The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-07-08

. that Calhoun and Clay are dead, the unrivaed
statesman Of his country. Like Fox and Pitt,
! Clay aud Calhoun lived in troubled times. Like
} Fox and Pitt, they each Of them leader OF
rival parties. Like Fox and Pitt, they were idol
lied by their respective friends. Like Fox and
Pit, they died about this same time, and in the
public service; and, az 1baS been said Of Fox and
PIT AEAiIti CAheuk diH With their harness
up6t5emS Like PSs aid Pit:
SWi more than an mortal So.isl powers endowed,
How high they soar'd above the crowd;
! Theirs was no common party race,
/ Josthng by dark intrigue for place
I Like tabled gods their mighty war
shook realms and nations in its jar.
Beneath each banner, proud to stand,
Looked up the nobest OF the land.
/ Here let their discord with tn EN- die
Speak not for those separate doom
Whom fate made brothers in the tomb
| But search the land of living men,
Where wilt thou find their like again"
Mr.. FAULKNER. After the many able and
eloquent addresses to which we have listened
this morning, fear, sir that it will not be in
my power to add any thing to the interest of this
occasion. And yet representing as do IN part
that State which gave birth to the distinguished
man whose death has this day been announced
on ina floor and having for many years held
towards him the most cordial relations Of friend
ship, personal and political, | feel that should
fai to discharge an appropriate duty if | per-
nltted this occasion to pass by without some
expression Of the feeling which such an event
j. so we'll calculated to elicit. 1t is true sir, that
this intelligence does not fall upon Our ears un-
expectedly; 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 hope
| IAaa nndI md Al l.
| Like shadow thrown
| Softly and sweetly from passing cloud
| Death fell upon him.
il is impossible that light of such surpassnp
splendor should be, as it is now, forever extin.
guished from our view, without producing
shock, deeply and painfully felt to the utmost
limits OF this great republic. Sir, we all feel
that mighty intellect has passed from anon gst
US; but happily for this country, happily for man.
KIND, not until it had accomplished TO some ex-
tent 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 il had shed bright and radiant lustre
over our national renown not until time had
enabled it to bequeath the rich treasures of it's
thought and experience for the guidance and
instruction of the present and Of succeeding gen.
erations.
Sir, it is difficult is mpossible-withn
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 Scaiger designates as hon.
ines centenarii-men that appear upon the earth
but once in a century. His fame is the growth
OF years, and it would require time to unfold
the elements which have combined to mpart to
1T 80 much of stability and grandeur Volumes
have already been written, and volumes will
continue to be written, to record those eminent
and distinguished public services, which have
| placed him in the front rank of American states
men and patriots. The highest talent fred by
fervd and patriotic enthusiasm, has already
| and will continue to exhaust its powers to por.
| tray those striking and generous Incidents of
his life, those shining and captivating qualities
OF his heart, which have made one of the most
beloved, az he was one Of the most admired of
men; and yet the subject itself will remain as
fresh and exhaustless AZ if hundreds of the best
intellects of the land had not quaffed the insp
! ration of their genius from the eyer-gushng and
overlooking fountains of his fame. 1t Is i'm
possible thst reputation 80 grand and colossal
as that which attaches to the name of Henry
Clay could rest for its base upon airy single
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 iustious
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; fushioning and moulding
many OF the most important measures of public
policy by his bold and sagacious mind, and ar
resting others by his unconquerable energy and
reslstless force of eloquence. And however
much the members of this body may differ in
np ~ tto A.. & L
of national domestic policy, there is not one
! upon this floor--no, sir, not one in this nation
who will deny to him frankness and direct
ness as public mana genius for statesman
ship OF the highest order-extraordinary capa
cities for public usefulness, and an ardent and
elevated patriotism, without stain and without
reproach.
In referring to career of public service so
varied and extended as that of Mr. Clay, and to
| character 80 rich in every great and manly
virtue, it is only possible to glance at a few of
! the most prominent of those points of his per-
| sona history which have given to him 80 dis
| tinguished place in the affections of his coun
| trymen.
| 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
Ioh'0N NOui W HidntlOOu aUlOHEbL tHO0e
great minds which gave the first impulse to
that mighty movement, he early imbibed and
sedulousIy cherished those great principles of
civil and political liberty, which he 90 brilliantly
illustrated in his subsequent public career, and
which has made his name watchword of hope
and consolation to the oppressed Of all the earth.
In his intellectual training he was the pure Gre
alton of our own republican soil Few, if any,
| illusions are to be seen in his speeches or wr
| tngs to ancient or modern literature, or to the
thoughts and ideas of other men. His country
| its institutions-its policy--its interests--its
destiny form the exclusive topics Of these eo-
quent harangAes which, whilst they are destitute
of the elaborate finish, have all the ardor and
intensity ofthought, the earnestness of purpose,
the cogency of reasoning, the vehemence of
style, and the burning patriotism which mark
the productions of the great Athenian orator.
One of the most Distinguishing characteristcs