Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-11-06
Substance Of the
SPEECH OF Mr.. LEIGH,
Az IN. Dinner gipen to him at Petersburg on me
18th of OCTOBER

The Toast drunk to Mr.. Leigh was this
g Benjamiu Watkins Leigh-The fearless, able
and eloquent defender of the Constitution
Is WE admire the patriot, honor the.statesman,
&c respect and love the man."
twas received by the company with most en-
thusiastic and long continued cheers; the band
struck up the tune of AuId Lang Syne; and
when all was at length hushed into profound
silence,
Mr. I.r,eH rose and said-There were some
feelings. and those the best that couIn warm tne
bsart Of man. which could be far more easily
mnderstood than expressed. And such were
tns feelings which the vivid associations, sug'
,,as,ad nv the Mace itself in which he was now
s,andino and vet more by the company that
surrounded him, excited IN MS BOSOM. On this
very spot he had passed many sportve hour,
,nj nartaken in many CIVIC festival, In the
daus IF his youth and early manhood, with
friends of whom he saw many present, and
,,hose presence reminded him OF many DOW
no more.-in times when political oppositlon
never abated personal good will, interrupted
private friendship, or disturbed sociai inter,
course. i'm times, when those who malntalneo
their own opinions with most zeal, YET respecteu
the opinions Of others, and gave them credit Tor
INTEGRITY and sincerity; when, it heats arose In
Eve nnrestrained freedom of discussion, every
nm dismissed all angry feeling from his breast,
:, fire he laid his head upon his pillow, ana
met his opponent next morning win an open
countenance, on which more than usual KIND
,sss was beaming anxious to obliterate the me-
my of the alteration by the marked cordia-
NV of his manner The thought of>those times
md of those scenes,-he said ,-came over his
mind now, alike the memory OF joys that are
mast pleasant and mournful to the SOUL" For,
that healthfn state of public feeiing-those hap
DIV times-had gone by, perhaps never more 10
10 ,a1 md M H.
rv of marty strife that was now raging through
the land. if il should endure yet little longer,
and ne aggravated TO a single degree more OF
intensity. would, he much feared, destroy all
the charities, and even the decencies oil social
life.
He said, he had been sent to the Senate OF
the limited States, not only without any sollcl-
tatiop on his part, but against his wishes, ana
;ndeed in spite Of his earnest depreciation: ne
had been compelled into the public service by
a moral force which no man could nave re-
sisted without mourning the lmputatlon OF
cold unconcern for the vital interests OF MS
conntry, and subecting himself to the suspicion
of the basest recreancy. And, Immediately al
forwards, he saw himself charged with the most
artf,I intrigue-intrigue to induce the Legisla-
ture TO ADOPT such course oil proceedings DIS
should compel his predecessor 10 resign, ana
then to procure his own election TO the vacant
place, Those who imputed such lntrigues 10
have supposed him possessed either OF the gut
of prophecy or of the unreserved confidence OF
his predecessor; for, otherwise, no man could
have foreseen that the resolutions OF the Legs
lature would induce him to resign MS SEAL
But he said, he might safely vouch every mem
Der of the Legislature, friend or zoe, 10 acqul,
rim of the charge. That was not, never mad
been. never would be, his way of working. He
had. in truth, little or no conversation with his
most intimate personal friends in the Legisla-
ture. on the subject of its proceedings, and there
were gentlemen now present (he alluded, par
ticularly, to Mr.. Booker OF Amelia, and Mr.;
Johnson of Chesterfield who could and would
hear witness, that so far from having sought to
he elected to the Senate, he had done all that
anv man could have done without Improperly,
IN avoid it. They who charged him with in
tripue on that occasion, could only nnu EVIL
dence to Justify the charge in the consciousness
of what they themselves would nave peen ca
pable OF in the like circumstances
he Had been sent to the Senate, in the midst
of the most ardous session, and the most extra
ordinary coniuncture of affairs, ever known IN
our history. New to the councils OF the iederal
povernment-new to the scene IN winch ne was
called to bear part-unacquainedw win the &C
tors in the great eventiul drama, ana yet more
unknown to them; if he had possessed tenfold
the movers he ever pretended to- and the utmost
weight of personal character that ever Tell TO the
lot of man, il would not have been much that
he could, under such circumstances, have ac-
complished. As things stood, was niue, very
Iiule indeed, that he had done, or rather es-
sayed-but what he could or thought he could,
that he had endeavored to do, diligently, faith
fully, fearlessly, without the least regard to con-
sentences affecting himself personally. His
nrincipal effort had been to give the pubic, and
esnecaly his own constituents, glimpse the
prospect before them. distrust ofhs political
sagacity reasonable enough if no attention
~.~EE .nf, md n
out of Virginia) or the wilfulness OF party deiu-
sion, had, in measure frustrated his purpose.
If he had been told. that he had disappointed the
have felt and acquiesced in the justice of his
censure. But, he said, to his surprize, though
not at all to his dismay, his name had been, lot
the last eight months, the theme OF contlnuai,
unmeasured, and he would add as to some OF H.
vile and silly abuse. The malignant spirit OF
party had been pouring its exhaustless phials OF
wrath upon his head; and calumny with her quiv-
er Of poisoned arrows, had almost deafened
him by the constant twanging of her bow,