Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1847-12-17
From the n. Y. Eve. Post.

"There is Young in every line of it, such
as he was in his highest vigor,'' says Dr.
Johnson of poem written by the author of
the Night Thoughts, in his eightieth year
We might say of Mr. Clay's recent speech at
LeXington-there is Clay in every word of it,
such as Clay has been for the last thirty
years.
There is a section of the whig party which
seems DESTROYS of getting rid of Mr.. Clay, and
employs the pretence thathe is becoming su-
peranuated. We see no signs of any decline
of mental power in his speech as reported
All that is said upon the subject of the war
with Mexico is said with as much force as it
could have been when Clay led in Congress
the attacks on Andrew Jackson. The Lex
ngton Observer, a paper edited by one of his
friends, speaks thus of the delivery Of the
speech:
"The weather the very worst. The day
before, and on the day, it raned without interms-
sion; it rained nearly all the time that Mr.. Clay
spoke Upon this state of the case, it was wonder
full to see such crowd Of which large number
were ladies, assembled at the Lower Market-hOuse
at | l o'clock, to hear Mr.. Clay. We will not pre-
tend to estimate the vast throng that listened with
breathess attention to the greatest orator & states
man of the age When we say, however, that a
ma jority of the states of the Union represen-
ted on the occasion, by persons who had come ex-
pressy to hear this speech, we are sure we do not
exaggerate the truth. 1t seems that his friends
never get tired of listening to his rich voice, and
his uncommon good sense. The speaker himself
scarcely seemed to be an old man and when it is
known that he had, day two before, spoken
between three and four hours in Sing!etons will
case, it is certainly of some surprise that he
sustained himself with such unfang energy
throTg hout his brilliant Speech
When an actor begins to fall off in the Wig
or of his presentations he no longer draws
large houses. Such crowd of admirers from
all parts of the Union could not have been as
sembled at Lexington to hear the prattIe OF a
man in his dotage, nor could the voice of one,
whose intellect was already dimmed by the
shadow of faulty stealing over it, have so
swayed the minds of those who listened to
him.
the Mr.. Clay of 1S47 is precisely the Mr.
Clay of the last quarter of a century, in his
manner of dealing with the question of intro,
ducing slavery into the new territory. There
is no departure from the usual consistency of
his character here. Age has not made him
garrulous, or inclined him to in discreet COM
munications. He admits the public to no I'M
timely condolences. He is as fond of ingen-
Gus antiquities now as he has ever shown
himself on the Texas question, or on the ques-
ton of protection, when writing letters to be
shown at the south.
Other eminent politicians of the day have
given their opinions without reserve Mr..
Calhoun allows nobody to remain in doubt
concerning his views of the question Mr..
Wright stood always ready to avow his oppo-
stion to the extension of slavery over the ter
ritories of the Union Mr. Buchanan has de-
clared himself for division of the territory,
restricting the prohibition TO the northern por-
ton, and Mr. Dallas holds that the matter will
be best settled by making no compromise al
ALL and leaving things as they stand This
is open and manly dealing on their part Mr.
Clay, faithful to his old habit of making poll
tics game of dexterity, conceals his opinion
| in this great controversy, and confines himself
to an idle protest against a design which he
! declares he is not sure that any body enter
/ tans, the design of acquiring territory for the
purpose of peopling it with slave population
| The inquiry, what we shall do in a case tina
is sure TO occur, that is close at hand, and thai
he and his followers will not be able to pre-.
vent-namelv, the acquisition of territory from
Mexico, he deliberately avoids. Suppose {
treaty is made with Mexico within the mex
six months; suppose the Mexican government
to say nothing about the expenses of the war
proposes to give Us New Mexico and Califor
MIA as an indemnify for the sums it owes tt
citizens of the United States, and allows tina
arrangement to be incorporated into the trea
ty; it is very certain that the Senate woule
not reject the treaty, and throw back thu
country into a state OF war. Where, then
will Mr.. Claw be found in the question, which
will instantly arise, whether these provinces
He does not tell us-hs fluent tongue drop
not word from which we may infer his opin
ion. He holds that card in his hands, what
ever he its denomination, TO be played as cir
cumstances may hereafter require.