questioi from the entirely m and conservative character of his opinions upon that subject, and from the peculiarity of his position. lie was a native and a Representative of a Slave State ; he had never lived anywhere else ; and while unflinchingly true, at all times, and upon all 486 EULOGY OF COL. M CLUNG. points, to the rights of the Southern States, yet, he considered slavery as a great, though unavoidable evil. But he was in no degree impassioned and blinded in regard to it. He looked at the subject calmly and without exaggeration ; not through the magnifying glass of religious fanaticism or distorted philan- thropy, but with the calm eye of a practical statesman. He maintained the policy of gradual emancipation on both occasions that the subject was agitated in Kentucky, openly and vigor- ously ; contending that the great numerical preponderance of the whites over the blacks in that State rendered their Gradual emancipation and removal safe and easily attainable. At the same time he always declared that he considered all such schemes to be utterly impracticable in the planting States ; and if a citizen of one of them, he would oppose them all, because the numbers of the blacks would render their removal impossi- ble, and their continual presence disadvantageous and perilous to the whites. He favored emancipation in Kentucky, while farther South he declared he considered it utterly impracticable. These views he urged and amplitied at length, not only in the discussion of the question in his own State, but also in the United States Senate, while discussing the reception of petitions for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. This position might also be referred to, as another illustration of the practical and completely relative character of all his political ideas. Doubtless, as an abstract proposition, considered without reference to its inevitable existence or the perilous consequences of its cessation, lie was opposed to slavery; for liberty was the passion of his life. His own country and his own countrymen were the first and the principal object in his thoughts and in his heart ; but his broad and extended philanthropy embraced the world. Even the degraded African slave, separated from his own race by a wide and impassable gulf, found in him a well- wisher to his moral and mental elevation, when it could occur safely, in a different land and another clime. Wherever abroad freedom found a votary, that votary met in him a champion. When Greece, the classic land of Greece — the fountain of re- finement, the birthplace of eloquence, and poetry, and liberty — l.l ! OGX OF OOL. u'( 487 when Greece awoke from the long b1 umber of i and beat back the fading Cre cenl to its native East; wl icedon at lasl called to mind ti ■ conquering boy, and the Spartan again struck in for the land which had bred him, in Henry Cxay's voice the words of cheering rolled over the blue waters, from the far west, as the greeting of the New World to the Old. When Mexico, and oursister republics of the extn South, shook off the rotted yoke of the fallen Spaniard, and freedom's lace, for one brief moment, gleamed under the light of the Southern Cross, it was he who spoke oul again, to cheer and to rouse iis champions. The regenerated Greek, the dusky Mexican, the Peruvian mountaineer — all, who would strike one blow for liberty, found in him a friend and an advo- cate. His words of cheering Bwepl over the plains of Marathon, and came ringing back from the peaks of the An !••-. But that voice is now stilled, and his bright eye cloa ! for- ever. He has gone from our midst, and the wailing of grief which rose from the nation, and the plumage of mourning which shrouded its cities, its halls, and its altars, attest his country- men's sense of their loss. !!•■ la- ,-i.--. and gone in glory. From us rises the dirge; with him floats the paean of triumph. By a beautiful decree and poetical justice of destiny, it was fated that the lasl efforl of the Union's greal champion should be ma '• in 1" I alf of the Union, in its last greal extremity. 1! • d off the stage as b< came tl •• Great Pacificator. His 'lying effort was worthy of and appropriate to him. When the foun- tains of the greal deep of the public min 1 were br< ken up, the fierce passions ional ai a the ms sw< ep ovi r th 'can. il i ice thai the word i ithing • ' . " I eace, be still." 1: was hi lasl battle, and the ran fought it with the power and the fire of his prime. The expiring light of though flickering in its last beamc the fulh lian luster. There was no lading away adual decay of body. Minds like his, and souls so £ a jased in fram - I, and when they fall at la ;. The Union was not compelled to blush for the d< 48S LTLOGY OF COL. m'cLTJNG. of the Union's great champion. Age had not crumbled the stately dignify of his form, nor reduced his manly intellect to the imbecilily of second childhood. He faded away into no feeble twilight ; he sank down to no dim sunset ; but sprang out of life in the bright place of meridian fullness. He passed down into the valley of the shadow of death with all his glory unclouded, with all his laurels fresh and green around him. Not a spot obscures the luster of his crest ; not a sprig has been torn from his chaplet. " The dead Douglass has won the field." His dying ear rang with the applause of his country, and the hosannas of a nation's gratitude. Death has given to him the empire in the hearts of his countrymen, not fully granted to the living man — and, although it was not decreed that the first honors of the nation should await him, its last blessings will clus- ter around his name. His memory needs no monument. He wants no mausoleum of stone or marble to imprison his sacred dust. Let him rest amid the tokens of the freedom he so much loved. Let him sleep on, where the whistling of the tameless winds — the ceaseless roll of the murmuring waters — the chirping of the wild bird — and all which speaks of Liberty, may chant his eternal lullaby. Peace be with thy soul, Hexry Clay ! May the earth lie light upon th^e, and the undying laurel of glory grow green ov<-r thy grave. ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS OK TIIK FUNERAL OF THE HON. HENRY CLAY. The Committee of Arrangements, Pall-Bearers, and Mourn- ers, attended at the National Hotel, the late residence of the deceased, on Thursday, July 1, 1852, at 11 o'clock, a. m. At half-past eleven the funeral procession to the Capitol was formed, in the following order : The Chaplains of both Houses of Congress. Physicians who attended the deceased. Committee of Arrangements. Messrs. Hunter, Dawson, Jon< - of Iowa, Cooper, Bright, and Smith. Pall-Bearers. Messrs. Cass, Mangum, Dodge of Wisconsin, Pratt, Atchison, and Bell. Committee to attend the remains of the deceased ( i Kentucky. Messrs. Onderwood, Jones of Tennessee, Cbss, Pish, Houston, and Stockton. The Family and Friends of the deceased. The Senators and Representatives from the State of Kentucky, as mourners. 