The Arkansas banner., 1843-12-16
THE GREAT PACIFICATOR.
NUMBER I.

and hope by frequent, and voclerous repeti- ton, to make the people believe that he is really untitled to them. Among these pet names, and high sounding epithets, none seems to have found more favor, with those who use them, than that of-.' the great pa cifcator"
 If Mr. Clay really deserved this title, in the sense in which it is applied to hm,-if he might be justly styled the pacifcator , of the exasperated feelings of opposing par tes-the harmonizer of the conflicting inter- ests of the several portions of our country then he might proudly claim the respect and affection of his countrymen. If we could believe this of him, 1t would not be difficult to disregard his political errors, and even to forget the various misdeeds which dishgure his character; and no one, sooner than our humble self, would wield the pen in his be- half, or" mount the rostrum in his favor, and strive to gain his pardon from the peopleo
 But has he earned this honorable title does he deserve this ennobling need of praise This we propose to investigate
 So far as we know, the two events, in the legislative history of our country, upon which, alone, is based Mr. Clay's preten- sons to this title, are the admission of Mis- souri, as State, into the Union; and the passage of the Tariff Law of 1S32-3, com monly known as :! the Compromise act"
 For the part he took, in each of these events, he has boldly claimed to be consider ed s' the great pacificator," par excellence :; and there have not been wanting men, syco- phantic and impious enough, to hail him as the SauioW of our country
 What part did he take in these events !? Let their history answer. And first of the Missouri question:
 The Territory of Missouri having acquir- ed the requisite number of inhabitants, it was proposed, during the session of Con gress of lS1S-19, to admit her, as State, into the Unlon. This proposition passed the House of Representatives, with the fol- lowing condition:
 All children of slaves, born within the said State, after the admission thereof into the Union, shall be free, but may be held to service until the age of twenty-five years :; and the further introduction of slavery OF in- voluntary servitude IS prohibited, except for the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. ,
 This condition was intended to be. and was, an abolition cf Slaoery in the proposed State. Every member from the slave hold ing States voted against it-Mr. Clay, then Speaker of the House, along with them; but majority, being from the non-slave-holding States, sustained the condition, and 1t passed The Senate struck out the condition, and sent the bill, for unconditional admission. back to the House Both houses maintained the positions they had taken, the bill was lost, and Missouri was not admitted The discussions upon this proposition were of the most bitter and innammatory character Mir. Clay took part in them; maintaining, with the other opponents of the offensive condition, that every new State admitted into the Union, became, at the moment of its admission, invested with all the political rights and privileges of the original States and, consequently, possessed the power off determining itself, whetherit it would tolerate slavery, and on what conditions. :" So far, all seems very well ]; and the best results were to be expected from so just and reason- able a statement of the case. So much he was bound to do. Kentucky exaeted 1t of him; and he well knew that it was more than his head was worth to return to his constituents with having done less. But as if to neutralize all the good he had done--to remove all the oil he had cast upon the troubled waters, and even to substitute for it the most exciting material, we find him, the next moment, declaring :. that if he were a citizen of Missouri, he would support the object of the proposed conditioa-that is, he l would oppose the further introduction of slaves into the State, and favor the gradual emancipation of those who were already there " What more did the abolitionists want' Here, in MT. Clay himself--the re- presentative of a slave-holding State, they found a ready traitor in the southern camp who, in effect, declared to them-s' my hands, t is true, are tied by my constituent, for the present; but be of good cheer, presist in your condition; for my heart is with you. 5 What was the natural and inevitable conse- quence of this encouraging exhortation ?-I Nothing more nor less than the obstinate persistence of the abolitionists in their mad schemes They did presist; and, for the time, excluded Missouri from the Union-I Can any one believe, for moment, that if T.. I. I