Litchfield enquirer., 1829-03-26
DTNNER To AlR. CLAY.

DINNER TO. MIR. CLAY. The Washington papers oontain aa NHcouN, os the d,nner givento Mir. Clay on Saturday the 7h ns,... Upwards of hundred gentlemen, Umong them seve. ral members ofCongrcss attended. One of the toass was the following:
 Iiealth prosperity, and happiness to our highly va. lucd and esteemed gUest and fellow citizen, HENRY CLAY Whatever the future destination of his life, ne has done enough Tor honour, and need desire no higher reward than the deep-seated affection and le. specl of his friends and his country.
 Upon which Mr. Clay oddressed the company as follows: 2s3
 In rising, Mir. President, to offer my TO. srectfnl acknowledgements for the honors of which nm here tho object, | must ask the indulgence of yourself and the other gentlemen now assembled, for an unaflact- ed embarrassment, which Is more sensibly iolt than it can Do distinctly expressed. This city has been the theatre of tho great er portion of my public life. You and others whom now see, have been spec. tators of my public course and conduct. You and they arc, li I may borrow Q tech- nical expression from an honorable profes. sion 0f which you and are both members --jarors of the yicinoge. To n judgment rendered by those wko have thus long known me, md by others though not of tho panel, who have possessed equal opportu- mites ol forming corrcc, opinions, I most chcerfully submit. 1.-the weight ofhunian testimony should bc estimated by tho intel- ligence aud responsibility of the witness, aud ilIe extent of his knowledge of the matter on which ho tcstiiirs, tlo highest consideration is due to that which has tllis day been spontaneously given. shall ever cherish it with the most grateful re- collection, and look back upon 1t with proud satisfaction.
 I should Do glad to feel that I could with prOpriety abstain from any alIusioR, at this time, and Ut this place, t0 public af- fairs. But considering'the occasion which. has brought us together, the eyenls which have preceded IL, and the influence which tl'cy may q tort upon the dcstinies Of our country, my silence might To nsisimtespret- ed. and l think t therefore proper that should embrace this tivst public opportunity which ] have had of saying few words, since tho termination of the late Memora. ble and enlbittercd contest. |, is far from my wish to continue or revive tho agita- tions with which that contest was attended. It is ended, for good or evil. The nation wants repose. A majority cf tie people has decided, and from their decision there can, and ought to be 10 appeal. Rowing us ] do, with profound respect to them, and to this exercise of tl,cir sovereign au- tlIorily, ! may nevertheless be allowed to retain and 10 express my own unchanged sentiments, even ifthey should not be in perfect coincidence with theirs. It is . source of high qualification to me to be. lieye that ! share these sentiments in com- mon with more than half a million ef ffee- mon, possessing degrce ofvirtue, of intel- ligence, of genuine patriotism, whicb, with. ont disparagement of others, is unsurpass- cd, in tue same number of mens in this or any other country, in this or any other age. deprecated the election of the present President of the United States, becaIse I believed he had neither tho temper, the experience, nor tho attainMenls requisite to discharge tho complicated aud arduous duties of Chief Magistrate. Idepreca,ed it still more, because l,is elevation, I be- lieved, would be the result exclusively of admiration and gratitude for military ser vice, without regard to, indispensable civil qualifications. I can neither rctract, nor alter, nor modify any opinion which, on these subjects, have at my time l.ercto- fore expressed. thought l bcl'cld in his eloction an awful forcboding of tue iatc which, a, some future pray to God that, Tit ever arrive, it may be some far dis tan,) day was to befall this infant republic. All past history had impressed on my mind this solemn apprehension. Nor is it cila-i ccd or weakened by contrmporaneons events passing upon our. own favonrnd continent. It is remarkable that, tt this epoch, at ihe head of eight of she nine ln- dependant Governments established in both Americas, military officers have been placed. or have placed themselves. Gen. cral Lavalle has, by military force, sub- veried the Republic of La Plata. Gener- al Santa Cruz is tho Chief Magistrate "f Bolivia Col. Pinto of Chile ; Gen. I-a- nlar of Peru; and Con. Bolivar Of CoIom- bia. Central America, rent tn pieces, and bleeding at every pore from wounds l1l- flicscd hy consending military factions, is under the alternate sway of their Chiefs. In the Government of our nearest neieh-