[THIS is the first speech on record, of Mr. Clay’s efforts
during his congressional career. He had been previously elected
to fill a vacancy in the United States senate, for a single
session, in 1806, during which, in 1807, he delivered an able
speech on _internal improvement_, which we regret has not been
preserved. In 1809, the legislature of Kentucky again elected
him a United States senator, and in the following remarks, he
avowed himself in favor of the policy of encouraging _domestic
manufactures_, which policy he had before advocated in the
legislature of his own state. His early support of these two
branches of national policy, which he afterwards called ‘the
_American System_,’ is thus shown by his two first speeches in
congress, and his name and influence have become identified with
the cause, of which he has always stood forth the distinguished
champion.]