New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1852-02-05
Personal influence.

the condition, ana even the Idte OF nhVloHS qulte
Is much as great political or social necessities
me- are not going to enter upon essay upon
the subject. History is full of Illustrations
Peter, the Hermit Richelieu; Fox; Napoleon !;
Washington. etc. But two examples attract us
now in modern times. &
There is Kossuth, the Hungarian. His
country made agalant struggle against Austria
He, himself has said, that that struggle was for
the preservation of certain rights and privileges
essentially bound up in aristocracy and monar-
chy. We have no sympathy with either--and
we do not believe that the masses in England
have but the slightest zeal in their behalf, He
is an exile--no brilliant chieftain--no warrior,
at alI-has tFeven, so far as we can learn. ever
seen the tented field or shared in the perilous
shock Of armies No blazing victory sheds from
the past its red light upon his present or his
future. Battle after battle was fought in his
native lan6-fought for the salvation of that
land and never once was his person endangered
by the piercing sword or the whizzing ball.
Yet, spite Of this, in England and the United
States, he has the hurra Of the excitable masses,
And why IS
We defy any man who has studied the history
Of the Hungarian struggle, waving all question
Of the personal heroism of Kossuth, TO point to
one solitary well ordered movement made undeH
his direction. Gorgey, the Traitor, was his
superior, both in military stratagem and polti-
cal foresight In personal courage he bore off
the palm, without comparison; and, in this
quality, Benz was a very Richard Cenr de Lion.
Datthyany was master Of them all, in cool. calm,
wise direction.
But4the secret of Kossuth's influence appears
to US to be entirely personal. He is man 81
great address. He is full Of apothegms. He
speaks prose poetry. He talks in the apoca-
lyptic style. He has visions, axioms, truisms,
poetry and q semblance of facts-whether they
be facts orsnot we cannot certainly say. He is
bold Washington is nothing to him. The axi-
oms Of Washington are, in his eyes, antiquated
heresies; or at best, the feeble morality of an in
fantile isping of political truth. He, this Kos
suth, has rashness which, daring every thing
overcomes every thing. He proclaims himself
the political Messiah and forthwith, people fall
down and adorekiss the hem Of his garments,
and proclaim him the Savior of the cause of po-
litical freedom. Popular sympathy, always con-
tagious, takes hold Of this. Almanac truisms
wrapt up in poetical distractions, and insidi-
ously applied to his peculiar views, become re-
ligiously political views. There is no question OF
what he has done no question Of what he--the
poor professionals sacrificed. He promises
much; and, claiming every thing, even the sacri-
Zee Of our national peace and progress, he has in
the hurra of the mob, all he asks It is idle to
produce the facts-to show that he has really
done little for his own country-that Benz, Bath
yany, or even the traitor, Gorgey, has done
much more; his eloquence, unsurpassed in the
last half century, carries every thing before it.
So was it with the great Roman Orator--and he
died, how? Like coward; and thus far, like
him in talents, Kossuth has been like him in per-
sonal exposure and daring. But his eloquence,
rare, miraculous eloquence, sweeps every
thing before it. 1t is the tide Of the ocean,
strong, great, uncomfortable, which orders all
that it rolls against; unless reason and calm
Thought set sail or work the marvel of steam
against it.
But let us look at comparisons; and see how
Kossuth stands in their light. There is-we
have no hesitation in writing the name-HENRY
CLAY Cannot our own land find in him as
great, ay. a greater man than Kossuth ! A
poor boy mental copyist; a struggling law
yer; then politician; then a statesman, and
finally, great leader: from what has he ever
shrunk, morally or personality What would
have been, what is, the wing party, without
him In the war of 1925, one of our best and
wisest presidents, knowing his personal to be in
ferior only to his moral courage, would have
made him Commander General of our forces In
the Presidential contest of 1844-why was he
his own hands-he had only to manage-only to
remain silent-only to be moral coward--and
he was President beyond a doubt But Henry
Clay would rather be right than President, .
and he was defeated. He was ambitious-no
man Of true power Of mind ever was otherwise
but, in oonscientiousness of true rectitude, he
stood above the highest honors to which he had
to creep or forfeit his self-respect He wrote no
Kane letter = what he thought he spoke out
and SO he has not been and will not be President
of the United States.
All honor to the true mani All honor to the
brave, fearless man-brayef than him who
would stand up to be shot at-and yet Henry
Clay has never faltered before living man, who
scorned fame which sacrificed truth and honor
All honor to the man, who, through good report
and evil report. through years of disastrous
defeat and in the storm of public disapproba-
tion, has stood, unn,oved and imnovable by his
principles!
The wing party may talk (or prate y of what
it has done for Henry Clay. The future histor.
ian will fairly settle the debit and credit Of
that account. Henry Clay has been the soul
the life, Of the wing party; and paltry recre
ants have alone stolen off from the dying lion
He made the wing party. It is his creation; and
the child which forgets its parent is accursed il
all generations He has upheld it through half OF
a century; and in the paltriest and most selfish
ingratitude, when his strength ebbed away and
his eyesight waxed dim, it has stolen off into
Taylorism, and we will not say what. Was
there ever so gallant leader for such recreant
host Was ever Roland so deserted in the
pass of Ronoesyalles
But the country has taken him up, ere yet
dead, as one Of its chief historical glories; and
parasites crowd around with eulogy for the great
old man, who is passing from earth. Well, be it
so. We are glad Of it. Better late than never
and the gravest punishment of his cowardly and
rpone <xyxxk~ n