Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1852-11-13

| Us 'ne chnt ot the hyperbOlic ndulaliOn OF
the day to call him the Great Statesman,
the lllusrious Statesman &C.. but we
THINK 1t would be hard to point ont an in
stance Of his statesmanship. Where is the
scheme Of public policy that lie originated
aud carried Ihrongh? The hand of Jackson
and OF Clay md of Calhoun are to he seen
! ~ the web Of American history for the last
! forty years; hut where is the golden thread
tllat webster has woven into the tissue p
lie has never led but always followed
And, Which seems TO us fatal to the claim
made Tor him of the character of Great
Statcslnan, even where he has followed, he
has Jddet! lie began his public life MS an
Advocate for Free Trade. lie failed of sue
cess, nhd Protection was forced upon the
country 10y Mr.. Clay and the South. lie
tlen became the Champion of Amcricn In
dustry, and his lahors lnyc resulted in the
larlif OF 1916. lie was strenuous friend
Of the United States Bank, and lac, himself.
liYed long enough to pronounce that. too, an
obsolete ldca.' Even in the crowning act of
his life, hc did but follow his leaders. lie
did not invent or propose the Compromise
Measures. The Fugitive Slave Law wns no
thunder Of his. Mr.. Clay gave the key
note oi that speech, as he had of so many
u
more iIan he expected, hut hc condcsccnded
to throw his follower a norsel Of praise for
it,-hut when il came to the serious disprn-
s1tion Of rewards, hlr. Clay gave the vote of
The South, not TO Mr.. Webster, but to Mr..
Fillmore. Tho genius of Mr.. WrLs,or ever
stood rchukcd bclorc lnt of Mr. Clay. lie
felt the cInin, aud it CALLED bin; butthoucII
lac WINGED under il, he wore il, Reluctantly
a. lp gttr IN fta.,
end.
Then MrWcbster's Diplomacy with Great
Britian is cited as proof of his S;ialcsmnnslp.
ne saved Us, iorsoolh, fran War with
ENGLAND! Perhaps he did, in the sense in
which man, when put in the dilemma Of
your money or your lic,' saves his life by
giving up lis money. A war with England
WINS morally aud politically impossible, under
the circumstances. NeilIur nation wanted
war, but America. would have sacrificed all
III dispute To avoid it, As long MS we live
under the pacific dominion OF the Southern
PglriGrchs, NJ are absolutely safe from any
Wnr for Free territory Mr.. Websters di-
plonmiic skill consisted in giving TO England
all she had the face TO ask for. Had lie re-
iuicd to cOncedc whatever was necessary to
satisfy her, even to the half of Maine aud
sinsllcst cluhI of War toiga,her Oh our lor-
'izoh, ne Whuld have been hurled iuto spo-
litlcal nnnil. l.ilation from which lie wapid have
risen no tnme.4 kir, Websters has nowhere
impressed himself upon American History.
lie has made no mark The country owes
nothing, good or bld to him; bat it Is not
on such men, however loud may be the ilau-
dts of their contemporaries, flIat History
beSlows the need of her highest praise.
Mr.. Webster adds another 10 the list of
victims to Slayohoding ingraiiiudc. 1t was
no evidence OF his Stute craft, that he ever
hoped hcitcr things from the quarter toward
which he looked than he got. lie was tire
bound victim of Slavery for his whole forty
years, though the sacrifice was delayed till lIc
was three score and ten for he was ham
percd aud checked and held down 10y the
links OF the chniIrillat sorccrcss wenycs round
politicians from the beginning to the end
lie sometimes struggled in il, Int lie never
had strength TO break il. lie lacked the
vision which true Statesman would hnye
had that the time had come when Resistance
to Slavery was possible and hGpeiul,-lIe
only possible and hopeful career for North
crn man. Had he placed himsclf at the
head of the Northern Movement against
Slavery, lac woall undoubtedly have been
now hopeful nspirnnt for the Presidency, in
the heat Of an animated aud honorable con-
nici. But he chose to hu the Tool of the
South rather than the Leader of the North.
The South used the tool, aud threw it con
temptuously away. Disappointed, mortified,
ashamed. hrart-broken, he turned his face to
the wai aud died. II was the only thing
lei Tor him To lo.-Q.