490 OBSEQUIES OF HENKY CLAY. The Sergeant-at-Arms* of the Sena:''. The Senate of the Uniled States, preceded by their President pro tempore, and Secretary. The other Officers of the Senate. The Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives, preceded by their Speaker and Clerk. The other Officers of the House of Representatives. Judges of the United States. Officers of the Executive Departments. Officers of the Army and Navy, The Mayor and Corporation of Washington, and of other cities. Civic Associations. Military Companies. Citizens and Strangers. The procession having entered the Senate Chamber, where the President of the United States, the Heads of Departments, the Diplomatic Corps, and others were already present. "The President of the United States and the Speaker of the House of Representatives were seated with the President of the Senate. The body of the Senate, the representatives of State sovereignties, were grouped, on the two innermost semicircular row of chairs, around the lifeless form of their late colleague. The committee of arrangements, and the committee to convey the body to Kentucky, and the pall-bearers, with the Kentucky delegation in the House of Representatives, as chief mourners, and a few personal devoted friends, were also in close proximity to the inanimate form of the deceased. " The members of the House of Representatives tilled the outer circles, except such parts as were devoted to the large diplomatic corps, the Cabinet of the President of the United Slates, the officers of the Army and Navy, among whom were Major- General Scott, commander-in-chief, and Commodore Morris. With the Municipal Councils of the city of Washington, were the officers of neighboring cities, and others, official and unofficial." The funeral service was performed by Rev. Dr. Butler, Chaplain to the Senate. SEK^roisr DELIVERED IN THE SENATE CHAMBER, JULY 1, 1852, ON THE OCCASION OF THK FUNERAL OF HON. HENRY CLAY. BY THE REV. C. M. BUTLER, D.D CHAPLAIN OF THE SENATE. " How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod." — Jer. xlviii , 17. Before all hearts and minds in this august assemblage, the rivid image of one man stands. To sum.' aged . may come forth, from the dim past, as he appeared in the neighbor- ing city <>t" his, native State, a Lithe and ardent youth, full of promise, of ambition, and of 1 1 - - j »* - . 'I'm another Ik- may appear as, in a distant State, in the curt- <>( justice, erect, high-strung, bold, wearing the fresh forensic laurel on his young and brow. Some may see him in the earlier, and Bome in the lain-, • s of his career, on ibis conspicuous theater of hi- renown ; and to tb>- former he will Btart out on tli" back-ground of the past, a- he appeared in the neighboring chamber, (all. .-la'.', im- passioned — with flashii . and Buasive gesture, and clarion voice, an already acknowledged "Agamemnon, King of Hen;" and to others he will again Bland in I amber, "th staff" of the bewildered and e State, and "the beauti- ful rod," rich with the blossoms of genius, and of pan; 492 OBSEQUIES OF HENRY CLAY. and hope, the life of youth still remaining to give animation, grace, and exhaustless vigor, to the wisdom, the experience, and the gravity of age. To others he may be present as he sat in the chamber of sickness, cheerful, majestic, gentle — his mind clear, his heart warm, his hope fixed on Heaven, peacefully pre- paring for his last great change. To the memory of the minister of God he appears as the penitent, humble, and peaceful Chris- tian, who received him with the affection of a father, and joined with him in solemn sacrament and prayer, with the gentleness of a woman, and the humility of a child. " Out of the strong came forth sweetness." " How is the strong staff' broken, the beautiful rod ! " « But nut before this assembly only does the venerated image of the departed statesman, this day, distinctly stand. For more than a thousand miles — east, west, north, and south — it is known and remembered, that, at this place and hour, a nation's Representatives assemble to do honor to him whose fame is now a nation's heritage. A nation's mighty heart throbs against this Capitol, and beats through you. In many cities banners droop, bells toll, cannons boom, funereal draperies wave. In crowded streets and on sounding wharves, upon steamboats and upon cars, in fields and in workshops, in homes, in schools, mil- lions of men, women, and children, have their thoughts fixed upon this scene, and say mournfully to each other, " This is the hour in which, at the Capitol, the nation's Representatives are burying Henry Clay." Burying Henry Clay ! Bury the records of your country's history — bury the hearts of living millions — bury the mountains, the rivers, the lakes, and the spreading lands from sea to sea, with which his name is insep- arably associated, and even then you would not bury Hexry Clay — for he lives in other lands, and speaks in other tongues, and to other times than ours. A great mind, a great heart, a great orator, a great career, have been consigned to history. ' She will record his rare gifts of deep insight, keen discrimination, clear statement, rapid com- bination, plain, direct, and convincing logic. She will love to dwell on that large, generous, magnanimous, open, forgiving SliRMoN OF REV. DB. B1 lll.i:. 493 heart. She will linger, with fond delight, on th< rded and traditional stories of an eloquence thai was so masterful and stirring, because it was but himself, struggling to come forth <>n the living words — because, though the words were brave and strong, and beautiful and melodious, it was felt that, behind them there was a soul braver, stronger, more beautiful, and more melodious than language could express. She will point t" a career of statesmanship which has, to a remarkable degree, stamped itself on the public policy of the country, and reached, in beneficent practical results, the fields, the looms, the com- mercial marts, and the quiet homes of all the land, where his name was, with the departed fathers, and is with the living children, and will be, with successive generations, an honored household word. I feel, as a man, the grandeur of this career. But as an im- mortal, with this broken wreck of mortality before me, with this scene as the "end-all" of human glory, I feel that no ca- reer is truly great, but that of him who, whether he be illus- trious or obscure, lives to the future in the present, and linking himself to the spiritual world, draws from God the life, the rule, the motive, and the reward of all his labor. So would that great spirit which has departed say to us^could he address us now. So did he realize, in the calm and meditative close of life. I feel that I but utter the lessons which, living, were his last and best convictions, and which, dead, would be, could he speak to us his solemn admonitions, when I say that states- manship is then only glorious, when it is Christian; and that man is then only safe, and true to his duty, and his toul, when the life which he lives in the flesh is the life of faith in the Son of God. Great, indeed, is the privilege, and most honorable and useful is the career of a Christian American statesman. He perceives that civil liberty cane- from tie- freedom wherewith Christ made its early martyrs and defenders free. He recognizes il as one of the twelve manner of fruits on the Tree of Life, which, while its lower branches furnish the best nutriment of earth, hangs on its topmost boyghs, which wave in Heaven, fruits that exhilarate 494 OHSEQUIES OF HENRY CLAY. the immortals. Recognizing the State as God's institution, he will perceive that his own ministry is divine. Living con- sciously under the e)-e, and in the love and fear of God ; re- deemed by the blood of Jesus ; sanctified by His Spirit ; lovinf his law ; he will give himself, in private and in public, to the service of his Saviour. He will not admit that he may act on less lofty principles in public than in private life ; and that he must be careful of his moral influence in the small sphere of home and neighborhood, but need take no heed of it when it stretches over continents and crosses seas. He will know that his moral responsibility can not be divided and distributed among others. When he is told that adherence to the strictest moral and religious principle is incompatible with a successful and Eminent career, he will denounce the assertion as a libel on the venerated Fathers of the Republic — a libel on the honored living and the illustrious dead — a libel against a crreat and Christian nation — a libel against God himself, who has declared and