Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1844-03-19

'sa Tto oo and popularity Of Henry Clay are wen
Tue haao candidate for the Presidency in S2!
Ills claims were pressed in Virginia, % -
| Tho Union He had bccn-"oorh ID ."e @..sles u ,
'ae uho'' ,.o1o 10 mill on meal bag'-"had been
| -, nr,bou boy',-shad studied law with hythe
w ny, b ",ad been the licensed Attorney = long
10 dressed his claims for The Presidency. lhese
c;ne,, Qualifications were then more recent III ''e "
collections OF virguians and far better known e ''
| -, r,cr Ian,e Of twenty additional years
NV, S,.,cc OF time lends enchanmen TO the con-
.I, or such supcrlatve virtues anu lranscehueh'
IIo was a candidate in 1894. And now many
Electoral voices lid this doughty champion receive 1s'
2s votes o,t OF 2Gl-about one in seven o. TUE h'eo
% IL, Ia view of this despicablc minority ms
-, 80 ,b, commcrdablc modesty To talk oil the de-
. .s ~, IA, Buren in 1910. Their braZen imPl-
.a' y aaly most admirable. And the OIL Dominion,
h;ot b,d witnessed all those juvenile eSp'oi's OF '"e
MI; poy At fsticuis-had nurured his infancy ana COY
- IA closely surutinzcd his more ma,ured ana ne
hoo' a"- ..o how did she vote We would tell
49,, 81, I'm, we are afraid of a suit, III the nature OF
o n,ooeiul0 by the Wing Party, Tor telling me
trn,h an their invlncibe champion In TINS memorao,c
contest the ballot box dspelled all DOUBT ana PLAINLY
measured his popularity. o, he
oxan1n1GeJ in the maturity of manhood, more starting
herratioss of political principles, than the youthiui eA
o;,e of the Mill Boy oreshadowed All remember the
deem INDIGNATION and marked reProbaon that ie upon
hs conduct when his vote and influence elevated Johh
l. nnin
tnrn seated him in The Office Of Secretary OF state IN
o,her days. when the sons of Virginia spoke oil moral
IdeI;nouences became their hiS-toned chl'ai'y au
honor The amented Randolph, OF Roanoke spoke 0, d
coalition between the "iurilqn and inc BtaemeS -uc
;,h, referred 10 him who elevated to The fresi-
| a. &c This pre,, Nation i'm defiance of popular SUI
rg and State nsruction-and 10 him who received as
his boon the highest Office President coulu oeso" vi
this fragrant and glazing outrage oil popular supreme
| the voice Of Virginia was proclaimed oy her na.:i
l,, He'd
of Virginia has never been reversed. ih'e has oi!
servad n sanction the decree, and further experience
and information to confirm her adherence oil his Poh
| tcian c,, rocor
In 1928, Henry Clay shrank from iur'her REFER
ence Of his claims the casligaton OF 'hc oao'
hurled from his seat with the deep indignation OF PEG
pe whose dearest rights had been battered away hey
| had sown the wind and truly they reaped The WHITE
wind Never was there clearer sweep
In 1892 John Quincy Adams STOOD aiool' W wa, "
reouital as one good turn deserves another ana nis
mighty leader, Henry Clay, again brought forward us
nretensions with all the glories of his youthu DAYS
and the immortal recoecons and honors oil the ADAMS
and Claw coalition of 1924. Time had not Gitacu '"e
memory OF the people, nor bunted their deep aonor
renee of that cventul transaction lhere were ~Io
Electoral votes cast Henry Clay received exactly
49-nearly one in six Here immense popularity =
most tremendous VOTE surely In vain, you turn over
CLAY minstres flushed the voice oil poetry ana song
on that sad epoch The battle Of the Spurs was nothns
TO compare to This The shout of the cabins ana ciuos
the coquence of the Orator. alike pass by thesc memo
roble evidences Of popularity in their candidate Even
the admitted license Of poclcal hyperbole daes make
no alusion to this Russian campaign But where was
the vote of Virgiaa Again recorded against ie hiii-
boy Of the SashcS that main pillar oil the ADAMS aom
nistration and almost unanimously. Those were Inc
DAYS of pIrer patriotism, when The cloquence oil
Giles, Tazewe and Randolph portrayed in hateful
coors the embodiment of reckless ambition corruption
and oppression.
