Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1827-11-07

will behold q people hitherto happy. and en-
oying the blessings of competence. complain
ing and repining at their hard fate; and with a
eye, watching the rapid strides Of
approa ching and apparently 'uemediable ruin.
The hum and hustle Of industry had ceased
the chimings of the manufa cturers once JOY
Gus bell was no longer heard-ths doors Of The
manufactory were closed-its portals moulder-
ed into dust, and silence and solitude reigned
within those stately edfces, which had been
reared at the expense Of the nation. The
clatter Of the rnill-wheel, the shooting of the
shuttle. and the hammer Of the mechanic and
handicrafisman, was no longer heard within
the mandatory, and nothing but the chirp-
ings of the cricket, and the whis,lings of the
north winds disturbed the general solitude, and
the once enterprising facturcr, hea.t-sick-
oned and respondent, ceased to hope for hap
pier, or better days.
In the midst of this general death. and reign
Of dependency, a champion rose; he had
conceived a plan for the mcloration of the
general embarrassment; 8 he put it in execu-
ton, after long and successfully combating
all opposition, and established the present
prosperity Of tho nation. That champion was
HENRY CLAY;-ihc man whom whole
nation should honor;---the Manufacturer
FRIEND and benevolent BENErAcTon.
And yet, for all his exertions, all his tolls
and incessant industry, what has been his re-
ward! He has received the execratiens Vt the
malignant. and the hatred Of the unjust, and
has been accused of participating in political
crimes, at the bare idea Of which, his honest
heart reyots, and at the contemplation Of
which, he siokcns and turns away in disgust.
If then, Mr.. Clay has done all that has been
ascribed to him-a aad who will doubt that he
has--we appeal to the manufa cturers of New
England-to the manufa cturers Of the United
States--to say, if they will withdraw from him
their support, and respect, simply because lie
has been assailed by band Of unprincipIed
traducers, who would gladly bring him down
to their own dcspicable level! We have too
high an opinion of the sense Of justice and
gratitude, entertained by American Manufac-
turers, to suppose for moment that they will
abandon their friend and patron, at a moment
when he has every claim to their gratitude and
affection; and we will not insult and offend
them, by supposing that they arc incapable of
appr G ciating the merits Of HENY CLAY.
But whether Mr.. Clay be sustained or not,
by those for whom he has done so much, and
for whom he is prepared to do more; e;--of this
we are certain: He will ever be ranked among
the wsest and best men Of the nation, and his
fame will exist, and be revered, when the
I memories Of his foes will be lost in forgetful-
ness, and slumber amid the insgnfcance oi
the little and the vile. If posthumous fame
be of inestimable value, then will Mr.. Clay be
was, will be engravon on tablets of stone, ant
long be held sacred by his countrymen.
1t is the fate Of greatness to be revied, ant
the more splendid the talent, the greater is thu
abuse that is bestowed; and though the Sec
retary of State, may sometimes be pierced t
the heartily tho unmtigated cruelty Of his foes
he has the proud satisfa ction Of knowing, tha
all the vile epithets that have been bestowed
upon him, have been called forth by jealousy
envy, and ranking spleen. And in the clos
of this article, we cannot offer the Secretar
Of State, higher comoliment-if indeed w
are capable.of offering him any--than by quot
ing the language Of a venerable friend and pa
triot, who said to us the other day, Il ha,
rather enjoy the reputation of Henry Clay, ant
bear all tho prosecutions that are heaped upol
him, than the lustre which surrounds the mem
ory of an Alexander, a Napoleon, Pitt,
Chatham, a Castlereagh, or Canning"