made " godliness profitable for the life that now is." He will strive to make laws the transcripts of the character, and in- stitutions illustrations of the providence of God. He will scan with admiration and awe the purposes of God in the future his- tory of the world, i\j throwing open this wide Continent, from sea to sea, as the abode of freedom, intelligence, plenty, pros- perity, and peace ; and feel that in giving his energies with a patriot's love, to the welfare of his country, he is consecrating himself, with a Christian's zeal, to the extension and establish- ment of the Redeemer's kingdom. Compared with a career like this, which is equally open to those whose public sphere is large or small, how paltry are the trade of patriotism, the tricks of statesmanship, the rewards of successful baseness ! This hour, this scene, the venerated dead, the country, the world, the pre- sent, the future, God, duty, Heaven, hell, speak trumpet-tongued to all in the service of their country, to beware how they lay polluted or unhallowed hands "Upon the ark Of her magnificent and awful cause I" BMON 01 B] \ . !'i:. Dl ill u. P'o Such is thi' character of thai anship which alone would have me! the full approval of the venerated dead. For the reli- gion which always had a place in the convictions "f hie mind, had also, within a recent period, entered into bis experience, and ed itself in his heart. Twenty years since he wrote — "I am a member of no religious sect, and 1 am nol a professor of relierion. 1 resrret that I am not I wish that I was, and trust that I shall be. I have, and always have had, a profound re- gard for Christianity, the religion of my fathers, and for its rites, its usages and observances." That feeling proved that the seed sown by pious parents, was not dead though stifled. A few years since, its dormant life was re-awakened. He was baptized in the communion of the Protestant Episcopal Church ; and during his sojourn in this city, he was in full communion with Trinity Parish. It is since his withdrawal from the sittings of the Senate, that I have been made particularly acquainted with his religious opinions, character, and feelings. From the commencement of his illness he always expressed to me his persuasion that its ter- mination would be fatal. From that period until his death, it was my privilege to hold frequent religious services and conver- sations with him in his room. He avowed to me his full faith in the great leading doctrines of the Gospel — the fall and sinful- ness of man, the divinity of Christ, the reality and necessity of the Atonement, the need of being born again by the Spirit, and salvation through faith in a crucified Redeemer. His own personal hopes of salvation, he ever and distinctly based on the promises and tl • of Christ Strikingly perceptible, on his naturally impetuous and impatient character, was the influence of grace in producing Buhmission, and "a patient waiting for Christ," and for death. On one occasion he spoke to me of the pious example of one very near and dear to him, as that which led him deeply to feel, and earnestly to seek for him- self, the reality and t! of religion. On another occasion, he told me that he had been striving to form a con- ception of Heaven ; and he enlarged upon the mercy of that provision by which our Saviour became a partaker ol our 4!)6 OBSEQUIES OF HENBT CLAY. humanity, that our hearts and hopes might fix themselves on. him. On another occasion, when he was supposed to be very near his end, I expressed to him the hope that his mind and heart were at peace, and that he was able to rest with cheerful confidence on the promises, and in the merits of the Redeemer. He said, with much feeling, that he endeavored to, and trusted that he did, repose his salvation upon Christ ; that it was too late for him to look at Christianity in the light of speculation ; that he had never doubted of its truth ; and that he now wished to throw himself upon it as a practical and blessed remedy. Very soon after this, I administered to him the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. J Being extremely feeble, and desirous of having his mind undiverted, no persons were present, but his son and his servant. $ It was a scene long to be remembered. There, in that still chamber, at a week-day noon, the tides of life flowing all around us, three disciples of the Saviour, the minister of God, the dying statesman, and his servant, a partaker of the like precious faith, commemorated their Saviour's dying love/ He joined in the blessed sacrament with great feeling and solem- nity, now pressing his hands together, and now spreading them forth, as the words of the service expressed the feelings, desires, supplications, confessions, and thanksgivings, of his heart. His eyes were dim with grateful tears, his heart was full of peace and love ! After tins he rallied, and again I was permitted fre- quently to join with him in religious services, conversation, and prayer. He grew in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Among the books which, in connec- tion with the Word of God, he read most, were "Jay's Morn- ing and Evening Exercises," the "Life of- Dr. Chalmers," and " The Christian Philosopher Triumphant in Death." His hope continued to the end to be, though true and real, tremulous with humility rather than rapturous with assurance. When he fit most the weariness of his protracted sufferings, it sufficed to suggest to him that his Heavenly Father doubtless knew, that after a life so long and stirring, and tempted, such a dis- cipline of chastening and suffering was needful to make him BEBMOB OF REV. DB. BUTLEB. 1 97 more meet for the inheritan< t' 1 1 1 •-- -aims — and at once words of meek and patient acquiescence escaped hie lips. Exhausted nature al length gave way. On the last occasion, when 1 was permitted to offer a brief prayer al hia bedside, Ins last words bo me were thai h<- had hope only in Christ, and that the prayer which I had offered for his pardoning lore, and his sanctifying grace, included every thing which the dying i On the evening previous to his departure, sitting for an hour in silence by his side, I could not but realize, when 1 heard him, in the slight wanderings of his mind to Other days, and i scenes, murmuring the words," My mother ! Mother! Mother!" and saying u My dear wife/" as if she were present, and fre- quently uttering aloud, as if in response to some silent Litany of the soul, the simple prayer, "Lord have mercy upon in<- ! " — I could nut but realize then, and rejoice to think how near was the blessed reunion of his weary heart with the loved dead, and with her — Our dear Lord gently smooth her passage to (he tomb! — who must soon follow him to his rest — whose spirits even then seemed to visit, and to cheer his memory and his hope. Gently he breathed his soul away into the spirit world. "How blest the righteous when they die! When holy soul- n tire to rest, lluw mildly beams the closing eye, How gently heaves the expiring breast I "So fades the summer cloud away, So sinks the gale when storms are o'er, So L r '-nlly BhulS tie- i-y of day, So dies the wave upon the Bhorel" Be it ours to follow- him. in the same humble ami Bubmu faith, to Heaven. Could he speak i- us the >■■ unsels of his latest human, and his presenl Heavenly, experience, aura 1 am that he would DOtonly admonish us to cling to the Saviour, in sickness and in death, hut abjure u- no', to delay to acl upon our first convictions, that we might give our best powers and 4 j 49S OBSEQUIES OF IIHN'KY CLAY. fullest influence to God, and go to the grave with a hope, unshad- owed by the long worldliness of the past, or by the films of fear and doubt resting over the future. The strong staff is broken, and the beautiful rod is despoiled of its grace and