Mr. Clay On Annexation

The xperience of the lust fmir years demon - trates that the Pic?ident of ihe United States often has the fute of tho. most important meaaures oí nuional pol icy exclusively in his honda. His singla' opiniun, in cenain contingencies. muy giT:la7!our.w;i!:ng millions. Ilcnce, n our jdgctacnt, the dosenes3 with which theopiniona uf Uic cuntHdntes lor tho Presidency nrc scruiinized br the people, 15 to be approved rather thnn cundeinrsed. The most important mensures ero olieii ïhoso on which the people are most divided: nd these measuresenn rarelybecarried hy a vo-.e oftwo-ihinUof both Houaes of Congrcss, and -re (has lr;ft nt the" disposal of a single individual, and hu n.it alway the most sound in his judgement. or the most patriotic in his motives. On ihc gronñds, we deern a rigid scrutiny of Mr. Clay'o puMished opjniona on the Annexation of Texas to be commendabie and nppropriaie. We shall endeavor to ascenain and state his posiiion on this subject as fairly and briefly as nossibl. $ 1. ■ The Object of Annexalion. We Biuppose we need not enter into a lnborcd rgimient to show that the seheme of Anncxntron ofigirtnted amóng the elaveholders: that its principal advocates and adherenia have been froni titaic.'ass: that the measure would tend 10 immedia'ei.T raise the price of slnvesr, to a great extent, and time enrich the owners of that kind of propere: and f the territory of Texas should bo sc-uled under the control of slavrholders. as itundouhteiily would ba, all. or nearly all the States carried out of' thot immense doftioin would con11111 s!avco. and have a slavo reprcsentaiion a Congresa, 8nd cive to the elaveholding influence htúns predominance in the Senatèj and in the nntion.il councils.' Thnt tbis was the real object of Annexation, is erident to every unprejudieed man who ia acqunintcd with the Tncts. and is cxprewly avowed by Mr. Calhoun, Secretaryof State, in his letter to Mr. Packenham. the British minister, April 27, 1844. ín refnrene to tho trealy which had bécn concluded by Mr. Tyler, hc r-iy_: "The mtewórè" ns ödopted with thé mutual consent, and lor the mutual and permanent weiv,1"0 2lJ ! lwo öPunt"'ea inicreated. 1T WAS SEflVE DOMKSTJC INSTlTUTfONS.pia,;e onder the gusrnnree of their respective conWiU'tipM, and dremed KssUNTiAL TO i'iüoni safctï' ANfÖ i-iiosPERrrr. Heve the wholo aiory is told nt once by this shameless yowal of our Secretary of State The Anncxation of Texas ia indispensable to tho preservaron, safety and prospenty of Siavery! 2. Mr. Clay advocates Üie Recognilionof Texas. We have aheady seen,'hat by hisexertions on the side of the slnveholders in the memorable Miwouri trussrlo, Mr. Clay acquired their npprobn'ion, became identified wi(h their interesrsi,. and obtainetj rank andconsideratiön amons them asaietWèr. h was ihcrerorc natural that he shonld regard with favor he effórtó of the Texin rebeia to throw off" ihe governmênt of Mvxio. wiiicb prohibited SInvery, and establish another slaveholding repuolic i-j close proximity wiih the planting States. AccordingW, when thequf-stionofrecogniangthe indopendence of Texas carne up in IS36-7, Mr. Clny was one of i;s unwavering supporters. Senator Walker, of Mississippi, the preseot champion of Anne.xati.n, w.is the nuivnr of the resóluiion by which the n(lependence of Texas was recognized. In all the votes on this subject, when he was present. Mr. Cfay uniformly supported ihe resolution oi'Kccognition. Ue was absent whcn it was adopi'edi but a motion to re consider W3S made. but losf, ayes 24. nays 25- a lie vote. The naya, who rcfusetl to con3ider were. these: Messrs. Bayard, Busto, JJIaek, Cai.houit, CLAT, Crittenden, Cnthbert, Ewing of III. ulton, Gruni.'y. Hénáricfts, Linn, Lyon. Moore, Mouton. N)chol;is, Parker. Preston, llives, Robinson, Sevicr, Strange, Wai.ki:k, White. Thus Mr. Clay was agáín íound voiing wnhthemoBt ultra slaveholdors and annexationïsts aniü8t the great body ofNorthern freemen, and in fiivor of this recognition, which was regnrded by many slaveholders only as a atento Anncxation. Mis single vote, on this occasion, prcven'ed a re-cousideratiun, and thus settlcd the quesiion. 3. Mr, Clay't Letter on Annexalion. As this le'ter bas been generaily read.wc need eb litile thnn more adv'ert to ihe circumstancesumler which it was written, ii prominent positioos, and tho constrnction which haa been pttícjjpon it by the friends of Mr. Clay. At the liaie this letter was written, the treaty of Annexatiou liad jvist been coucluded by Mr. Tyler, and is ratificatie wns the prominent upic rt conversation through the Union. In writing upon Annexation. Mr. Clay very naturally Ijokcd upon the aepecta which then presented tSemsclves, and pioperly tooi: Btrong round aj.iinst the measure, as injudicious and inexpedin. h seems to us that every sensible man must oincids in the conclusión to which he caoufc.aa hus expressed by htmself; "I consider the Annexation of Texas, ai tliis me, without the asa nt pf Mexico, as a nieasrecoinprjmising ihe nalional charncter. involvig ua oenuinly in a war with Mesico, 'probably h!i oihejr foreign pöwers, dangerous to ihomgrity of the Unwa, inexpedient in the present iiancialcondiiion óf ihe country, and notcalled r by nny general expression öf public opinn " We have yet to find the fïrst Liberty man, who oes not consider these objections proper and dlid against the trealy proposed, at that time, by ohn Tyler. But while Mr. Clay tbus in part xpreiaed the view3 ol the great body of norih11 freeraen, he presenied unother aspect which ie subject niight exhibit in future. He says: _i(If without the loss of natiounl character, ithout the hazard of foreign war, with thegenei ciiiii unence óf the natioñ, without any daner to tho integriiy of the Union, and without ving on nnreasonnhle price lor Texas, the qtieson ol Aiuiexa'.i.in were presented. it would ap- ■ar in quite a different lightfróm that in whicli, npprehend, it is höw 10 be reyarded.'' Nothing in this letter can be found, pledging Ir. Clay in the least against future Annexation ider favorable áuspices; and a' considerable poroii oí the AVhigs at ihe South so understand lim, ns we wiüsliow by ampie testimony. But rst lel vis examine the eviderke. of Rev. Caln Collón, author of the '-Junius Trjcis."