Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1842-01-13

THr ATTACKS on Mr. CLAY.

hui
The name and talents Of Henry Clay
are American property, and what T u
American will NOT be proud Of them!
That Locofocos should sssaii him, is not
strange. X is a compliment. But, that
a press 'ycleped Wing should open upon
hinl-Ef ia Brute?
And what is the proyocation Mr..
CLAW has talents, and employs them! lie
is an American statesman that has done
some service He is seen and appreciat-
ed! He has been thought Of for PresI-
cent, and may be thought Of again This
last is the great offence.
But the charge is, that he cherlshes the
aspiration So may any American GU.
zen, and strive for it 90. Is II not a no.
bic ambition
Mr.. Clay, however, has no, said a
word his friends have said little, and
most Of them nothing yet oTHERs are IN
the feld--Old Iron Sides our Minister at
Paris the Hero of Chippewa +; the late
incumbent and the present incumbent
The present incumbent is there by his
posltion-uNLEss his cOmmlttal to ONE
TERN shall raise some scruples OF con-
science. His official organ, however has
IN substance announced, that be will by
and by submit his policy TO the American
people, and liz various, mot unlnteliigible
terms. is accustomed to assert his claims.
The beauty of it is, that the official seems
to labor under the impression, that no.
body else has a right to appear OF be
brough. on the course.
Mr.. Clay cannot help being Mr.. Clay,
unless he commits suicide. 1t will not be
denied, that a commendable ambition has
prompted him onward, from his youth, II
a brilliant and eminently successful ca
reer, that he has served his adopted State
and his country long and well that the
reputation he has acquired, has been well
earned that the American people, by
honoring him, honor themselves that
such a light cannot but shine and that ii
is no fault of his, that he is emlnen nj and
influential. What, then, is his sin?
He is honest and frank. Is that base
He has his opinions. Who has mott He
utters them. Has he not a right The
American people respect him. Are they
fools? Then tell them so.
What, then, is MIR. Clay's offending ?
1t is, that God has endowed him with high
gifts; that he has used them to some e..
feet ; and that there are those who wish
him out Of the way.
We venture to suggest, that all these
unprovoked, uncalled for attacks upon
Mr.. Clay, are no more than a waste ofam-
munition ; that there is not a true Amer.
can feeling, in a true American breast,
that dors not revolt at The spectacle, and
turn away in disgust /; that every blow,
thus stricken, will elevate the man it is in.
fenced to fell and that every aspersion
thus cast, will be blown back, by the
breath Of popular indignation, and stick
to the assailants. Whatever faults Hen
ry Clay may have, he nils a large place
in the respect and affections Of the Amer
lean people. They know the man, they
revere his talents, and they love him.
10 these remarks, we simply discharge
the duty of an American citizen TO an
American statesman, to whom every A.
merican owes much, and of whom, as a
compatriot, if an American fails to be
proud, he is unworthy Of the name. If
Mr.. Clay is a can lidate for the Presiden-
cy, it is because he cannot help it--be.
cause the eyes of the nation, and the fin
ger OF mankind point TO him os such.--
When the world shall see such a man,
who fills SO large a space in American
history, set aside by parvenus, it will be
time enough to wonder at tae event.