The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1852-07-02


suls; but the eye wanders over this wilderness O
letters but to light up and to kinde upon some Cat
or Cicero. To win such fame, thus unsullisd a
Mr.. CLAY has won, is worth any mans ambition
And how was it won? By counting the shiftin,
gales Of popularity? No, never! By trucking
to the schemes, the arts, and seductions of th
demagogue9 Never, never His hardest battles a
public man-bis greatest, most llustrious achieve
ments-have been against, at first, an advers
public opinion. To gain an impershable name
he has often braved the perishable popularity @
the moment That sort OF courage which, in
public man, deem the highest Of all courage
that sort OF courage most necessary under form
OF government to guide well as to State
Mr.. CLAY was possessed gilmore than any public
man ever knew-mere physical courage, valua
BILE, indispensable though il be- we share but will
the brute; but moral courage, to dare to do rignt
amid all temptations to do wrong, is, as it seeml
to me- the very highest species. the noblest herosm
under institutions like ours. ~ had rather b,
| right than be President" was MIR. GAYS sublim,
reply when pressed to refrain from some measur,
! that would mar his popularity. These lofty words
| were clue to his whole Characteristic secret o
his hold upon the heads well hearts Of the
American people; nay, the key to his immorta lty
| Another OF the keys, Mr. Speaker, of his uni
yersal reputation was his intense nationality
| When tainted but recently, almost within ouI
hearing, as it were, on the floor Of the Senate by
Southern Senator, as being a southern man un-
faithful to the South, his indignant but patriotic
! exclamation was: 81 know no South, no North, nc
Enst no West" The country. the sohols country
|
of Virginia may be his birthplace; the sod of Ken
lucky will cover his grave-for what was mortal
they clam-but the spirit, the soul, the genius OF
| the mighty man, the immortal part, these belong
| to his country and to his God.
| MIR. FAULKNER. After the many able and
eloquent addresses to which we have listened this
morning, fear, sir, that 1t will not be in my power
| to add any thing to the interest Of this occasion.
| And yet, representing do in part that State
which gave birth to the distinguished man whose
death has this day been announced on this floor,
| and having for many years held towards him the
most cordial relations of friendship, personal and
political, feel that should fail 70 discharge an
appropriate duty if permitted this occasion to pass
by without some expression of the feeling which
such event is well calculated to elicit. 1t is
true sir, that this intelligence does not fall upon
our Unexpectedly; for months the public mind
has been prepared for the great national loss which
we now deplore; and yet, as familiar as the daily
and hourly reports have made US with his hopeless
| condition and gradual decline, and although
sLke shadow thrown
Softly and sweetly from passing cloud
Death fell upon him."
it is impossible that light of such surprising
splcndor should be, az 1t is now, forever extin-
guished from our view, without producing shock
deeply and painfully felt to the utmost limits of
this great Re public, Sir, we all fecfthat mighty
intellect has passed from amongst US; but, happi
ly for this country, happily for mankind, not I'M
til it had accomplished to some extent the exalted
mission for which it had been sent upon this earth;
not until it had reached the full maturity of Its
usefulness and power; not until it had shed bright
and radiant lustre over our national renown not
until time had enabled it to bequeath the rich trea
sures of its thought and experience for the guild
ance and instruction of the present and Of sue
ceedng generations. ..7
Sir, It 10 difficult-it is impossible the
limit allowed for remarks upon occasions of this
kind, to do justice to great historical character
like HENRY CLAY. He was one of that class of
men whom Scaliger designates as honines centsn-
drii-men that appear upon the earth but once
in century. His fame is the growth Of years,
and it would require time to unfold the elements
which have combined to impart to 1t so much of
stability and grandeur. Volumes have already
been written, and volumes will continue to be
public services, which have placed him in the front
rank of American statesmen and patriots. The
highest talent, fired by fervid and pat lotto en-
thusiasm, has already and will continue to ex
haust its powers to portray those striking and
generous incidents of his life, those shining and
captivating qualities of his heart, which have
made of the most beloved, as he was one of
the most admired, Of men; and yet the subject
itself will remain as fresh and exhaustless as If
hundreds of the best intellects of the land had not
quaffed the inspiration Of their genius from the
ever gushing and overlooking fountains of his
fame. 1t ia impossible that reputation 30 grand
and colossal that which attaches to the name Of
HsNRY CLAY could rest for its base upon any sim
gle virtue, however striking, nor upon single act
no matter how marked or distinguished. Such a
reputation as he has left behind him could only be
the result of long life OF uatrious public service.
And such it truly was. For nearly half a century
he has been prominent actor in all the stirring
and eventful scenes Of American history; fashion
ing and moulding many of the most important
measures OF public policy by his bold and sagacous
mind, and arrcsting others by his uncomfortable
energy and resistlcss force of eloquence. And
however much tho members of this body may differ
in opinion as to the wisdom Of many of his views
of national domestic policy, there ia not one upon
this floor--no, sir, not one in this nationwide will
DENY to him frankness and directness a public
for alta tpan nal Of he iohp Or
der-extraordinary capacities for public usefulness
and an ardent and elevated patriotism, without
stain and without reproach.
In referring to a career Of public service va
ried and extended that of Mr.. CLAY, and to a
character rich in every great and manly virtue,
il is only possible to glance at few OF the most
prominent of those points of his personal history
which have given to him 80 distinguished place
in the affections Of his countrymcu.
In the whole character Of Mr.. CLAY, in all that
attached or belonged to it, you find nothing that is
not essentially AMERICAN. Born in the darkest
period of our revolutionary struggle-reared from
infancy TO manhood amongst those great minds
which gave the fret impulse to that mighty move
ment, he early imbibed and sedulously cherished
those great principles of civil and political liberty
which he so brilliantly illustrated in his subsequent
public career, and which has made his name a
watchword of hope and consolation to the oppressed
of all the EARTH In his intellectual training he
was the pure creation of our own republican coil.
Few if any, illusions to be seen in his speeches
or writings to ancient modern literature, or to
the thoughts and idens of other men. His country
iis instutions-its policy-its interests-its des-
tiny form the exclusive topics of these eloquent
which, whilst they are destitute of the
Ella borate nish have all the ardor and intensity of
thought, the earnesness of purpos, the cogency Of
reasoning, the vehemence Of style, and the burn
ing patriotism which mark the productions of the |
great Athenian orator.
One Of the most Distinguishing characteristics of
MIR. CLAY public man, was his loyalty to truth
and to the honest convictions of his own mind. |
He deceived no man; he would not permit his |
own heart be deceivad by any of those seductive
influences which too often warp the judgment of
men in public life. He never paused to consider
how far any step which he was about to take |
would lead to his own personal advancement; he
never calculated what he might lose or what he |
might gain by his advocacy Of or his opposition |
to, any particular measure. His single inquiry |
was, Is Il right? Is IL in accordance with the Con-
stitution of the land? Will it rebound to the per-
manent welfare and interest Of the country! When
satisfied upon these points, his determination was
fixed-his purpose was immovablc. 81 would
rather be right than President" was the expires
sion of his genuine feelings, and the principle by
which he was controlled in his public career-a
saying worthy Of Immortality, and proper to be
I'D ho hear If i,,I