bloom ; but in the light of the eternal promises, and by the power of Christ's resurrection, we joyfully anticipate the prospect of seeing that broken staff erect, and that beautiful rod clothed with celestial £race, and blossoming with undying life and blessedness in the Paradise of God. At the conclusion of the service, the corpse was placed in the Rotunda, where it remained until half past three o'clock, p. m., when it was removed, in chame of the Committee of Arrange- ments and Pall-Bearers, to the Railroad Depot, and confided to the Committee appointed to accompany it to Kentucky. * The funeral cortege appointed by the Senate of the United States, to accompany the remains of Mr. Clay from Washington to Lexington, rested for the night at Baltimore, where the pro- foundest sorrow reigned, and every befitting honor was rendered to the memory of the illustrious deceased, by the civic author- ities, by the military, and by all ranks of people. The next morning the cortege, with their charge, took the cars for Phila- delphia, accompanied to the railroad depot by a civic and mili- tary procession. Crowds of sorrowing people, of all ages, and both sexes, flocked to the villages and towns on the road, to express their sympathy and grief. At Wilmington, Delaware, the concourse was great ; and they were gratified by being per- mitted to approach and see the coffin of the statesman who had been so much loved and honored in the State of Delaware. The sun was down, and the shades of night came over the city of Philadelphia* before the cortege arrived. But the preparations for the reception were on the largest scale, and the procession to the old State House, where, in the Hall of Independence, the corpse was deposited for the night, under a guard of honor, was of the most imposing and solemn character. It is needless to • CollOTi'a La~t Seven Years. 0B8EQ1 IBS OF IIF.XUY cl.AY. (£9 say, that the great hearl of Philadelphia waa moved with sorrow- as never before. Ever honored there while living, he was wept there by tens of thousands as he was bonie through their midst in his coffin. After affording an opportunity, as faff as possible, for the citizens, early in the morning of Saturday, to walk around the remains of one so much beloved, a committee from Philadel- phia took charge of the body, and, being escorted to the river by a military and civic procession, moved forward by steamboat and railway, to meet a committee from New York, who received the sacred trust, and took it in charge, until, in the evening, il was deposited in the Governor's room at the City Hall, there to rest over the Sabbath, under a guard of honor. Even the city of New York was hushed to solemn silence on this mournful occa- sion ; and it was computed that a hundred thousand persons visited the Governor's room on Saturday evening and Sunday, without the slightest disorder, and all in solemn silence. We need not Bay, that the public demonstrations were all suited to the occasion; but the public funeral at New York was not sol- emnized until the 20th of July, which was the greatest and most solemn pageant of the kind ever witnessed in that city. Early on Monday morning the remains of Mr. Clat were removed from the City Hall to the steamboat for Albany, which were saluted on the passage by half-mast flags, and by other symbols, from every craft on the river, and by booming guns from every village and town on the Hudson, between New York and Albany. The city of Albany had the honor of receiving and guarding the remains of the great Blatesman for the night, and she discharged the duty in a manner worthy of herself. Early in the morning th. rtege moved on for Buffalo, stopping at the principal towns and villages to gratify the assembled mul- titudes, and to permit them to manifest their pari of the deep and universal sorrow. They were received in Buffalo by torchlight, and there, too, was enacted another Bad and funeral pageant suited to the occasion. So at Cleveland, bo al Columbus, Boat Cincinnati, and so on the whole line of travel, until the cortege arrived at Louisville, and landed the remains ,•( Hkkrt Clat on the soil of Kentucky, his adopted State, which bad ever 500 OBSEQUIES OF HENRY CLAY. delighted to honor him, and which, as he himself once said, had "carried him aloft in her noble arms, as well when fortune frowned as when she smiled." Though the grief of the nation was sincere, that of Kentucky was the sorrow of a parent for the loss of a son. She was entitled to the first place in the long procession ; and we are not surprised to see her tears flow more copiously, and her symbols of mourning more expressive. So was it at Louisville, so was it at Frankfort, the capital of the State, and so was it on the whole line of the railway to Lexing- ton, where the cortege arrived, at sunset, on Friday, the 9th of July. As far as the sight could reach, there was one sea of heads. The mission of the Senate Committee was ended, and Mr. Un- derwwod addressed the Chairman of the Committee of Lexing- ton, as follows : " Mr. Chairman-, and gentlemen of the Lexington Committee : "Mr. Clay desired to be buried in the cemetery of your city. I made known his wish to the Senate, after he was dead. That body, in consideration of the respect entertained for him, and his long and eminent public services, appointed a committee of six senators, to attend his remains to this place. My relations to Mr. Clay, as his colleague, and as the mover of the resolution, induced the Presidenl of the Senate to appoint me the chairman of the committee. The other gentlemen comprising the com- mittee are distinguished, all of them, for eminent civil services, eacli having been the executive head of a State or Territory, and some of them no less distinguished for brilliant military achieve- ments. I can not permit this occasion to pass without an expression of my gratitude to each member of the Senate's Committee. They have, to testify their personal respect and appreciation of the character, private and public, of Mr. Clay, left their seats in the Senate, for a time, and honored his remains by conducting them to their last resting-place. I am sure that jfrou, gentlemen of the Lexington Committee, and the people of Kentucky, will ever bear my associates in grateful remembrance. " Our journey, since we left Washington, has been a continued ;- I i ay. 5 'I proces-i"n. Everywhere the people hare | t rward to manifest their feelings toward t!.'' illustrious dead. Delegates from cities, towns, and Tillages, hare waited on us. The pure and ill.- lovely, the nn and daughters of the land, as we !. . '\ ivil 1 1 : *""• coffin with gar!a::'!s > »f fl rwers, and bod' i; with tears. It lias been no triumphal procession in honor of a living man, stimulated by hopes of reward. It Las been tl • voluntary tribute of a free and grateful people to the glorious dead. We have brought with us, to witness the last sad cere- mony, a delegation from the Clay Association of the city of New York, and delegations from the cities of Cincinnati and Dayton, in Ohio. Much as we have seen on our way. it is small «• in - pared with the great movement of popular sympathy and admira- tion which everywhere burst forth in honor of the departed states- man. The rivulets we have witnessed are concentrating; and in their union will form the ocean tide that shall lave the base of the pyramid of Mr. Clay's fame forever. "Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the Lexington Committee, I have but one remaining duly to perform, and that is, to deliver to vou, the neighbors and friends of Mr. Clav, when living, his dead body for interment. From my acquaintance with your characters, and especially with your Chairman, who was my schoolmate in boyhood, my associate in the Legislature in early manhood, and afterward a co-laborer, for