Civilian & telegraph. [volume] (Cumberland, Md.) 1859-1875, 1861-04-18
Henry Clay's Last Speech.
WORDS OF WISDOM
From the Louisville Journal.

propriate than the present for the repub-
LEGATION of at least portion of Mr.. Clay's
great speech upon the Compromise of
1850, that immortal speech which was
almost, if not quite the last effort Of his
glorious life, and in the delivery of which
he cheerfully and gladly sacrificed upon
the altar of his country the little physi-
cal strength that remained to him. He
struck for the Union, throwing the rem
nant of his lfe-energes into the blow.
We give the close of that speech
Let all who love the words of wisdom, all
who cherish with feelings of vonera:ion
the name of Henry Clay, all whose hearts
still throb for the country to which
they owe their allegiance, read it care
full y and ponder it well. Every thought
full reader will rise from its perusa a
wiser man. If Henry Clay were now
alive, gazing with fearful eyes and an
agonizied heart upon the terrible and
most deplorable events of our day, he
could not discuss the present great in
tereSts of our nation more ably and wise
ly than they are in effect discussed in
what we republish from his eloquent lips
and fiery heart to-day.
Such is the Union, and such are its
glorious fruits. We are told now, and
it is rung throughout this entire coun-
try, that the Union is threatened with
subversion and destruction. Well. the
first question which naturally arises is,
supposing The Union to be dissolved
having all the causes of grievances which
are complained of-how far will disso-
luton furnish remedy for those griev-
ances? If the Union is to be dissolved
for any existing causes, it will be dissol-
we'd because slavery is interdicted or not
allowed to be introduced into the ceded
Territories: because slavery is threaten
ed to be abolished in the District of Co.
lnmbia, and because fugitive slaves are
not returned, as in my opinion they
ought to be, restored to their master.
These | believe will be the causes, il
there be any causes, which can lead to
the dirctul event to which | have refer
red
Well, now, let us suppose that the
| Union has been dissolved. What REM
edy does it furnish for the grievances
complained of in its united condition.
viii you be able to push slavery into the
coded Territories? How are you to dc
it, supposing the North-all the States
north of the Potomac, and which are OPP
posed to tin possession Of the navy
and army of the United States? Can
you expect, if there is a dissolution Of
the Union that you can carry slavery in
to California and New Mexico! You
cannot dream of such purpose. If it
were abolished in the District of Column
/ bia, and the Union was dissolved, would
the dissolution of the Union restore sla-
very in the District of Columbia? Are
you safer in the recovery Of your fugi-
tive slaves in the state of dissolution or
Of severance of the Union, than you are
in the Union itself? Why, what is the
state of the fact in the Union? You lose
some slaves, You recover some others
Let me advert to fact which ought
to have introduced before, because it is
| highly crcditable to the courts and jurics
of the Free States. In every case, so
far as my information extends, where an
appeal has been made to the courts of
justice for the recovery of fugitives, or
for the recovery of penalties inflicted up
ON persons who have assisted in lecoy-
ing slaves from their masters and adm g
them in escaping from their masters
as far us am informed, the courts have
asserted the rights of the owner, and the
jurles have promptly returned adequate
verdlcts in favor of the owner. Well,
this is some remedy. What would you
have if the Union were discovered. Why,
sir, then the severed parts would be in-
dependent of each othcr--foreign coun.
tries? Slaves taken from the one into
the other would be there like slaves now
escaping from the United States into
canada. 1herc would be no right of ex.
tradtion-no right to demand your slaves
no right to appeal to the courts ofjus-
tice to demand your slaves which es-
capped, or the penalties for dccoying
them. Where one slave escapes now
by running away from his owner, hun
drcds and thousands would escape if the
Union were severed in parts care not
where OR how you run the line, if indie
pendent sovereignties were established.
We, finally, will you, in state Of
dissolution Of the Union, be safer with
your slaves within thebosom of the States
than you are now Mr.. President, that
they will escape much more frequently
from the Border States no one will
doubt.
But, must take occasion to say that,
in my opinion, there is no right on the
part of one or more of the States to Sc
cede from the Union. War and the dis
solution of the Union are indentcal aud
inseparablc There can be no dissolu-
ton of the Union except by consent CT
by war. No one can expect. in the ex-
listing state of things, that that consent
would, be given, and war is the only al
tentative by which dissolution could
be accomplished. And, Mr.. President,
if consent were given-if possibly we
were to separate by mutual agreement
and by given line, i'll less than sixty
days after such an agreement had been
executed, war would break out between
the free and slaveholding portions of
the Union-bctween the two Independent
portions into which it would be erected
in virtue of the act of separation. Yes.
sir, sixty days--in less than sixty days,
| believe, our slaves from Kentucky
would be fleeing over in numbers to the