In 1886, Henry Clay again shrnks from further aP-
peal TO an enumeration OF votes. once IN est years
is enough. hopeless, shameful defeat IN his native
State as in the Union, keeps his ambitious, restless spi-
rit from unavang renewal Of his desperate fortunes
In lSl0 This interchangeable and unsuccessful aspirant
for oisc twice rejected By the people, appears before
his own friends in lie Harrisburg Convention Ct "hiss
As he had suffered much FOR the Ill glory IN ho-
nor and in time-as he had failed often before the
people on his sole responsibility and popuarity-it was
thought caucus nomination might usher him before the
country with some cclat He had twice thrust himself
forward and mingled his party with his personal dlsas-
tiers; though il not dreamed they would DC so I'M
grateful rs superscde faithful servant tor invariaoe
bad luck But even there in Wing caucus, this I'M
personation of unbounded popularity with all the ar
dent and Jealous support of Leigh and owens, was
doomed 10 the degrading fate of rejection by his own
friends He laid on the shelf as unavailable IL
was confessed he would make excellent President
Inc highly commemorative gallaill,
efforts deserved prcerment-but The records were pro-
duced and the precedents proved him politically dIsqua-
lifted for getting votes-and General Harrison, pituitary
Chief received the nomination. This was the unHlndest
cut of ALL We'll might he have exclaimed, "et M
Brute :" Mr.. Clay had been loud in denounciag hfa-
~ ChaaS: for well he knew, they lay across his pain
TO the Presidency Their election and elevation oy po-
pular suffrage chad been the road OF ruin to RePuo
cs;" it g than war, pc>tence and famine.
His friends pail! as much attention 10 his prophetic
warnings ard jeremiads, his opponents did IN the
election Of General Jackson. They knew that a mill
tary hero, however slight his fame, was preferable to
broken down politician who had been beaten in The hed
aud when corrupiy possessed OF the cline Of sale
precedenisn by seat in the Cabnct, driven with
disgrace from that hitherto mpregnable citadel.
The election of 1910 came 1t is foreign to the pur-
pose here portray the hrmating scenes that were
enacted in that exciting contest. Suffice II to say, the
vote and the influence Of the Virginia and Kentucky
friends of Harry Of the West transferred to lar
rson as they had been before TO John O. Adams; and
in cordial union stood the "Lte Expunger and Leigh
Gddings, Webster, Adams and Clay The unhallowed
coalition as il had done before, trumphcd popular
principles, and shook the very pillars Of our free nsu-
lions. That victory not achieved under the banner
of Cay-his principles dsavowcd-hc was kept in
The back ground-the Bank was "obsolete idea
/ Tariff Compromise 10 be obscrved-the Bankrupt
law was repudatcd- the cloyen foot of Federalism
concealed in the South, and even Daniel Webster ayow
ed himself Jcfcrsonian Republican. The old General
assigned to Clay his proper place. par=an leader 10
do the bsl-ighting, but not 10 command in any great
enterprise. Deception and double-deang marked that
whole canvass. The Hon. w. Newton, an active and
leading Wing tea ard nor, says: rhc disasters which
q have bclaen the Wing party, and cast blight over
" the prosperity of the country have resulted in great
'measurc from the rant Of candor and frames in ayow
" Ing and maintaining principles, especially in lirg
MIA" This candid confession Of duplicy and fraud
will not be forgotten 1t is indeed precious ac
acknowledgement; and long will The hearts OF freemen burn
with Indignation under defeat achieved by such mean:
and followed BY such calamous results to Southern in
tcrests.
! In the uscrutablc wisdom of an omniscient Provr
dencc General Harrison called 10 his final resting
place. Tie Extra Session of Congress met lie who
had crossed tic path Of the nordnate and selfish amb
ton Of Mr.. Clay, was more. The Presidential Char
flied by one, who had been denounced ny the wings
as Traitor to their The Senate and House
of Representatives bowed submissive before the com
mands OF the "organlzcd Dictatorship" The mask a:
thrown Off and forth stepped Mr. Clay In quick sue
cess!on developed and passed the Bank, Tariff
Distribution and Bankrupt bills. Not even the known
will ncr positive Instruction of his constituents could