Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1860-04-17
I'll. Clay s,o,uc inauguration Banquet.

port OF the closing scenes at tlc t'al "''''
Banouct held at the Exchange Hotel in TINS
city ON Thursday evening last: =,
Mr. i. II. Daniel gave the following ne
State Of New York--hcr rise to GREATNESS i
nnycb in the worlds hiStory-ENcels'nr;
linn James Brooks, having been lol'aiy call
cd upon 10 respond, arose and sam:
A.. President and gentlemen: | thank you
Gu. ,hc rcception YOU have given the sentiment
~ honor or New York, and your iiattcring no.
t;co If me only regret that the Wing t;ene-
,nl Committee of New York could not have llad
others here to represent them, than my aSS"-
ciate CAIr. Whecler) and myself. But alaS, the
Whiy party in New York is hut few III num-
beers, and they are lar between, Only 4 few Of
us are left, us monuments Of IT'S ancient glory
and grandeur. (Applausc.) But We few, the
more cherish its memory and its principles,
and the ~oftcucr, therefore, assemble around the
altar 10 warm Up and rc-auinatc our patriotism,
and the oltener to think Of aud talk Of our llar-
~ Clay. (Applausc.l
New York State, gentlemen, can well lr-
spond to q sentiment given to her in Virginia
and on the anniversary Of the birth day oil HS'
Clay, For the Empire State has been iD'''e
imperial, and deserving Of her sorncwlm b, over
ambitious motto ''eycclsior," by ever III ny
the principles, the teachings and 'hc lISs"''s "
Henry Clay. (-Applausc.J However iea pull
tlcians may ditier-and alas 'ief 40 u'ne' On
points most matcrial-cren 10 inc very eAis'
tence Of the countrv-rct, IN nj INC ccouoln'-
cal administrations Of The public affairs oil the
State for the last fifty years, have they united
in nrac,icing and in illustrating the lessons and
the principles taught by Tie great Father OF
American industry and of commerce and trade.
Every ship that goes out OF New iork--lor the
Arctic or the Antarctic, whether cruising 10y
the coasts of Zanzibar or CT Eorneo, amid the
isles of Japan, or in the English channel
floats nj the masthead and Oil her Tree and
saucy tlag, as Il mcmento of Clay, Free trade
and Sailors rights" secured in tlic treaty Of
| Client. (ApplauSc.j Every steam engine in
! New York that moves 4 pulley, every water
fall that turns . watcr.wlccl, every field con-
~ticuous to 4 factory, once but 4 wilderness, now
made to blossom like the rosc-cacli and III! ARE
eloquent with the inspiration Of Clay. Re.
newed applause.) Our canals, orr railroads,
one, and all, are monuments Of that genius OF
development, and Of internal improvement,
with which his policy inspired the whole
country. prolonged applause.) Hence, gcptlc-
men, no State cali better respond than my own
to this Virginia compliment, created imperial,
as it has been, by executing all the economical
lessons Of Virginia's noble son.
But | cannot stop here now. The suggestive
remarks OF the Ex- president Of the United
States, (AIr. TylcrJ have carried Inc back to
the second great era Of Mr.. Clay's life, when l.,
but u youth and all unknown 10 him, Mr.. Iy-
lcr,) was 4 locker on in the scenes he has been
describing, and in which he acted well his
part. Because | was 4 youth, the more vivid
is my mcmory and the more clearly can re-
call all the men and the history OF the 22d
Congress. Never, perhaps, did there Assemble
in one hall a more intellectual body Of men
than then graccd the Senate chamber of the
United States; and among them all, Clay shone
| foremost and brightest in the radiant host.
iApplause.l Andrew Jackson, of iron will,
was President the brilliant meteor of South
! Carolina was Vice. There was John Holmes,
of Maine, sharp, witty and kee'--an owl
by night to eSpy ont facts, and q Cossack
by day 10 spear with them the enemy. There
was Spraguc, his colleague, but in everything
his contras,-cIoquent. elegant, scholar. too,
as well as orator. There was Isaac Till, OF
New Hampshire, the once renowned and we'll
feared editor, writer, gucrrii!ero, scrtpt0r, as
well as actor 2esu@. There WAS the classic
Robbins, of Rhode Island, who had Pindmr and
.Eschylus Il. his fingers ends, and Jnrcnal
and PcrsiuS, and to whom Dclphos and Par
nassus and the golden sands Of PactollS were
Us well known as Narragansctt or Pautlckct.