many years, on the bench of the Appellate Court, I know that you will do all that duty and propriety require, in burying him, whose last great services to his country were performed from Christian motives, without hopes of office or earthly reward." As he closed, the Chairman of the Lexington Comrni I ef Justice Robertson, Bharing the emotions of all present, and himself deeply affected, replied : "Senator Underwood, Chairman, and Associate Senators of the Committee "i" Conveyance: "Here, your long and mournful con---, al last ends, — your melancholy mission is now fullilled, — and, this solemn moment, 502 OBSEQ'JIES OF IIEN'IIY CI.AY. you dissolve forever your official connection with your late dis- tinguished colleague of Kentucky. "With mingled emotions of sorrow and gratitude, we receive from your hands, into the arms of his devoted State and the bosom of his beloved city, all that now remains on earth of Henry Clay. Having attained, with signal honor, the patri- archal age of seventy-six, and hallowed his setting sun by the crowning act of his eventful drama, a wise and benevolent Provi- dence has seen fit to close his pilgrimage, and to allow him to act, — as we trust he was prepared to act, — a still nobler and better part in a purer world, where life is deathless. This was, doubtless, best for him, and, in the inscrutable dispensations of a benignant Almighty, best for his country. Still, it is but natural that his countrymen, and his neighbors especially, should feel and exhibit sorrow at the loss of a citizen so useful, so eminent, and so loved. And not as his associates only, but as Ken- tuckians and Americans, we, of Lexington and Fayette, feel grateful for the unexampled manifestations of respect for his memory, to which you have so eloquently alluded, as having everywhere graced the more than triumphal procession of his dead body homeward from the national capital, where, in the public service, he fell with his armor on and untarnished. We feel, Mr. Chairman, especially grateful to yourself and your col- leagues here present, for the honor of your kind accompaniment of your precious deposit to his last home. Equally divided in your party names, equally the personal friends of the deceased, equally sympathizing with a whole nation in the Providential bereavement, and all distinguished for your public services and the confidence of constituents. — you were peculiarly suited to the sacred trust of escorting his remains to the spot chosen by himself for their repose. Having performed that solemn service in a maimer creditable to yourselves and honorable to his mem- ory, Kentucky thanks yen for your patriotic magnanimity. And allow me, as her organ on this valedictory occasion, to express for her, as well as for myself and committee, the hope that your last days may be far distant, and that, come when they may, as they certainly must come, sooner or later, to all of you, the OBSEQUIES OF IIKNKY CLAY. 503 death of each of you may deserve to be honored by the grateful outpourings of national respect which signalize the death of our universally lamented Clay. " Unlike Burke, he never 'gave up to the party what was meant for mankind.' His intrepid nationality, hia lofty patriotism, and his comprehensive philanthropy, illustrated by his country's annals for half a century, magnified him among statesmen, and endeared him to all classes, and ages, and sexes of his country- men. And, therefore, his name, like Washington's, will belong to no party, or section, or time. "Your kind allusion, Mr. Chairman, to reminiscences of our personal associations is cordially reciprocated, — the longer we have known, the more we have respected each other. Be assured that the duty you have devolved on our committee shall be faith- fully performed. The body you commit to us shall be properly interred in a spot of its mother earth, which, as 'the grave of Clay,' will be more and more consecrated by time to the affections of mankind. " How different, however, would have been the feelings of ua all, if, instead of the pulseless, speechless, breathless Clay, now in cold and solemn silence before us, you had brought with you to his family and neighbors, the living man, in all the majesty of his transcendent moral power, as we once knew, and often saw and heard him. But with becoming resignation, we bow to a dispensation which was doubtless as wise and beneficent as it was melancholy and inevitable. "To the accompanying committees from New York, Dayton, and Cincinnati, we tender our profound acknowledgments for their voluntarv sacrifice of time and comfort to honor the obse- quies of our illustrious countryman. "In the sacred and august presence of the illustrious dead, were a eulogistic speech befitting tin 1 occasion, it could not be made bv me. / could not thus >-]"-ak over the dead body of Henry Clay. Kentucky expects not me, nor any other of her sons, to speak his eulogy now. if ever. She would leave that grateful task to other Slates and to other times. His nam.- needs not our panegyric. The carver of his own fortune, the founder 504: OBSEQUIES OF IIENKY CLAY. of his own name; with his own hands he has built his own monument, and with his own tongue and his own pen he has stereotyped his autobiography. With hopeful trust his maternal Commonwealth consigns his fame to the justice of history and to the judgment of ages to come. His ashes he bequeathed to her, and they will rest in her bosom until the judgment day ; his fame will descend, as the common heritage of his country, to every citizen of that Union, of which he was thrice the trium- phant champion, and whose genius and value are so beautifully illustrated by his model life. " But, though we feel assured that his renown will survive the ruins of the Capitol he so long and so admirably graced, yet Kentucky will rear to his memory a magnificent mausoleum, — a votive monument, — to mark the spot where his relics shall sleep, and to testify to succeeding generations, that our Republic, however unjust it may too often be to living merit, will ever cherish a grateful remembrance of the dead patriot, who dedi- cated his life to his country, and with rare ability, heroic firm- ness, and self-sacrificing constancy, devoted his talents and his time to the cause of Patriotism, of Liberty, and of Truth." The following somewhat glowing account of what occurred, from the arrival of the cortege at Lexington to the commence- ment of the funeral discourse, we borrow from the hand of an eye-witness : At the close of this address, the procession was formed, headed by a cavalcade of horsemen, preceding the hearse, which was followed by the Senate Committee, and the deputation from New York, in carriages, as mourners ; the Clay Guard, of Cin- cinnati ; the deputation of fourteen, from Dayton, Ohio ; the seventy-six, from Louisville, and the citizens in the rear, — their march being under the funeral arches, and through the somber street, — lined by the silent multitude, — toward that place known to every inhabitant of the Republic, and throughout the civilized world, as the home of the great comm >ner. "Who can fittingly speak of the agonized group awaiting at (IBS', q OF III.XUY CI.AV. H '•> Ashland, the arrival of the remains of him who had been hus- band, father, and the beloved master? That wit*.', who, for fifty-three years and upward, had been his faithful partner, — shatvr of his triumphs and of his many trials; whose saint-like virtues had secured to her the affection and veneration of all classes in the place where she was so well known ; herself more than threescore years a sojourner on earth, having survived her parents and all her daughters, with gallant sons moldering in the tomb, bending beneath the weight of this, her speechless sorrow ; bowing with years, and broken in health, amid