The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-04-13
RICHMOND. VA. FRIDAY, APRIL Is, 1867

every land whose people wers seekine or con.
ssndtng TOR that prtceless jeWel Of bis soul.
,.s" .nsaoss9 - usa svsnts oaly tended 70 Increase
which witnessed and acknowledged the n fss
nasAings Of his brilliant mind, as Il after.
wards delighted to hask In the noontfde OF
splendor, he went A. An orphan bov TO ths
state OF Kentucky. Il was the theatre Of siI
others TO expand, strengthen and confirm his
lofty spirit. He cast his lines amone hardy.
robust. intelligent people he breAthed an a..
~ could not survive. Ii was only the "iord
Of the lion heart and eagle eye.'' who could
make hts way among the bold and ener9etic
pioneers Of Western life; and he became the
idol Of that people Of whom he was at onca
the mirror and the exemplar Frank. raliant
cordial and warm hearted, he won taeir afFtc.
lions; bold and resolute rs themselves
be commanded and retained their entire CON.
fdence. With one bound he took his posi lion
rs an advocate IN the front rank of the ieeai
profession-and in the primary meetings Of
the people, by his simple, straigh /. for ward
unanected eioq uence, he controlled masses OF
tinsel Of the rhstorician. His first speech on
natlonai anairs was In reference to the alien
and seditiOn laws. The people listened in un-
broken silence, but the power Of the orator
nad stirred the feelings Of the multitude 10
tneir utmost depths, and At its close he was
seized and borne in triumph through the
streets OF Lexington. From that moment his
course was onward and upward. Kentucky
never refused him any Office in her gift, and
oltener> bestowed them without solicitation
well might his uttprance tail and his feelings
Overpower him. when, in 1872 he nttem pted
to express his gratitude to u State which had
embraced him with parental fondness, caress-
ed MIN as though he had been a favorite son,
patronlzed him with unbounded muni1cence
and, when aseailed by the rest OF the world
interposed her broad and impenetrable shield
and repelied the poisoned shafts aimed for his
destruction. -. :. =
Mr.. Ciay's thoughts were early turned. AS
we nave seen, to national affairs and eepe-
cially to the dangers which then threa tened
our infant Republic. In the present time of
Of our vast country-when the journey that
once occupied weeks is performed readily and
without fatigue in day-we can scarcely do
justice to the statesmen who contended fifty
ternal Improvement by the General Govern.
ment. At the close of the Revolution ours
was a small population, thinly scattered over
an immense area, the different communities
separated by UnbrOken forests, noun ntainous
barriers and unimproved rivers. Washington
ana Jeuerson were at once deeply impressed
with the incalculable Importance the vital
necessity, OF connecting the Western with the
Eastern territories. Beyond and above the
commercial interests were the high political
considerations involved. With the Spaniards
on their right and the English ON their left. it
was feared that the people Of the West
with one or both of those nations, which
would at once draw u fatal line Of sepa.
ration between them and their Eastern
brethren. Hence the necessity, ms Washing.
ton said IN MS letter to Governor Harrison, Of
applying the cement Of interest to bind all
parts OF the U MON tOgether-especially of unit
ing that part which lies Immediately West of
US to the middle States. The way was plain
he said, TO avoid the threatened danger. In
mediate interest and remote Political advan-
tages proved the necessity Of extending the in.
land navigation of the Eastern waters, con.
Meeting them rs Tar as possible with the West
ern, ana thus binding those people to us, as
he hoped, by chain which could never be
broken.
Kentucky was the especial object of solicita-
ton on the part of Spain in her effort to alien
ate the West from the Union, and some of the
more impatient spirits of that State believing
that their local interests had long been neg
lected, If not systematically betrayed, especi.
ally in reference to the navigation of the Mis-.
sissippi. seemed ready to urge the separation
and independence of the whole country West
of the Alleghanies. Louisiana soon afterw
passed into the possession of the French, and
all dangers to our Uni0n in that quarter were
disslpated by its purchase under the auspices
Of Mr. Jefferson and the great VALLEY having
secured an outlet to the sea on the South, ma
turally desired to complete the purpose pro-
jected by Washington i'll securing closer con-
nection with the East
1t may be a subject Of wonder, almost of
a BILE to create any alarm on the subject of our
Union-but it may teach us a valuable lesson
of humility when we contrast her present
with her former condition, and remember that
we feel not more secure i'll our naughty
strength than she did in her pride and power
1t Ger rtainly is refreshing to see how little the
patriots OF past age suspected the "irrepres-
sibie conflicts" of the present. They feared that
the Republic would break to pieces from its
own weight, the lack Of conference, the isola-
tiOn OF its parts-they sought accordingly to
diminish OF obliterate the natural obstacles
which divided our people. In the simplicity
cy would be the parent Of friendship. It was
reserved for modern statesmen, OF q very diff
ferent type, to discover the evils OF a closer
connection, and to warn us of the hatred
Adopting, naturally, the policy projected in
the purer age, and by the sages of the Repub-
lie, Mr. Clay became at once the champion of
that cause which involved the highest and best
interests, as he believed, of his own immedi-
ate section, and in a scarcely less degree OF the
whole country.
Coupled with this devotion to internal i'm
prOyements was his desire to build up the
man nufactures of his country as an important
element of Independence. These he considered
the right and left hands Of power. The Colo
NAL system of Great Britain had deprived us
of the power Of man ufacturing the raw ma
with all his fondness for freedom and his SYM
pathy with the struggling Colonies, had de-
clared that we should not be allowed to
make a hObnail Cor ourselves. The noise
of trip hammers and rolling mills
would have been considered as reasonable
as Patrick Henry's denunciation Of George
the Third and when we had achieved our
freedom, we were impelled by pride, princi-
pie aud feeling, to build up our manufactures,
and thus fully demonstrate our independence
of a country whose fabrics were regarded as
the badges Of servitude. ~ 81
This rapid glance at his earlier political life,
ito hoo ufro1 tu fnpru Shocs ynyit
key to Mr.. Ciay's whole policy, steadily main-
tained-at least, never departed from except
when, for the sake OF peace, it seemed neces-
sary to sacrifice something of policy for he
might well say, with the Athenian orator, that
he Sometimes went contrary to himself, but
never to the Republic.
To strengthen and perpetuate our Union !;
to make it independent OF all other nations
r0ads--the Appian and Flaminian Ways Of
the Western Republic to clear out its rivers !:
to connect Its lakes !; to extend its internal and
expand its external commerce--these were the
ship when he stepped upon the stage Of ma
tional legislation.
He soon had the opportunity to prove that
his patriotism did not lack the heroic element :;
that he was as keen!y alive to the honor as
the material prosperity Of his country. 1t
may almost he said that he declared the second
war against Great Britain. His speeches were
SO many trumpet calls to his countrymen to
fepei the systemauc lnsolence ana tyranny OF
government which hoped, that since Wash.
ington was gone, We might be reduced again
by force or fraud to colonial vasealage. In the
management Of this question, Mr.. Clay exhib-
tied SO many qualities Of great commander
urged feeble and almost PROSTATE country
to take mp arms against mighty power, with
such sublime audacity that it was ssrfously
contemplated. II not actually proposed BY Mr..
Madison, to place him Mt the head OF our army.
The design was abandoned, because bis SER
vices in COngroSS were india isp0nsahlN. II IL
only left for us to imagine how far he would
have been able 70 avoid or reverse the disas-
ters which fell upon our srms in the COM
mencement OF the conflict Weshould be mind