The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-07-02

tho passing sveats. II Il whsn dsath aeixss
Tor ts victims hoss who are. BY ~ head and
shoulders, taller than eli the ssst," that we fss
most deeply tbs uncertainty Of human afFsirs.
and that "the glories Of oar mortal ststs Ara
shadows, not substantial thiuess II &. sIr.
In such instances ~ the psssent that ve can
best study by ths light Of example the trus oh
ject Of life, and tho wisest ends Of human our.
suit.
Mr.. HALE. Mr. President. hope shall not
be considered obtrusve, if on this occasion for
brief moment, mingls my humble voice with
those that, with an ability that shall neither
attempt nor hope 10 equal, have sought TO do
Justice to the worth and memory Of NE deceas-
ed, and at the same time appropriately to min.
lster to the sympatbies and sorrows OF strick-
en- people Sir, it is the teaching Of inspiration
that mo man liveth and no man dieth unto him.
self"
There is lesson taught no less in the death
than in the life of every man--sminsutlv 40 n
the case of one who has filled large sOace and
occupied distinguished position in the thoughts
and regard of his fellow men. Psrticularlv r..
structive at this time Is the event which wa now
depore, although the circumstances attending
his decease are such AZ ara calculated to assua0s
rather than aggravate the grief which it mnst
necessarily cause. His time had fully come.
The three score and ten marking the ordinary
period of human life had for acme Years bean
passed, and, full Of years and Of honors, he has
gone to his rest- And now when the nation r.
marshaling itself for the contest which is to de-
eide "who shall be greatest" as tito chaaten our
ambition, to restrain and subdue the violence of
passion, to moderate our desires and elevate our
hopes, we have the spectacle of one who, by the
force of his intellect and the energy of his own
purpose, had achieved reputation which the
highest oihcial honors of the republic might
have illustrated, but could not have enhanced.
laid low In death--as if, at tho very outset Of
this political contest, on which the nation il now
entering, to teach the ambitious and aspiring
The end OF human pursuits and earthly honor.
But, sir, do not intend to dwell on that moral
which is taught by the silent lips and closed
eye OF the ilustrious dead, with force such as
no man ever spoke with; but shall leave the
event, with its silent and mute eloquence, to
impress its own appropriate teachings on the
heart.
In the long and eventful life Of Mr.. CLAY. in
the various positions which he occupied, in the
many posts ofpublic duty which he filled. in the
many exhibitions which his history affords of
untiring energy, of unsurpassed eloq uence, and
OF devoted patriotism, it would be strange in
deed If different minds, as they dwell upon the
| subject, were all to select the same incidents Of
his lfs as pre- eminently calculated to challenge
| admiration and respect.
Sir, my admiration-ay, my affection for Mr..
Clay-was won and secured many wears since
even in my school-boy days-when his voice of
counsel, encouragement, and sympathy was
heard in the other hall of this Capitol, in behalf
of the struggling colonies of the southern Dor.
ton of this continent, who, in pursuit of their
nalienable rights, in imitation of our own fore
fathers had unfured the banner of liberty, and.
regardless Of consequences, had CALAMITY rushed
into that contest where " life is lost, or freedom
won" And again, sir, when Greece, rich in the
memories OF the past, awoke from the slumber
of ages of oppression and centuries of shame,
and resolved
Z" To call her virtues back, and conquer time and
there, over the plains of that classic land. above
the din of battle and the clash of arms, mnpling
with the shouts of the victors and the groans Of
the vanqushed, were heard the thrilling and
stirring notes Of that same eoquence, excited
by sympathy which knew no bounds. wide as
the world, pleading the cause of Grecian liberty
before the American Congress, az if to nav back
to Greece the debt which every patriot and orator
felt was her due. Sir, in the long and honor
able career of the deceased, there are MANY events
and circumstances upon which his friends and
posterity will dwell with satisfaction and pride,
but none which will preserve his memory with
more unfading ustre to future ages than the
course he pursued in the Spanish American and
Greek revolutions.
DISORDER AND CRIME IN THE AusrpaJrA