I not only rise in gratitude for the favorable opinions you entertain
of me, but to avail myself of an opportunity to acknowledge my sense
of the honors conferred upon me by my fellow-citizens of Mississippi.
I did, indeed, expect to receive from them such kind attentions, as
they are celebrated for extending to every stranger having had the
satisfaction to visit them; but it is my pride to acknowledge, that
those paid to me, have far, very far, exceeded my expectations; to
have received and not acknowledge how sensible I am of them, would
seem an affectation of concealing feelings, which I ought to rejoice
in possessing, and which justice to myself, as well as to those who
bestow this kindness, requires of me to avow.
Ere I landed on your shores, your welcome and congratulations came to
meet me; and they came too the more welcome, because I saw commingling
around me, citizens, who, though at variance on political subjects, do
not suffer their differences to interfere with the claims, which, as
friends and as countrymen, they have on each other; and if I have done
aught deserving their approbation as well as their censure, believe
me, in all that I have done, I have acted in view of the interest and
happiness of our common country.
There is nothing in life half so delightful to the heart, as to know,
that, notwithstanding all the conflicts that arise among men, yet
there comes a time when their passions and prejudices shall slumber,
and that the stranger guest shall be cheered in seeing, that whatever
differences may arise among them, yet there are moments when they shall
cease from troubling, and when all that is turbulent and distrustful
among them, shall be sacrificed to the generous and social dictates of
their nature; and it would be to me a source of great satisfaction to
think, that a recollection of the present would act as a mediator, and
soften the asperities of your divisions, as circumstances and events
may renew them.
The gentleman who sits at the head of this festive board, and near
whose person your kind consideration and courtesy has placed me, was
the companion of my early days; and neither time nor distance have
weakened in him the feelings which began with our youth, the strong and
bright evidences of which are shown in the narration he has given of
my public services. But I fear that he has rather conceived me to be
what his wishes would have me; and that to these, more than to my own
deservings, must I attribute his flattering notice of me.
He then adverted to that part of judge Turner’s address which spoke of
Mr. Clay as the decided advocate of the late war. We cannot attempt to
draw even the outlines of his observations, or to portray the feelings
he discovered while depicting the part which Kentucky acted in the
war; of the volunteers she sent forth to battle, of the privations
she suffered, of the money expended, and of the blood that flowed from
her sons, in supporting the nation in the defence of her rights and
independence. The expression of his eye, his attitude, and gestures,
evinced how deeply the subject affected him. The people of Kentucky,
he said, acted nobly throughout the whole contest; and whether in
defeat or in victory, she still showed the determination to sustain the
American character, and to maintain American independence; and it would
be only to repeat, what was a common observation among the people of
his state, to say, that their countrymen of Mississippi, acted with a
spirit during the war worthy the best days of the revolution.
In speaking of the invasion of Louisiana, and of the battle of New
Orleans, his feelings and his voice seemed to rise with the subject.
The encomiums he passed upon the hero who had achieved the victory,
though said in a few words, were such as might be expected from a
statesman so great in honor, and so exalted in patriotism as Mr. Clay.
He concluded this part of his speech, by saying, that, although by the
negotiations at Ghent, none of the objects for which the nation went to
war, were guarantied by the treaty of peace; yet they were secured to
us by a power much stronger than any treaty stipulations could give;
the influence of our arms, the resources and power of the republic, as
brought forth and shown in the contest.
He now spoke of the apprehensions entertained by many, that the
union would be dissolved; but he considered all apprehensions of this
kind, as arising more from our fears that such a misfortune should
visit the country, than from any substantial reasons to justify them.
Rumors, he said, had gone abroad ever since the adoption of the present
constitution, that the republic would be dismembered. Whenever any
important question arose, in which the passions and prejudices of
party, rather than the reason of the people, was brought to bear on
the discussion, the cry would be heard, that the union would fall in
the conflict; to-day, the disposition to separate would be charged on
the west; to-morrow, against the north or the east; and then it would
be returned back again to the south; but as long as I have lived, said
Mr. Clay, I have seen nothing to give me any serious fears that such
an evil could befall us. First, the people were divided into democrats
and federalists; then we had the funding system, and the bank of the
United States; then came the Missouri question, and last the _tariff_.
On this question my partial friend has honored me with the appellation
of the advocate of domestic industry. I am, indeed, from conscientious
convictions, the friend of that system of public policy, which has been
called the American system; and _here_, among those who honestly differ
with me on this question, I would be indulged, by this magnanimous
people, in offering a few remarks on this subject.
It has been objected to this policy by a distinguished statesman in
congress, that our country was too extended, the lands too cheap and
fertile, and our population too sparse to admit of the manufacturing
system; that our people were physically incapable of that confined
degree of labor, necessary to excellence in manufactures; but
experience has surely disproved these positions. We are by nature
inferior to no people, physically or mentally, and time has proved and
will continue to prove it.
I am aware that the people of this quarter of the union conscientiously
believe, that the tariff bears heavily on them; yet I feel also well
assured, from a retrospect of the past, that if the laws on this
subject were even more severe in their operation than I believe them
to be, this patriotic people would endure them patiently. Yes, if
the independence of the country, the interests, and above all the
_cause_ of the union required heavy sacrifices, they would endure them.
But whilst claiming no immunity from error, I feel the most sincere,
the deepest conviction, that the tariff, so far from having proved
injurious to the peculiar interests of this section of country, has
been eminently beneficial. I ask leave to put two questions to those
interested in your great staple. I would take the common operations of
_sale_ and of _purchase_; has the operation of the tariff lowered the
price of what you sell? The price of every article must be regulated
mainly by the demand; has, then, the consumption of cotton diminished
since the tariff of 1824, or 1828? No, it has increased, greatly
increased; and why? Because the protection extended by this policy,
has created a _new customer_ in the American manufacturer, who takes
two hundred thousand bales, without having lessened the demand for the
European market.
British merchants have found new markets for their cotton fabrics,
and the competition, thus created, while it has reduced the price of
the manufactured article, has increased the consumption of the raw
material. Again, has the tariff increased the price of what you buy?
Take the article of domestic cottons, for example; has not the American
manufacturer, since the adoption of this system, afforded you a better
article and at less price than before? Take a familiar instance, one
in which having some personal interest, I ought to be acquainted with;
take the article manufactured in my own state, for the covering of your
cotton bales; take any period, say six years before and six years since
the tariff of 1824; has the average price of cotton bagging increased
or diminished, in that period? I think I can appeal confidently to
those around me, for the reply. We afford you a better article than the
European, and at a greatly reduced price. But, I am permitting myself
to be carried away by the subject; I will obtrude no longer on the
indulgence of this generous people. I feel my inability to express my
profound and heartfelt gratitude, for the too flattering reception you
have given me, and for the sentiments you have been pleased to honor me
with, an humble individual in private life. I ask permission to offer
a sentiment.
‘The health and prosperity of the people of the state of
Mississippi.’