The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-10-29
HENRY CLAY'S VISIT TO RALEIGH


Clay as ne approached the town, We
viii accept his own statement, which
was thai the whole state was there.
It was an enormous crowd for Raleigh
at that time. when W. consider the
size Of the town and the sparsely set
tied community. The Raleigh Regis
ter states that "Cne would think that
the whole world were Whigs-men,
women, children and cOOns.' We fur
ther quote: From every county, from
every town, from every hill and val
ley. came forth her gallant and true
hearted sons. TO swear anew their al
~legiance and fidelity to the unaltered
and unalterable principles Of the
Wing party. The planter left MS
field in the very midst Of planting
time. the mechanic abandoned his vo-
cation, the lawyer forsook his books
and briefs. the merchant his ledger
and his counting room. the physician
his pills and patients. to come up one
and all To the grand council OF the
state" The visiting ladies We're en-
t~ertalned in the homes Of the Raleigh
people-"the string Of every latch
was hanging on the outside of the
door"-while the great majority of
the men came in their covered wagons
Of 1910. bringing with them provisions
sufficient to last them through the
visit. 1t was stated that -four or five
acres were occupied with the wagons
and other vehicles.
ON the previous night to Mr.. C1ay's
arrival, the great throng of people
gathered at the capitol square under
the strains Of the Salem band. Here
several prominent speakers were call
d upon. and made Wing speeches.
First Edward Stanley vas called for
and responded with an hours speech
Then II. K. Nash, being called for. re-
sponded in an enthusiastic speech.
Finally Mr.. BroWnlow. editor of the
Jonesboro Wing. being called for,
though not a speaker. as he said. en-
tertained the crowd with his wit and
humor. Some one of the audience
later said that 1.-The way he did curry
the Locos and make the fur fly was
distressing" Another said che ought
to be indicted for violating that pro-
vision of the constitution which for
bids the infliction of cruel and I'M
usual punishment"
The crowd reassembled at the cap
itol square on Friday at IL o'clock
and several distinguished visitors
made speeches. among them Mr.. Shell
ton, of Buffalo Springs. Va, and Mr..
b. w. Leigh, of Richmond, who later
was one of Virginia's U. S. Senator's.
His speech" as some one said, was
worthy Of Virginia in her palmiest
days" Among others who spoke were
Messrs- Cherry and Reade. both of
whom were prominent in political af-
10000 NAHC ot ho jo9L .
of the crowd was on Saturday night,
at which time Messrs. Badger. later a
u. S. Senator and member of Tyler's
cabinet, Moore, Syme, and Harris, be-
ing called for made
speeches.
The above mentioned features,
though important in the event, were
not, of course. the chief part of the
occasion. The great and most i'm
portant meeting took pace on Saturday
morning, wen Henry Clay, the longed
for visitor, poke. The great crowd
gathered at the Capitol Square at
eleven O'Clock and formed the process
sion which on the day before had met
him. The procession marched to the
Governors Mansion. wher it was
joined by Clay and his party, who
were drawn by four white horses in
an open landau, and escorted to the
platform in the Capitol Square, which
was built for him to speak from.
Mr.. Clay spoke for two hours, and
said in part: "A long cherished object
OF my heart is accomplished. 1 am
at your State capital in the midst of
you L had expected to find some hun
dreds, perhaps thousands, assembled
mere to greet me. but l did not expect
TO see the whole State assembled to-
gether, but here it is Mr.. Clay then
TOOK up the issues of the day; first he
spoke Of the name of eiecting mem
beTs OF the House of Representatives.
From the establishment of the Union
there had grown UP a custom among
the States to elect their Congressman
as we now elect our Presidential elect
orS, that Is, by the State Congress.
seeing the evil of the methods. made a
general rule for the election of Con-
gressmen, and that rule was by the
district. To this rule some states com
pned' others did not. Among those
that did not were Missouri. Mississippi
pl. Georgia and New Hampshire.
Ihese congressman were permitted
by a Democratic Congress to take
their seats, while New Jersey elected
by district. was deprived of some of
it's members. Mr.. Clay said he was in
favor of election by district and the
enforcement of the law. The mex
question was the illegal way of I'd
hitting Michigan into the Union,
which was sanctioned by the Demo
cratic party. In passing. he condemn
ed DorrisOn in Rhode Island, which
he said had been encouraged by the
Jackson party. Another question
which he touched upon was the tariff,
which a been a live question for
thirty years. AS we all know. he was
the great COMPROMISED between the
North and the South upon this ques-
ton in 1882, when South Carolina
nullified the tariff of that year. He
advocated a tariff for revenue with in
cidental protection. He said: Il be-
lieve no great nation ever existed or
can exist, which does not derive with
in itself essential supplies of food and
raiment and the means of defense.
We must reject both high tariff and
free trade He strongly advocated
sound money, which, he said, could
be brought back permanently only
through the establishment of a Bank
of the United States. He also advo-
Gated an equita bic distribution OF
funds from the public DOMAIN among
the several States according to the
Federal population. He ended the
two hours speech with the following
paragraph, which sent a thrill of en-
thusiasm, accompanied with a sense
of sadness: w are about. fellow cit
liens, finally to separate. Never agai
shall | benold this assembled multi
tude. No more shall | probably ever
see the beautiful city of oaks. Never
more shall l mingle in the delightful
circles of its hosDitable and accom-
plished inhabitants. But you will
never be forgotten in this heart OF
mine. My visit to your State is an
epoch in my life. I shall carry with
me everywhere and carry back to my