Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1848-04-21
Cassius M. Clay.


The publication of the letter Of IfESRY CLAY,
in which he has the presumption to announce TO
his friends that his name may be presented to
Wing CoSvBNrIoN, the issue of whose delibera-
tons twill meet with his prompt and cheerful
acquesccnce has ELECTED from Mr. Cassius
NJ. Clay, the notorious pro.slavery apostle and
anti.Slavery evangelist, letter, which for mali
cious enmity and bitter abuse, has been rarely
parallelcd! Verify, "wllom the gods would
destroy, they first make mad!" Cassius is as
mad as the average Of angry men whom it has
been our luck to read of, or see; and in a "chiv-
alric" spirit of saving 'the gods" the trouble, he
has made liberal contribution towards the work
Of destroying" himself
His letter Is addressed to HENRY CLAY, and
may be found in the N. Y. Courier d. Enquirer,
and, doubtless, in most Of the Locotoco papers
in the Union. We give below few elegant
extracts" that our readers may understand the
temper and spirit in which it was written. And
FIRST, Cassius coolly demonstrates the entire i'm
partiality Of his motires towards his distinguish
ed namcsake as foows:--
81 tell you frankly that, although from my earliest
youth had been something more than cold admir-
er OF yourself, 40 when you started, on the l4th OF
August lSi5, TO the Virginia Springs leaving your
friends and family to murder me in my sick bed for
ese had vo4
and became, from the necessity Of my nature, your
enemy"
Very well Cassius is his enemy" plain
enough because HENRY Clay left "his friends
and family to murder him in 1915, instead of
taking him along and numbering him himself
VIC suppose on the road But Cassius was not
d" murdered after all; and lives to be MIR. CLAWS
g enemy" and towrte flaming letters.
Again, speaking Of the time when Mr.. CLAY
resigned his seat in the Senate, Cassius says -
1.-The democratic party by the excess of its num-
bers, was at once split into widely separated fragments
Messrs Cas- Calhoun, Van Buren,, Tyler Polk, and
Others all pressing their claims with bitterness
before unknown to the party. They determined to
bring Texas into the Union, dropediy to break down
the power OF the free North, and to make this nation
a slave empire
This the first time IRE ever heard that Mr..
Po'k was mixed up in these preliminary quarrels,
or that he ever pressed his claims to the Presi-
dency "with a bitterness before unknown to
the party!" The truth is, Cassius, Mr.. Polk
was neither named nor thought of at the time
of which you write.
But the notable thing in this extract is the
declaration of Cassius that Texas was brought
into the Union AVOWEDLY 10 make this
nation a SLAVE EMPIRE" And yet this
same Cassius was among the first 70 drop his
anti-slavery types, swallow his anti.slavery
warnings, and rush to assist in the precious
work of adding eight or ten more just such
Texases to the Union, and is now moving heaven
and earth to secure the election of Gen. Taylor,
who declares that "J the country be acquired
[hay or the chole Of Merico,] the citizens Of il
should be left free on the subject" Of introducing
or prohibiting Slavery, Oh rare Cassius
Again says the enemy" of Mr.. Clay -
"The battle of Buena Vista fixed General Taylor in
the hearts OF this people, Neither you, the wire
workers Of party, nor the President can cause him
his friends to : surrender! !"
Certainly not, Cassius. All Mr.. CLAY, or his
friends, whom you politely call wire-workers,"
or any other good Wing, asks, is that Wing
National Convention shall designate candidate
for the Presidency; when, if the choice should
not fall ON Mr.. CLAY, Gas they hope it may) he
| (Mr. Clay will surrender" like good Wing
and honest patriot as he is, and we shall all
/" surrender" like sensible men, and work for the
Country, instead of going into an agony of self.
qualification to secure dubious triumph
Respectable Cassius, you are altogether Too
combustble and spontaneous"
The Courier and Enquirer introduces the let.
ter of Cassius NJ. with the remark respecting
Henry Clay that
1--WE cherish, nevertheless for his services and his
character all the respect and admiration 10 which
they entitled"
Whether other Wing papers will take precise
| ly this method to illustrate their respect ant
admiration for one who has devoted the ener
gies Of great mind and Of long life to his
Country's service, we suppose is somewhat
doubtful. Giving extensive publicity to the sour
rillous attacks of an avowed personal "enemv,'
is rather novel way of testfying respect ant
admiration for man