gain by his advocacy of, or his opposition to, any particular measure. His single inquiry was, Is it right? Is it in accordance with the Constitution of the land? Will it redound to the permanent welfare of the country? When satisfied upon these points, his determination was fixed; his purpose was immovable. "I would rather be right than President," was the expression of his genuine feelings, and the principle by which he was controlled in his public career-a saying worthy of immortality, and proper to be inscribed upon the heart of every young man in this Republic. And yet, sir, with all of that personal and moral intrepidity which so eminently marked the character of Mr. CLAY; with his well-known inflexibility of purpose and unyielding resolution, such was the genuine sincerity of his patriotism, and such his thorough comprehension of those principles of compromise, upon which the whole structure of our Government was founded, that no one was more prompt to relax the rigor of his policy the moment he perceived that it was calculated to disturb the harmony of the States, or to endanger, in any degree, the stability of the Government. With him the love of this Union was a passion-an absorbing sentiment-which gave color to every act of his public life. It triumphed over party; it triumphed over policy; it subdued the natural fierceness and haughtiness of his temper, and brought him into the most kindly and cordial relations with those who, upon all other questions, were deeply and bitterly opposed to him. It has been asserted, sir, upon high medical authority, and doubtless with truth, that his life was, in all probability, shortened ten years by the arduous and extraordinary labors which he assumed at the memorable session of 1850. If so, he has added the crowning glory of the martyr to the spotless fame of the patriot; and we may well hope that a great national pacification, purchased at such a sacrifice, will long continue to cement the bonds of this now happy and prosperous Union.

Mr. CLAY possessed in an eminent degree, the qualities of a great popular leader; and history, I will assume to say, affords no example in any Republic, ancient or modern, of any indi

vidual that so fearlessly carried out the convictions of his own judgment, and so sparingly flattered the prejudices of popular feeling, who, for so long a period, exercised the same controlling influence over the public mind. Earnest in whatever measure he sustained, fearless in attack-dexterous in defense-abounding in intellectual resource eloquent in debate of inflexible purpose, and with a "courage never to submit or yield,” no man ever lived with higher qualifications to rally a desponding party, or to lead an embattled host to victory. That he never attained the highest post of honorable ambition in this country, is not to be ascribed to any want of capacity as a popular leader, nor to the absence of those qualities which attract the fidelity and devotion of "troops" of admiring friends. It was the fortune of Napoleon, at a critical period of his destiny, to be brought into collision with the star of Wellington; and it was the fortune of HENRY CLAY to have encountered, in his political orbit, another great and original mind, gifted with equal power for commanding success, and blessed with more fortunate elements, concurring at the time, of securing popular favor. The struggle was such as might have been anticipated from the collision of two such fierce and powerful rivals. For near a quarter of a century this great Republic has been convulsed to its center by the divisions which have sprung from their respective opinions, policy, and personal destinies; and even now, when they have both been removed to a higher and a better sphere of existence, and when every unkind feeling has been quenched in the triumphs of the grave, this country still feels, and for years will continue to feel, the influence of those agitations to which their powerful and impressive characters gave impulse and direction.

But I must pause. If I were to attempt to present all the aspects in which the character of this illustrious man will challenge the applause of history, I should fatigue the House, and violate the just limit allowed for such remarks.

I can not, however, conclude, sir, without making some more special allusion to Mr. CLAY, as a native of that State which I have the honor, in part, to represent upon this floor. We are all

proud, and very properly proud, of the distinguished men to whom our respective States have given birth. It is a just and laudable emulation, and one, in a confederated government like ours, proper to be encouraged. And while men like Mr. CLAY very rapidly rise above the confined limits of a State reputation, and acquire a national fame, in which all claim, and all have an equal interest, still there is a propriety and fitness in preserving the relation between the individual and his State. Virginia has given birth to a large number of men who have, by their distinguished talents and services, impressed their names upon the hearts and memories of their countrymen; but certainly, since the colonial era, she has given birth to no man, who, in the massive and gigantic proportions of his character, and in the splendor of his native endowments, can be compared to HENRY CLAY. At an early age he emigrated from his native State, and found a home in Kentucky. In a speech which he delivered in the Senate of the United States, in February, 1842-and which I well remember-upon the occasion of his resigning his seat in that body, he expressed the wish that, when that event should occur which has now clothed this city in mourning, and filled the nation with grief, his "earthly remains should be laid under the green sod of Kentucky, with those of her gallant and patriotic sons."

Sir, however gratifying it might be to us that his remains should be transferred to his native soil, to there mingle with the ashes of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Lee, and Henry, we can not complain of the very natural preference which he has himself expressed. If Virginia did give him birth-Kentucky has nourished him in his manhood-has freely lavished upon him her highest honors-has shielded him from harm when the clouds of calumny and detraction gathered heavily and loweringly about him, and she has watched over his fame with the tenderness and zeal of a mother. Sir, it is not to be wondered that he should have expressed the wish he did, to be laid by the side of her gallant and patriotic sons. Happy Kentucky! Happy, in having an adopted son so worthy of her highest honors. Happy, in the unshaken fidelity and loyalty with which,

for near half a century, those honors have been so steadfastly and gracefully accorded to him.

Sir, while Virginia, in the exercise of her own proper judgment has differed from Mr. CLAY in some of his views of national policy, she has never, at any period of his public career, failed to regard him with pride, as one of her most distinguished sons; to honor the purity and the manliness of his character, and to award to him the high credit of an honest and sincere devotion to his country's welfare. And now, sir, that death has arrested forever the pulsations of that mighty heart, and sealed in eternal silence those eloquent lips, upon whos accents thousands have so often hung in rapture, I shall stand justified in saying that a wail of lamentation will be heard from her people-her whole people-reverberating through her mountains and valleys, as deep, as genuine, and as sincere as that, which I know, will swell the noble hearts and the heaving bosoms of the people of his own cherished and beloved Kentucky.

Sir, as I walked to the Capitol this morning, every object which attracted my eye admonished me that a nation's benefactor had departed from among us. He is gone! HENRY CLAY, the idol of his friends, the ornament of the Senate Chamber, the pride of his country; he whose presence gathered crowds of his admiring fellow-men around him, as if he had been one descended from above, has passed forever from our view.

"His soul, enlarged from its vile bonds, has gone

To that REFULGENT world, where it shall swim
In liquid light, and float on seas of bliss."

But the memory of his virtues, and of his services, will be gratefully embalmed in the hearts of his countrymen, and generations yet unborn will be taught to lisp, with reverence and enthusiasm, the name of HENRY CLAY.

EULOGY OF MR. PARKER.

MR PARKER then addressed the House :—

Mr. SPEAKER-This is a solemn—a consecrated hour. And I would not detain the members of the House from indulging in the silence of their own feelings, so grateful to hearts chastened

as ours.

But I can not restrain an expression from a bosom pained with its fullness.

When my young thoughts first took cognizance of the fact that I have a country-my eye was attracted by the magnificent proportions of HENRY CLAY.

The idea absorbed me then, that he was, above all other men, the embodiment of my country's genius.

I have watched him; I have studied him; I have admired him—and, God forgive me! for he was but a man, "of like passions with us"-I fear I have idolized him, until this

hour.

But he has gone from among men; and it is for us now to awake and apply ourselves, with renewed fervor and increased fidelity, to the welfare of the country HE loved so well, and served so truly and so long-the glorious country yet saved to us!

Yes, HENRY CLAY has fallen, at last!—as the ripe oak falls in the stillness of the forest. But the verdant and gorgeous richness of his glories will only fade and wither from the earth, when his country's history shall have been forgotten.