surviving chil- dren, grandchildren, and kindred ; and gathering around them, the old and young of their servants, awaited there the remains of her husband. Guided by the many torches, the train moved through the grounds designed and laid out under his supervision. It was in truth a solemn, — a holy scene. Under the dark shadows of the spreading grove, treading on a lawn where the wild flower, the myrtle, and the laurel were strangely mingled, they bore him toward that portal which had last seen him depart near the close of the preceding year, impelled again to cross the moun- tains, and to tread the Halls of Congress, because there had come to him a rumor of a threatened resumption of sectional controversies. ****** They gently laid him beneath his own roof, and in that room where he had, for half a century, received the homage of count- less thousands, representing all classes and callings, — the gifted and the great of either sex, — coming from every country, and traveling from all directions, to Lexington, that they might thus, in person, pay tribute to the worth, the genius, the patriotism, and surpassing excellence of the public and private character of the illustrious host. Beside the bier were gathered his sons, some of his grandsons, and nephews ; behind these the family servants. * * * The Clay Guard, of Cincinnati, solicited the honor of watching over his remaims — this, the last night before sepulture. * * In the deep hours of the night, — alone with him and her God, — the widow knelt beside her husband's corpse. For that 43 506 OBSEQUIES OF HENBY CLAY. hour it was directed that she should not be disturbed. In that hour what other heart knew her thronging memories of joys and sorrows, save the spirit of the dead she longed to join. * * They had commenced together the struggles of life. Together they had planned their home, — together they had arranged their grounds, and with their own hands had planted the young shoots of what now were the stately trees of Ashland. * * Life had opened to them full of bright hope and promise that belong to youth, energy, and commanding abilities. She had seen him leap into a dazzling greatness, reflecting honor and dignity upon his native land, lifting his young State to the front rank of her compeers, and conferring prosperity upon his country and her citizens, while he gave stability and permanence to the institutions and laws of the land, and cemented together the Union, as he ardently desired, prayed for, and labored cease- lessly to accomplish, from end to end, — from center to cir- cumference. * * There were born to them, in this happy home, eleven children — six daughters and five sons. Where are they now? No daughter survived, on whose breast that aged head could rest. Four sons only remained, and one a lunatic. ****** In that dread hour, through her thronging mind passed the remembrance of a lifetime. She had the sympathy and regard of millions, and in that watch of the dead, she was accompanied by the thoughts of countless thousands, who remembered what event the morrow was to commemorate in history. * * * Long before the day had fairly broke (Saturday, July 10), every avenue of approach to the city was crowded by those who came to Lexington to render their last tribute to him who had always, living, received their measureless devotion. * * It was computed that nearly one hundred- thousand persons, of all classes and sexes, had comp together on that memorable occasion. ****** At an hearly hour, those appointed to meet at Ashland, had gathered together within the house : the pall-bearers, his oldest and most distinguished friends in Kentucky, the Senate Com- mittee, and the deputation from New York, his family and or.M'o! II - 01 tlEHKI OLAY. kindred. In front were arranged the deputations from other States, from the Masonic fraternity, ."11111 a dense crowd were in a semicircular array before the porch. Upon a bier, cush- ioned with flowers, and immediately in front of the door, thoy laid the iron coffin that inclosed the body of Henry Clay. Upon it shone a clear, cloudless sun. Upon the breast of it reposed the civic wreaths, while strewed around were the floral offerings of every principal place from the national Capitol to the grave. ****** From Washington to the tomb was one votive offering of wreaths of oak, immortelles, the cypress, the ivy. and the laurel, — bouquets of flowers of every ^pecies, and in wondrous profusion. It was no unfrequent sight to witness youth and beauty bend and press their lips upon his sable shroud. Old men would pause beside his iron case, and burst into uncon- trollable sobs. Early manhood and middle age, that had banked their hopes in him, and clung to him as their chieftain and their leader, to the last moment resisting the assured certainty that they were no more to listen to that silver voice, nor hang upon its tones, with speechless woe at length realized, that for the future, his memory and the preservation of his patriotic princi- were their future charge. His late colleagues in the Senate, — that reverend band of chosen intimates, who were honored as his pall-bearers, the New York delegation, and his family kindred, grouped near the porch and within his dwelling; on the porch stood the minister of God, at whose hand he had received the sacrament, when last he was alive, within those halls, — the same minister who had baptized him, his children that were lefl to him, and the children of his dead son, Colonel Clay, — while all around the eye rested on his near friends and neicdiboi^. who were there assembled, and y<-t without these, lines of people from many Slates, and the far-off counties of his own. The funeral services were performed by the Rev. Edward F. Berkley, Rector of Christ Church, Lexington, who delivered the following address before the procession moved from Ashland: 503 OBSEQUIES OF HENRY CLAY. "My Friends : " A nation's griefs are bursting forth at the fall of one of her noblest sons. "A mighty man in wisdom, — in intellect, — in truth, — lies in our presence to-day, insensible, inanimate and cold. The heart which once beat with a pure and lofty patriotism, — shall beat no more. The renowned statesman, who was learned in the laws of diplomacy and government, will never again give his counsel in affairs of State. And the voice which was ever raised in behalf of truth and liberty, is silenced forever ! " Indulge me in a remark or two, while I speak of him ; and in consideration of the personal comfort of this immense assem- bly, my words shall be few. " This is neither a proper phce nor a fit occasion to dwell on the peculiar and striking incidents of his public life ; and I mean to say a few words only of his character as viewed in con- nection with religion. "We have not come here to weave a garland of praises for the brow of the fallen statesman, nor to throw the incense of adula- tion upon the urn which incloses his ashes; but we have come here to pay the last offices of respect and affection to a neigh- bor and a friend ; and to draw, from the visitation which has stricken down one of the mightiest of our mighty men, such lessons as are calculated to teach us 'what shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue.' " Our venerated friend has been before the public eye for half a century ; and for nearly the whole of that period in the occu- pancy of high public places. He has done the State great service. He combined in his character such elements as could make him no other man than he was, except, that he might have been as great a soldier as he was a statesman and orator. But the crowning excellence of all his virtues, Avas this — he was a Christian. "As he was eminently open, candid, and honest, in his long public career, so was he deeply sincere in his adoption, as the rule of his life, of