Southern standard. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1851-1856, 1852-01-10
Correspondence Of the Mercury.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, l

Everything has been frozen up for the last few
days, except the tongue of Henry S. Foote-that
has been wagging even more busily than usual,
as his appointed time of departure approaches
He will probably leave on Monday next for Mis-
Sssippi a most desirable event, and will thaw
down to the true level of his native insignifcance,
when he gets home, as the ice in the Potomac
vanishes under the action of the The cold
here has been intense-the rigors of the per
tecty Siberian, and everybody suffering more or
less from violent inf1uenzas. Even the coming of
KOssuh failed to warm the frosted features OF the
wayfarerS on the avenue and Northern feelings
have predOminated over all others. In the two
Houses of Congress little has yet been done,
cept in the way of carving out work for ihe ad-
ministration. Resou.io OF inquiry concerning
our domestic and foreign djtlicu-e- hc Cuba al
fair, the Thrasher case, .ho Mormon m..'r u
have been adopted, ami some E,a o,1c, .1. as re
published proceedings Vi Uou,r,sz ~no" TIE
course and policy thai have been pursued 10y liz
administration, in all matters requiring pm Hl.d
promptiLude, have been .imid and trucking Ia he
extreme. No glozng words, nor high sounding
professions can cover this over. The facts are too
plain and paIpabe, and more have yet 20 bc c.e.-
led, of which the public is 5noranj. Ii yLe tni-
more regime will hereafter be memorable ior any
thing il viii be its utter imbecility, and cautious
cunning. Non committalism is its very essence.
Thus while the English captlyes in the Cuban
expedition have been liberated the Americans are
left to tug at the in the galleys at Ceuta.-
While Mr.. Webster is rounding the periods of his
dispatches to the Captain General, Thrasher, af-
ter having been long lmmured in a oathesome dun
geon, sails for Spain. The Prometheus is fired
into, and it is hoped that nothing is meant by it.
The sympathes Of the people and the attention of
Congress is specially invited to the Hungarian
exile, liberated already by one act-while the
unhappy victims of Spanish barbarity meet only
ablISp in he Op n
present administration ensures neither admiration
at home nor respect abroad. With the exception
of Webster and Crttenden, who have brains, the
rest are barren rogues all"
Henry Clay is failing fast and becoming very
old man He probably came here in the hope of
recruiting his shattered energies and failing pow
ers ; but a heavy hand rests upon him which he
cannot shake Off Since the last session he has
broken down wofully. The collapse of the high
excitement of the strife that then sustained him,
and the utter annhation of the high hopes he
nourshed have suddenly aged him, and what but
a short time since looked like an old, but still
strong temple-graceful yet in its proportions
firm still upon its base, is crumbing fast into g
ruin. He has been confined to his room for
greater part of the session. and has been recently
compelled to 90 to Philadelphia to recruit 1t is
more than doubtful whether he will ever fill his
seat in the Senate again. To few is granted tc
die as died Chatham and Calhoun, but Clay is am
bilious of meeting the same end. A great change
Is gradually taking place in our Public Councils
by the removal of those who long stood con
spicuous landmarks in the Senate Chamber anC
the Forum. He who now glances over that IA
miliar scene, meets no more the lion port, anC
the eagle eye of Calhoun-the face haggard anc
worn, yet bright with intelligence The granC
brow and cavernous eye of Webster, full of luriC
light scowl no more on the spectators and now
last hngerer OF the three the spare form and qucl
eye OF Henry Clay pass like shadow on the wall
on the way to the land of shadows The big anC
bury form OF Benton, strong man in his sphere
has also vanished from the scene, and Cass sit
alone, unremoYed and unmoved, amidst 'the noise
and confusion" which now characterize that once
dignifed body. Apathy, good digestion and soun,
sleep, have preserved him in fine ketfma Will,
the brighter lights of his day have either been
darkened or gone out in the eclipse Of death
He, however, is politically dead The Oh
ject of his former toad yism, and subsequent abus
the King of the French. He is the Louis Phil
ppe of this revolution in potics, and little Senate
Stephen Douglass treads hard on his heads 10 pla
the part of Louis Napoleon The general candi
date knows this, and has recently been Violent
affected with Young Amerlcanlsm. lie has trle
to be as progressive Capt. Rynders, as torelg
IN his instincts as Kossuth, and universal IN hi
philanthropy as Mr. Pecksnitf But it all won
do On the Whig side Gen. Scott is whipping u
again, and will be a formidable candidate, shoul
the general popularity plan be adopted as in tn
case of Gen. Taylor. On the other side the Free
soilers banker much after w o. Butler, of KY
aud the Van Burens if restored to communion wit
the party, will make strong push for him, wit
Pierce, of n H. as Vice President That tick
ct would take we'll at the North, and that is tn
main point-the South being consider mer
makeweight now. As long as it remains divide