Show I 1 HENRY CLAY I 1 ewhen when the news new spread through the country that the great noble generous gene roua and patriotic henry clay was defeated tot for the presidency of the united states by the comparatively insignificant james K pik men gathered in clusters and with darkened faces and lowering brows talked aa if some dreadful calamity had befallen the land as it if the first born of every homestead had been stricken down by an avenging nging angel in this was waa how the result of the memorable campaign of 1844 was pictured last evening by dr do gordy ady in his el eloquent quent characterization of chivalrous intellectual and gentle hearted henry clay his further remarks were to the following effect mr clay was the candidate of the I 1 whig party james K polk of the democratic party the issues in the contest were the annexation of texas and tariff for revenue the democrats favored the former while clay opposed it it on various grounds but towards the close blose modified his opposition somewhat polk had bad the reputation of a K yet he wrote a letter favoring protho tion apparently clabin clay in some of his bis t speeches contended fora tariff with incidental protection however the latt ewas defeated and his party thrown into the deepest gloom it was not until after this defeat that the completeness of henry clays services tas as it a patriot and a nationalist were fully realized As a pacificator f and arbitrator in the internal affairs of his country his bis first great work was accomplished in the missouri corn COM promise at that time about 1820 the slave interest in the south was becoming a dominant pie ita extension was favored and the question of admission immediately inedia tely brought it directly to the front as an issue between the north and south the slaveholding slave holding helding and non slave olave holding states were at this in number the north protested a aunt missouri as a slave st state ate while the south threatened secession unless slavery was permitted as in all the southern states senator thomas of illinois introduced a sort of compromise later on henry clay took this up and after a fierce discussion missouri was admitted as a slave state but with a proviso excluding slavery for all time from the entire territory north ot of the south boundary of mis namely the next great event in which henry clay earned the gratitude of his bis country was in 1833 1883 at the time of the calhoun nullification embro lio the tariff laws of 1828 and 1832 were particularly odious to south carolina measures were taken by that state to nullify not alone the acts of congress but the ruling of the united states supreme court andrew jackson was waa president of the united states john C calhoun was leader of the revolt in the south jackson issued a proclamation against the nullifiers it was answered by a counter proclamation from the governor of south carolina at the close of 1839 the situation was so critical that a conflict was deemed inevitable in behalf of the union and of peace clay introduced a tariff measure in 1833 1883 providing for a gradual reduction until 1842 when it should be reduced to a horizontal rate of 20 per cent the accepted the compromise bill and so did the nationalists and henry clay was for the second time dubbed the grot great pacificator the admission of california formed the next critical epoch in american slave history in 1849 without hafting wafting for an enabling act the californians 1 called a convention framed a constitution prohibit lug slave applied for admission as a state the southern leaders leaden again threatened threaten pd secession intense excitement prevailed henry clay now an aged man of appeared 73 once more on the scene though old and feeble yet bespoke he spoke with all the fervor intensity and patriotism of youth even against the wishes of his bis friends friend fi who feared that by his exertions he would hasten his end he still spoke and traveled through the land imploring beseeching exhorting exhort leg anti commanding americana nut to destroy their union he told the people that he ki krew ow no north no south no east no ne west but that the great broad land from the atlantic to the pacific was his bis country in 1850 he brought forth another compromise california was admitted a free state but accompany accompanying ink it was pawed passed a stringent fugitive slave law and also the establishment of territorial governments for utah and new mexico without restriction as to slavery again was the fatal day of secession postponed by the wisdom of henry clay jay who feared that a clash at that time would destroy the union it was well known knowd however th t the situation bad become such that either alther the slave dave interest or the free north must rule or ehe a compromise must be made the constitution itself was a compromise comproni lEe it permitted the importation of slaves from 1788 to 1808 that Is ie an american gentleman could go into africa and bring away with him human beings to be sold by public auction under the stare and stripes and under the shield of the united states slates constitution it was a compromise which gave equal representation in the senate to new york and delaware it was a compromise that effected a settlement between state sovereignty and nationalism hence henry clay though a union man and an antl anti alaverdy man at heart yet tried by every means to maintain domestic peace and mainly by his efforts was wag the union preserved he averted the dreadful day until it could be no longer averted and when the final clash came it resulted in triumph in closing his lecture last evenings evening dr gordy io in a beautiful peroration paid a poetic tribute to washington Was hIngED jefferson calhoun clay jackson and IAn lincoln coln his characterization of these grand old american statesmen was both eloquent and sublime tonight he will speak on the compromise period of american history Hi atory PY A morning paper speaks of him as aa not alluding to the botton gin in his bis lecture on calhoun it to is evident the writer of that article did not hear dr gordy the gentleman did not alone enter into in the revolution made by whitneys Whit cotton gin but gave au an analysis of what constituted agenole man in the south and in the north and though he maintained that calhoun was honest yet he did not deny that local interests prompted the per of slavery |