Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1844-09-06
PERSONAL ENDOwMENTs OF MIR
Gay For TUE pRESID ENJOY.

PERSONAL ENDOWMENTS OF MIR.
CLAY FOR THE PRESIDENCY.
We have great pleasure in copying, from the Lou
isvile Journal the following plain, clear and truth
full statement of the character of Mr.. Clay, which
fits him. beyond any man living, for the Chief Mag
istracy of these United States, In the language OF
the Boston Atlas, we say that from partial knowl-
edge, and long and intimate acquaintance with, |
and study of, the character of that distinguished
statesman, we most fully and cordially add our ties
timony to that of our Louisville brother, to the &C
curacy and fidelity of the portraiture of Mr. Clay
We ask any honest, intelligent, patriotic citizen
any one who is seeking the real good of his coun-
try, rather than the mere elevation of his party-to
read this statement, lay his hand upon his heart
and say, as an American citizen, ii every word OF
it is not true ALBANY Advertiser.
The PERSONAL Endowments Of Henry CIqy--aS
PreSident.-We are very strongly impressed with
the conviction that the personal character OF ruler
is more important and influential for good or evil
than seems to be allowed by the parties, or even the
people, in our day. 1t is not high talents great
attachments, nor good intentions, nor immense ex-
perience nor great services that will make 1t
safe to entrust men with new and vast powers; the
man must be pcrSonl[y fit for the place, or he never
can acquit himself with high success in it. Who
ever will take the pains to study the personal char
dcisr of the men, who have been heretofore Presi-
dent OF tue O0lLc0 CllItl
tive officers ofany State, community or association
at any time existing amongst men, will be far bet
ter qualified to comprehend the causes of that sue
cess or failure, prosperity or decay, which may
have resulted from their labos, than he can be in
any other way. Nothing for example seems to us
more obvious than that the whole history OF the
rise, progress, dsorganzation and threatened over
throw of the present Locoioco party throughout
the United States, may be clearly exhibited from
a candid study of the personal characters OF Gen.
Jackson and Mr.. Van Buren,. And who has the
smallest doubt, that if Colonel Benton had been
President for the last two years, instead of Mr.
Tyeran utterly different condition of things would
have existed, even allowing that both OF them had
| held the very same general principles! Or who
cannot see, that if Mr.. Tyler had been man of
any fixed views or any settled aims, or any reso-
lutte faith if he had been steadily anything, no
matter what things would have gone with him and
the country after another fashion? SupposIng these
suggestions o,have any weight, is it not rather re-
markabe that the friends of Mr. Clay should have
taken so little pains to hold up, with distinctnoss,
before the public view, those individual and per-
sonal traits of character, which, it seems to us,
fit him pre-eminently for great President, and
which remarkably distinguish lin as q MANI
Statesman, orator, genius, even his enemies admit
that he Is. But is he fit to be President? We
think, pre-emnently; and that for reasons, which
we strongly believe, thousands of American citi-
bearing of, if they were brought home to them
whether mere politicians and party men would oil
not
We say then, and we appeal to every man who
ever knew Henry Clay personally, that he is mar
perfectly to be relied ON. He is honest man
he is fair dealing man; he is a true man he i:
u man who believes in his own principles, who fol
lows his own convictions,who avows his sentiments
and acts on them, who never deserted friend, who
was never deferred from his purpose, who was new
or seduced from what he undertook to do. He is
man of faith--in the largest sense of that word
No man has ever been more severely tried, and nj
man ever exhibited mole sublime manhood in al
his public life, in this country, than Mr. Clay hal
been; his great and repeated exhibitions of th
nobest of all qualities in public man--trusttcor
illness. There is not on earth single individual
who knows Henry Clay, that will not admit, tina
if he should be elected President of the Unitet
States, lie will just set himself with earnestnes'
and zeal to administer the Government according
TO his long and avowed and deliberate conviction:
of right. He will do his best, he will do it thor
oughly, he will do it upon the settled principles
his life. He could no more do otherwise, thar
Gen. jackson could run from a battle field, or Mr.
Tyler could be true to himself or any body else
1t is very important to observe that men of thin
stamp are, by the very constitution OF their being
ncorruptible; drectness of purpose and devotion
to ones own convictions are absolutely incompati
BILE with that feebeness of character which lies a
the bottom of the ruin of SO many public men,
What an immense proportion of our party leader
are alike destitute of fixed faith in anything, ant
of fixed honesty and force to execute anything tina
is Of questionable party favor. Not SO with Henry
Clay let him be right or let him be wrong let his
opinions be admired or let them be denounced, ont
thing is certain-the nation may rely on him, tina
he is what he says he is; and that he will do wha
he says he will do If America wants an homes
man, in the broadcast sense of that glorious phrase
for her President, here is the man that will exactly
suit her.
An integrity and uprightness of character, sucl
as we know Mr.. Clay possesses will very gener
ally be found united with great force of will, ant
high moral courage. That Mr.. Clay is a man 0
undoubted personal bravery, no one doubts; an,
although this is an endowment of great value il
every circumstance Of every mans life, it is no
Just what we mean now, and is, besides, an almos
universal trait in the American character. But tina
lofty selfreliance that noble strength of charac
ter-that intrepid pursuit of what one resolves t
Accomplishment power over circumstances an
over other men-that mental and moral capact
which enables man to bear down with all hi
force against all obsacles-that instinct OF trump
in all that one resolves to effect this is the trait
which we allude, and this trait Mr.. Clay possesse
in very high degree. No man ever knows wh0
he can accomplish, and for this very reason, me
+ iof feeble wills always accomplish less than the