the principles of our holy religion. "Although the suns of seventv summers had shone down OBBBQUDB OF iii:m:v I lay. 509 upon him before he made a public profession of Christ, yet, when he did make it, he did it, not mechanically, and as a matter of course, because he was an old man, — he did it heartily, and upon conviction, because he felt himself to be a sinner, and because he felt the need of a Saviour ! And when lie came to make inquiry, What shall I do ? and it was told him what he ought to do, — he did it gladly, — he made haste to fultill the pur- poses of his heart. And his great mind being brought to the investigation of the pure and simple doctrines of the Cross, new beauties, in a new world broke irl upon him, of the existence of which, to their full extent, he had never dreamed before. And I know, that in times when he lay under the hand of dis- ease, and of great bodily infirmity, here at home, he clung to those doctrines, by a lively faith, as the highest consolation of his soul. "Although he had his Church preferences, yet the power and influence of the teachings of Christianity, rightly understood, gave rise to sympathies in his nature, which extended to all Christian people. "Surrounded as he was, by the allurements and fascination of a high public place, nevertheless, he strove to walk in the pure and perfect way ; and by a steady maintenance of the principles which bound him to religion and to God, — like the eagle, with his eye fixed upon the sun, his course was onward and upward ! " And these principles, which our illustrious friend found so comforting and consoling in life, did not forsake him when he had nothing else on earth to oling to. " In reference to some of his last hours, a lady, connected with him bv family, who recently spent several days at his bed- side, writes : ' He is longing to be gone, and said something of this kind to me, which caused me to ask him if he did not feel perfectlv willing to wait until the Almighty called him. He replied, 0, my dear child, do not misunderstand me, — I suppli- cate Him continually for patience to do so. I am ready to go, — no, not ready, but willing. We are none of us read;/. We can not trust in our own merits, but must look t.> Him eufireli/.' 510 OBSEQUIES OF HEHBY CLAY. " The writer adds : * He is the most gentle, patient, and affec- tionate sick person I almost ever saw, — thanks you for every thing, and is as little trouble as he can possibly be.' " And this is the power of religion upon a vigorous and dis- criminating mind, — a mind fully capable of meeting all the great emergencies which have ever arisen in its collisions with other great minds, at the bar, in the Senate, and in the forum. "And Oh! the recollection to mourning friends, and to a mourning country, is of the most consoling interest, that, as in his life, by his genius and wisdom, he threw light, and peace, and blessing upon his country, so, in his death, the glorious Giver of grace and wisdom threw light, and peace, and blessing upon him, — borne upward, as he was, by the aspirations to heaven, of a million hearts. "But his earthly career is run. Full of age and full of honors, he goes down to earth, to ashes, and to dust. A man of extraordinary genius ; a man of the highest practical wis- dom, — possessing the largest powers of true eloquence, — a pure patriot, a sincere Christian, and a friend of his race. " His friends will grieve for him, — the Church has lost him, — his country will bewail him, — and hereafter, when the passing traveler shall come to Ashland, and look for the bland, agreeable, and hospitable host, he will not find him here ! His aged wife, who, for more than fifty years, has grieved with him in his sorrows, and rejoiced with him in his public success, shall go down unto the grave, mourning ; and men in everv civilized nation of the earth will shed a tear at the fall of such a man. But he has tjone to a brighter and a better world : while this memorial shall remain of him here, that he was as simple and sincere in his religion, as he was great in wisdom and mighty in intellect. "God is no respecter of persons. Neither genius, nor wis- dom, nor power, nor greatness can avert the fatal darts which fly thick and fast around us. If public services of the highest value, a fair fame which reaches to the utmost habitations of civilized man, and integrity as stern as steel, could have done this, a nation had not been in tears to-day. OUSEQCIES OF BESSY CLAY. 511 "But the great and the humble, — the useful and the use- less, — the learned and the ignorant, — the mighty and the mean, — the public and the private man, — must all, alike, lie down in the cold chambers of the grave ! Death is the common leveler of men and of nations. Temples and monuments, which have been erected to perpetuate the achievements of statesmen and of heroes in past ages, have been ruined and robbed of their grandeur by the insatiate tooth of time, — not a vestige remains of the glory that once covered the earth, and not a stone to mark the spot where the master of the world was laid. "And this is the end of man ! This the obscurity and oblivion to which he shall come at last ! But his end may be worse than this, if he has no hope in the blessed Saviour's death. For, whoever confides in the world for the bestowment of true hap- piness, — whoever trusts to its gains, its pleasures, or its honors, to bring him peace at the last, — will find himself miserably im- posed upon, and grievously deluded. He will find that this misplaced confidence will involve him in ruin, as inevitable a3 it will be eternal ! "'Lean not on earth ! 'twill pierce thee to the heart; — A broken reed at best, but oft a spear ! On its sharp point, peace bleeds and hope expires.' " If we aspire to a true, a deathless, immortality, let us not seek it in the praises of men, or in the enrollment of our name upon the page of history ; for these all shall perish ! But let us seek, by obedience to God, and a recognition of the claims of religion, to have our names written in the Lamb's Book of Life. This, and this only, will guarantee an immortality as imperish- able as the heavens, and as certain as the Life of God. "The observation is almost universal, that 'all men think all men mortal but themselves.' And ye1 there is nothing more surely reserved for us in the future than disease and dissolution. And these, too, may, and wry often do, come when we are least expecting a disturbance of our plans. " The statesman falls with plans of future glory yet unaccom- plished : the poet expires in the midst of hie 60Dg, and the magic 512 OBSEQUIES OF HENRY CLAY. of his muse lingers on his dying lips ; the sculptor drops his chisel before he has taught the marble to breathe, — and the painter his pencil, while the living figures on his can- vass are yet unfinished ; the sword slips from the hand of the warrior before the battle is won ; and the orator is silenced while the words of wisdom are yet dropping in sweetest accents from his lips. "'I said, Ye are gods, and children of the Most High, but ye shall die like men.' "No consideration can purchase a moment's respite, when the decree shall go forth, ' This night thy soul shall be required of thee !' whether it be uttered at the doors of the stately man- sion, or at the cot of the lowly poor. And not to be wisely and well prepared to hear this summons is destructive of the best interests of the soul. Happy they who have made a friend in God. Happy they who have done, and they who do, this in early life, — the failing of which, in his case, our revered friend so often himself regretted, — thrice happy they in whom great- ness and goodness meet together. Imperishable joys shall be awarded to them. They shall shine as stars in the firmament forever and ever. In each successive generation