Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1839-08-01
From the Charlottesville (va.) Advocate.
HENRY CLAY.

Ofthe public men Of the present day there is not
one who 50 much resembles THOMAS JEFFERSON in
the frankness and honesty Of his character as HIM.
RY CLAY. Even AsDREw JACKSON, with all his
aaeetation Of the bluntness and fearless bearing of
the soldier, could dissemble and mysiify when he
believed i it TO be his interest to do SO. On the tar
III question, for instance, he was claimed and sup.
ported by both the friends aud enemies Of protec-
ton; Will on this question as on every other, Hen
RY CLAYs opinions were known and understood
by all. The man who " would rather be right than
be President" has never stopped either to conceal
or dissembls his opinions; and hence, although he
has rendered greater and more distinguished pub.
lie services than any other individual now living,
his claims heve been overlooked, and o,hera eleva-
ted to power as inferior to him US Thersitcs to Ach.
lilies.
Ii is not a little remarkable, however, in the midst
Of all this neglect, how invariably his masier-spirit
has been looked to, both by friends and foes, whom
ever any great and imminent danger has impended
over the country. At the commencement Of the
last war, he was the person selected by President
MADISON to be tho commander-in-chief of the ar.
my and he was not nominated only because the
Government could not get on without his assistance
in Congress, where his powerful mind and great
popularity enabled him to render services, the val
uc of which it would rot be easy now 10 estimate
communicating all at Client, where, with the aid of
the other commissioners, he succeeded in giving 10
this second war OF independence an honorable, and,
for us, happy and fortunate termination.
During the agitation Of the Missouri question,
when the best men and patriots in the land despai-
red of the Union-when the ship Of State was fast
drifting on the breakers, and be who had been pla-
ced in command knew not what direction to give
to the vesscl-in that dark hour, was there any one
who would have placed at tie helm either MARTIN
VAS buren, or II. M. Johnson Neither were
thought of, but the eyes Of all turned on HEERY
CLAY, and it was to his hand that we were then in
debted for safety. And again, when South Carroll.
ma stood in arms to resist the tariff, and President
JACKSON talked only of the cord and the bayonet,
"HEsnY CLAY (said john RASpoLPn) is the on
ly man in America that can save the Union - and
he did save it. Thus, at these two remarkable o.
pochs in our history, rendering services TO his coun-
try such as il has been the fortune of no other ciii-
zen to render, and such as ought to entitle him to
the gratitude Of every man who has an American
heart in his bosom.
And now, when a mad fanaticism is spreading
through the land, which, under the pretence of es-
tablishing certain rights, would trample under foot
others no less sacred, and which, in pursuit OF wha,
is deemed a rightful end, would resort TO unlawful
means, regardless alike Of the evils they would in
Aict on others, or those which musi inevitably re-
coil on hemselyes-who is it that has given 80 stun
ming a blow to the monster Abolition as HENRY
CLAYi If these were the only services he had
rendered to his country, (Which is far from being
the case who is there that can be brought in com
petition with hint What has either the first or
second officer Of the Government done in COMPARE
son, to entitle them to the elevated stations they
hlll When Henry CLAY was laboring with so
much zeal during the last war, to provide the means
of raising armies and e~quipping fleets, how was
MARTIN VAS BgREs Employed What did he do
to preserve the Union when the Missouri conflict
threatened its dissolution Where then was to be
found this Northern man with Southern feelingsf-
A friend to the tariff, did he also, like HESRY CLAY,
prove himself a friend to the Union, and the rights
Of the States7 Was he then active and prominent
in tanning " the roaring Lion, "(whose keeper, for
the time being, he was said to be- when, in his
rage, he would have burst asunder the ties that
unite us, and stained our Southern soil with South
ern blood2
But the claims Of this distinguished man are to
be put aside, forsooth, because he entertains, on
some subjects, opinions and views Of policy adverse
to those of a majority OF his fellow-citizens, and,
knowing this, has had the boldness to ayow them.
II, like Gen. JACKSON, (on the occasion of the re-
moval Of the deposites and specie circular, &c.,)
he was thought capable Of playing the tyrant, and
setting up his own judgement and opinion in oppo-
sition to the known and acknowledged wishes of
the nation, then certainly this objection would have
weight. Bot none can believe this Of HENRY
CLAY, (even if he did not stand pledged TO a con-
trary course as he has ever shown himself prompt
to execute, and never 20 thwart the public will.
Of unsulliel honor end pure pairioiism-wi,h no
thing mean, selfish, or viadict;Ye in hs nature
thoroughly practised in the civil administration Of
the G-oyernment-in some department of which he
has been serving for more than thirty years, his
powerful intellect. during this long period, employ
cd in studying the theory and practical operations
of our complicated -sysiem-there is no one whose
political opinions and views Of policy (eyen where
----~
"A historical fact,