The Arkansas banner., 1848-05-09
The WbisS and tbeir Dictator.

The most extraordinary characteristic about Mr. Clay's Card, or Litter, or Petition for d Dominaiion, or Proclamation of acceptancc-cali II what you will-the most aordlnary ieauuFe of il seems to us to be the maicbess arrogance of its tone. From all that appears m the document ilsClf, no soul has asked him 10 pubhsh it. Doubtless his friends wished him not 10 refuse nomination if offered. But no man, woman, child in the country, who knew dnytktng about him or his history, or hls character, ever thought that he toaii refuse His proclamation, hs own signature, Was hot only utterly uicGiied f0r-it absolutely without any decent PTetert whatever!
 And coming thus upon us what is it on it's very face It is Mir. Cldys solemn assurance to the whss, that rather than them broken up and de- feated, they must be without him, he will even iorego his hitherto carefully conc aled preference for private life, (ileaven save the mark J and will even yoluuier himself, two months beforehand, the willing victim of their suragas, heretofore so oft bestowed on him in vain It i, new spectacle of FoiicitaIon lrr the presidency. For he rcsdency. Yes or for any other office in the popular gin :. No parallel to such a step can be found since the proud PdtTicanS ol Rome pu, on airs of mock hu miily, and stood in their white gestures (c0ndfat) to solicit or demand the sutfiases of the Pebeian Tribes!
 But Mir. Clay moiesiy is not af all content with arguing al length to his whg friends they cannot do without hima least in the free States" He Is quite wiliins-most maguaRiinous man that he is :! 10 yGr,ioH those short-sfshtd whigs, whiSlings, who had. in aH unwdN and H. advised moment, been tempted to turn away their eyes irom the whc Napoleon of deieai, and look hmidly and askanee oward> some other man He will generously for give their error Doubtless, they fell iato it, be- of their despair of ever psrsuading hun 10 run He has been so very unwilling tO be voted Tor be- fore that they surely could not expect he would consent again Besides, when forced from his re- tlTemcHt to plead a cause--a most oppostHae cause in the Supreme Court at Washno he kept himself so quiet on his way home He shunned thc pnblic eve so, and showed so clearly that as in the case of the melancholy Pince of Denmark, man delights moi him; no, nor uoman neither " After 80 many and such shrinking signs of a besotted de- voton to privacy, surely the mis aNe of his friends Tn supposing that he would ever he d public man again was most natural Hear how generously he excuses them for it
 It will seen be itom what have related Liat liere reason to anticipate hat roaid deciae giriag tay coHSeat to thr of my Rane aggia q cunii- dfte Tor the presidency ofihe UaAed States, Curing, FerhGPs 10 his, iceH ds other causes, many of my
 friends and fellow citizens have avowe cd preference for, and directed their attention to- the diagHishei names of oihtr citizens gf he Uaited States. take pleasure in truly declaring that hare regret, 10 eGpress-no compiaiats-no rProaches 10 mate oq account of any sach peereaee, witch l am fully persuaded are geReraHy founded on honest and pat riotic convictions.
 ASHLAND, April II, lsis. II. CLAY.
 Why. what absufd eifontery is this Have Hluss cohic to suhu q pass, tLlht +hr. May IectS bound to assure the 'pUblc" that he has no scons- Piaiat' 2 or 'TePToae' J to make because some wbtg citizens asdy hare AoagAt of samebodg eEe for inc presidency Truly the wings are to be pltied! Awful, indeed, would have been their plight, had not their master been turned 10 mercy. And ibis i lhe party which da'es io Haunt before the public eye and play astc tricks of protest against what it calls submission to the one man. power
 We he crisis $ over now The edict has come forth. The fit has been spoken. Lei tEe whg s'faggers nos be whipped in Us they best may Once more ie, the whig party shoulder its bEd.sod and battered doi, and tread again it's beaten and weary way of deieai The "Free Siates'' demand Il, and the Dictator says 1t. Of course, what can the whgs of the south do but suecambl And mean time, the democraey--warned and stimulated by the humiliation ef iheir opponeHis-wi rally as fyOre te pronounce and register the doom of flee peo- pie upon the man. worshipping fseiion of privilege, which knows not how 10 respect itself, ar 10 pre- serve it's independence iIom being tramplci uller Inc insulting feet of its sclf-consiituted leader, Uai0a.