%(Laughtcr.) There was Prentiss, OF Vermont,
Judge, Jurist, JuriSconSult, at home with Coke
on Littleton, and more at home with Fearne
on Contingent Relnainders. (LaGghter.) There
was Footc, of Connecticut, if not himself iln-
mortal, cmbalmed for Immortality, in the great
debates of Webster, llaync and Benton, on
'.Eoolc's resolutions" (Applausc.J There was
Marcy, Of New York, Governor, Sccrctary-a
man not Of books, but by his genius above
books-who probably never read Fattei, Gro.
thus, Putfcndorf or B~urlcmaGui, but who knew
all about them by intuition. (Applausc and
laughtcr.) There was Dickcrson, Of New Jer-
sew, strong for q protective tariff, but stronger
vet for Andrew Jackson; 0aughtcr;D and there
was his colleague, Frclinghuyscn, whose name
is not meilihuous, but whose periods flowed in
mellihuous eloqucnce and in soothing sentences,
and Of whom we made music, nevertheless,
in orr political songs Of Clay and Ere.
linghuysrn. (Laughtcrl There VAS l)al-
las OF PENNSYLVANIA, afterwards Vice Pre-
sidcnt, now Minister to England he, too,
was strong on the tariff, and strong for
Andrew .Iackson-strong too for the Bank, but
stronger yet for Andrew Jackson; who had the
strange luck to be against his party in almost
every principle, and yet TO win its highest
honoys and positions. Rcncwed laughter. -
There was Clayton of Delaware, the Secretary,
Ncgotiator, Diplomat, (thc Clayton and Eulwer
Treaty,) who would read novels all night and
| skirriish in debate with Zouave-likc agility all
the ensuing day. There was Samuel Smith Of
Maryland, the soldier, the merchant, the states
man, in 4 very enlarged sense Of the word. |
remember well Mr.. Clay quoting poetry upon
| him, though the orator of the day CIR. BAR
bour) doubted whether Mr.. Clay could make Il
right quotation. Mr.. Smith had provoked the
great kcntucl;ian, quoting i'll public Senate sons
remark a lady had luaie upon Mr.. Clay'S person
al beauty. HIS rctort was terrible and unde-
ser7cd. because il WAS so terrible. Upon Mr..
Smith, Mr.. Clay not only quoted, but acted ont
thratrically too
''0ld politicians chew on wisdom past,
And to,:er on in birIulers 10 the last
There were Tazewcll and Tyler Of Virginia
TYLER yet lives, and leng may ne livc-tap.
plauScl-but the gllttcring blade of Damascus.
or Toledo, in Tazewclls hand cuts no more. I
never knew 4 mind SO acute as his. Of spirit,
how Spiritnelie! | verify believe if he had
lived with the Diulecticians in the middle ages,
he would have clearly solved the riddles, whc'
tlcr angels can see in the dark, or whether yor
can 60 from one point Of space to another with
out going through the other intermediate
points. 0.aughtcr) Then, there WAS Forsyth
the accomplished Forsyth. The whole arrnory
Of gloquence, ancient and modern, seemed tc
be at his command, and he could play with thu
yataghau or the rapicr, or with the small swerd
or tho broad sword, or with the broad axe, ol
tho ~cleavcr;; aud though he could not kill t!''
Claws or the WcbStcrS, he could tease then
half to death, and often make them ridiculous
There was King OF Alabama-elegant, high
minded, accomplished, also,--who, though no
old, became the father Of the Senate, from hi
long continuous service there. There was Poin
dexter, Of Mississippi, "old poius," us he vas
culled-keen and cutting too-cleas sighted ant
clear headed, with 4 ra2or.like logic lhat GU