The Belmont chronicle, and farmers, mechanics and manufacturers advocate. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1848-1855, 1853-06-10
CAssiUs NJ. CLAY AND TOM CoRwIN

The National Era manfully defends Mr..
CoRwrN against the malignant attack of. Cas-
siUs NJ. CLAY. For so doing it has been
censured by some Of the malignant editors
Of Ant-Slavery papers. The last Era con-
tains reply to some of these attacks, and
from it we copy the following. The rebuke
of Mr.. Clay is severe but deserved:
We have a word now to say 10 those Free
Soil papers that have given currency to Mr..
Clay's letter, and especially to the two papers
that have censured US for correcting in it
what we knew TO be erroneous statements.
Are you aware that Mr.. Clay, in that letter,
indirectly justiies his participation in a war
which he denounced as atrocious! that he
gives endorsement to the clamor of the war
press about the phrase "bloody hands and hos
pitabe graves!" and that he stigmatzes one
of the noblest speeches ever made by Mr.
Corwin in the Senate! He does all this, and
yet you give it currency and sanction. For
example, speaking of Mr. Corwin, he says
"Hs now slaveholding friends will gather
some idea of his abated ire, when they review
his celebrated speech in the Senate, uhere he
a,carded me and other uolunteers in Merico, his
aspirations Of 'jloody hands and hospitaJie
grauesr" ...
Mr. Clay made as great mistake IN vol.
unteering in that war, as Mr.. Corwn did in
entering Mr.. Fllmore's Cabinet; but Mr. Cor
win did not d,cdrd him any such aspirations.
He said that if he were Mexican. he would
welcome the invaders of his country 'swith
bloody hands to hospitabe graves And
,vnp L. a.. al. :.
if he had been a Mexicani The sentiment
embodied in this burning phrase of Mr.. Cor
win, is sanctioned as sacred by every Ameri-
can citizen who believes in the right of self
defence. What sort of welcome would tee
give to the invaders OF our soill The slang
of selfish partizanship should receive no coun-
tenance from Mr.. Clay or the Anti-Slavery
press.
Again, he says
''He aspired to lead the liberal party in
these States, by steady efforts which culmi-
mated in his notorious Mexican war speech
which sealed his career in that direction; for
il outraged his opponents, and disgusted the
true friends Of freedom in these States-pro-
we'd him mere partisan and politician, and
not statesmln of enlarged and practical
views, who only can embody into action the
aspirations and dicta Of the devotees of liberty
who, by their fanaticism, break down old
forms and barriers to progress!"
The contrast here suggested between his
course, in enisting in foreign ws, and Mr..
Corwin's, in denouncing it, may crafty the
war party in this country, but we see no! why
it should be regarded with particular compla-
cency by the opponents of the war. And are
they prepared to say that that wonderful
speech OF Curwin, in which he plead for JUS
tce and forbearance to feeble foe, and ap-
pealed with thrilling vehemence to the mag
nanimty of this great country, "disgusted the
true friends of frcedom!" Let US beware,
lest devotion to our party blind Us TO the prin-
cipes on which it is organized.
Mr.. Clay has many noble traits of charac-
ter, and is daring advocate of emancipation
in slave State. But these facts afford no
justification of his enlistment in an unjust
war, and cannot blind us to the impropriety
of his referring at this late date, to his action
then, as praiseworthy.