their ' memory shall be blessed,' and their 'name be had in everlasting remem- brance;' and, 'their conflicts o'er, their labors done,' the ran- somed spirit shall escape from the prison that confines it to the earth, and the King of kings shall bind upon their victorious brow wreaths of unfading glory, in that blessed place, '"Where pain, and weariness, and sorrow cease, And cloudless sunshine fills the land of peace.' "Our great friend and countryman is dead ! He has no more connection with the living world, and we are about to bear his honored remains to the beautiful spot where our own dead lie, and around which our memories love to linger. What to him, I ask you, are now the policy or the politics of the country ? What to him, now, are the nice points upon which turns the honor of the State ? What to him, now, is the extension of empire ? — the rise or fall of nations ? — the dethronement or the OBSEQUIES OF IlKNKY CLAY. 513 establishment of kings? His work is dune, and well done. As it is with him, so shall ii shortly be with every one of us. Then, "'So live, that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan that moves To the pale realms of Bhade where i ach Bhall tak>- His chamber in the rilent halls of doatli — Thou go not, like the quarry-slave nt night, Scourged to his dungeon ; but sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.' "One word more. The distinguished subject of our present attention has fallen a martyr to his country. The cause of his sickness and his death originated in his last great efforts in securing the passage, through Congress, of certain measures, known as The Compromise. In more senses than one may he receive the heavenly welcome, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.' His love of country, — his enthusiasm in any cause in which her interests were involved, — his great and singular powers, — his wonderful and controlling influence over even great minds, marked him as the man of the age, and adapted him, in a peculiar manner, to act and to lead in grave matters of Government. "And if, in the future, any one section of this great Republic should be arrayed in hostility against another; and any cruel hand shall be uplifted to sever the bonds which unite us together as a common people, — the Genius of Liberty shall come down in anguish and in tears, and throwing herself prostrate before his t<>mb, implore the Mighty Ruler of nations, — for the preserva- tion of our institutions, and the protection of our liberty and of our Union, — to raise up from his asl -. another Clay." "The marshals of the day then formed the long procession, which moved from Ashland, through Lexington, to the ceme- tery at the north of the city, where were deposited the remains of Hexry Clat, to rest until the morning of the resurrection. 514 OBSEQUIES OF HENKY CLAY It is suitable that some sentiment, — and not a little, — should be manifested in the community, at the exit from the world of so remarkable a man as Henry Clay. It is not every country nor every age that can boast of such a character. Great men there have been in this country and in others, beside Mr. Clay ; but every man has his own peculiar mold. The mold of Mr. Clay's character was perfectly peculiar. We do not remember to have seen or read of any thing like it in all history. It was both plastic and elastic, — plastic as being susceptible of influence by every touch of the world around, and elastic as having internal springs which responded to every touch from without. And there was a basis of goodness, which was very sure to make those springs act in a right direction. But for this basis, the other two attributes which we have named might be productive of the most pernicious results, — might even be diabolical. These elements, — the last and first two, — are the triune constitution of character ; but a healthy morale is the most important of the three. Doubtless, Mr. Clay had his sportive or impulsive springs of character, which bounded into acts, in his childhood, in his youth, and in his riper years, for which he might be sorry, and which, perhaps, would sometimes give pain to others. But the deep and strong power of natural goodness would restore him to its corrective influence. This Q-oodness, lying at the bot- torn of a man's heart, prompting its impulses, controlling his conduct, and imparting its character to his deportment, was strikingly exemplified in Mr. Clay. It is a basis of character which has many important bearings, and produces important results. If a man is sympathetic, it proceeds from this; and sympathy branches out into innumerable forms, according to the nature of the object by which it is challenged. It may be pity fir those in want or distress; it may be love of kindred, or love of country; it maybe exhilaration with the joyful, or hilarity with the mirthful ; it responds, in short, to all possible relations of the social state. It mounts even higher, spreads out into a larger sphere, when the heart is touched by the grace of God ; for then it expands to a sympathy with a kingdom which is # not of tltis world, and embraces not only all on earth, but all in OBSEQUIES OF HENRY CLAY. 515 heaven, and allies itself to Him who sits upon the throne of heaven. We have had evidence that Mr. Clay, especially in the latter years of his life, felt the power of this more holy sympathy, and enjoyed its higher and holier satisfactions. But the distinguishing characteristic by which he has been longest and best known, and which has procured for him an ever-during fame, was his love of country, and his sympathy with those rights of man which are most essential to the perfec- tion of the social state in its organized forms. In this wide and deep current flowed the great body of his affections, until they swept over the land of his birth, and reached all of human kind, far and near, civilized and barbarian. He was a Philanthropist in the highest, purest, and most comprehensive sense of the term ; and, to crown all, he was a Christian." HENRY CLAY. BY GEORGE D. PRENTICE. With voice and mien of stern control He stood among the great and proud, And words of fire burst from his soul Like lightnings from the tempest-cloud; His high and deathless themes were crowned With glory of his genius born, And gloom and ruin darkly frowned Where fell his bolts of wrath and scorn. But he is gone — the free, the bold — The champion of his country's right; His burning eye is dim and cold, And mute his voice of conscious might, Oh no! not mute — his stirring call Can startle tyrants on their thrones, And on the hearts of nations fall More awful than his living tonea, 516 LINES JiV OEOBGE D. PBBKTICE. The impulse tliat his spirit gave To huruau thought's -wild, stormy sea, "Will heave and thrill through every "wave Of that great deep eternally. And the all-circling atmosphere, "With -which is blent his breath of flame, Will sound, with cadence deep and clear, In storm and calm, his voice and name. His words that, like a bugle blast, Erst rang along the Grecian shore, And o'er the hoary Andes passed, Will still ring on forevermore. Great Liberty will catch the sounds, And start to newer, brighter life, And summon from Earth's utmost bound Her children to the glorious strife Unnumbered pilgrims o'er the wave, In the far ages yet to be, Will come to kneel beside his grave, And hail him prophet of the free. 'Tis holier ground, that lowly bed In which his nioldering form is laid, Than fields where Liberty has bled Beside her broken battle-blade. Who now, in danger's fearful hour, "When all around is wild and dark, Shall guard with voice and arm of power, Our freedom's consecrated ark? With stricken hearts, Oh God, to Thee, Beneath whose feet the stars are dust, We bow, and ask that thou wilt be Through every ill our stay and trust. THE END