VISIT TO HIS BIRTHPLACE.

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as they are called in that part of Virginia, abound, had grown up into tall forest-trees. Orchards had disappeared, and others been planted in their places. The graves of his father, grandfather and grandmother, had been levelled and obliterated by the plough, and the only guide to the spot where they reposed, was an old stump of a pear-tree, whose position he recollected. Peace to their spirits! It matters little to them whether the ploughshare cut the turf above their poor mortal dust, or a stately monument mark the place of its interment.

The dwelling-house alone remained without any essential change; and tradition had carefully preserved a recollection of the room in which Mr. Clay was born. He was anxious to find a hickory-tree, remarkable for the excellence of its fruit, which stood near by the spring that supplied his father's family with water. It no longer stood there-it was gone! Upon inquiry after it of a friend in the neighborhood, who was possessed of a somewhat poetical imagination, he replied, that when General Jackson was elected president, the tree withered; and when he removed the deposites from the Bank of the United States, it fell decayed to the earth. Mr. Clay, of course, laughed heartily at this fanciful account of the fate of his favorite tree.

We turn from these desultory retrospections to the stirring political events which preceded and attended the presidential canvass of 1844.

XXII.

THE TEXAS QUESTION-THE CONTEST OF 1844.

MR. CLAY'S sojourn in Washington, during the spring of 1844, was one of respite from the fatigues of travel and public recepLions. On the 1st of May, he was nominated for the presidency by the whig national convention at Baltimore, and on the 13th of the same month, he set out for Ashland, attended only by his son, and arrived at Lexington the evening of Saturday, the 18th, in fine health and spirits. Here he was enthusiastically welcomed by an immense collection of his fellow-citizens. In vain did he attempt to escape from the pageant of a public reception. He was compelled to listen to an address of salutation and compli ment. His reply was candid, good-humored, and to the point. He told the multitude that he was happy to see them-happy to see every one of them-" but there was an excellent old lady in the neighborhood, whom he would rather see than any one else "so, begging them to allow him to return to Ashland, he bade them good-night! This irresistible appeal was received in the spirit in which it was made; and amid the blaze of torches, and the cheers of the people, he was escorted to his home.

Events of interest to the country and to himself, had transpired during the interval of his absence. The question of the annexation of Texas, that fertile source of many woes, had come up; and he had written a most statesmanlike letter on the subject. Discussions in regard to him had been started in Congress, with the view of affecting his political prospects; and a whig convention, assembled at Baltimore, had, on the 1st of May, 1844, nominated Henry Clay for president of the United States, and Theodore Frelinghuysen for vice-president.

Mr. Clay's letter on the Texas question, was written while he was partaking the hospitalities of Governor Morehead, at Raleigh, the 17th of April. In this letter, he states the fact that, during his sojourn in New Orleans, he had been greatly surprised by information received from Texas, that in the course of the autumn of 1843, a voluntary overture had proceeded from the executive

ANNEXATION OF TEXAS.

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of the United States to the authorities of Texas, to conclude a treaty of annexation. To the astonishment of the whole nation, we were now informed that a treaty of annexation had been actually concluded, and was to be submitted to the senate for its consideration. If, without the loss of national character, without the hazard of foreign war, with the general concurrence of the nation, without any danger to the integrity of the Union, and without an unreasonable price, the question of annexation were presented, it would appear in quite a different light. Mr. Claythen enters upon a review of our past negotiations in regard to the territory of Texas, and of the relations of Texas toward Mexico. And the conclusion at which he arrives is, that if the government of the United States were to acquire Texas, it would acquire along with it all the incumbrances which Texas is under, and among them the actual or suspended war between Mexico and Texas.

And here the language of Mr. Clay has the emphasis of prophecy: "Of that consequence," he says, "there can not be a

doubt. Annexation and war with Mexico are identical." In conclusion, he remarks: "I consider the annexation of Texas, at this time, without the assent of Mexico, as a measure compromising the national character, involving us certainly in war with Mexico, probably with other foreign powers, dangerous to the integrity of the Union, inexpedient in the present financial condition of the country, and not called for by any general expression of public opinion." In a subsequent letter, dated Ashland, July 27, 1844, and addressed to two gentlemen of Alabama, Mr. Clay says, unhesitatingly, that, far from having any personal objection to the annexation of Texas, he should be glad to see it, without dishonor; but, at the same time, he expresses the conviction that annexation at that time, and under existing circumstances, would compromit the honor of the country; involve us in a war, in which the sympathies of all Christendom would be against us; and endanger the integrity of the Union. National dishonor, foreign war, and distraction and division at home, were too great sacrifices to make for the acquisition of Texas. He remarks in this letter: "I do not think that the subject of slavery ought to affect the question one way or the other. Whether Texas ne

independent, or incorporated in the United States, I do not be lieve it will prolong or shorten the duration of that institution. It is destined to become extinct at some distant day, in my opinion, by the operation of the inevitable laws of population."

As the period for the nomination of presidential candidates approached, it became more and more apparent that the Texas question was destined to override all others in the coming contest. The bank, the tariff, and all subordinate matters, were merged in the one great issue of the immediate annexation of Texas. Among the whigs there was a general acquiescence in the views of Mr. Clay on the subject. Some persons, who entertained extreme opinions as to the feasibility of the immediate abolition of slavery, thought him too tolerant; and others, whose interests inclined them a different way, saw, in his opposition to annexation, hostility to the extension of an institution which, it was well-known, was always regarded as an evil. But the great body of the whigs of the Union responded heartily to his sentiments, and recognised the wisdom of his policy and the patriotism of his motives.

Soon after the withdrawal of Mr. Webster from the cabinet, it began to be rumored that our government had made overtures inviting application from the authorities of Texas for its annexation to the United States. These overtures, it was said, were at first coolly received by President Houston; but "being again approached, not to say importuned, by the executive of the United States, he coyly assented to listen to proposals." In the meantime, sedulous efforts were made to bring about that state of public opinion in this country that should favor the movements of the friends of annexation. Insidious appeals were multiplied throughout nearly all the democratic journals, intended to arouse the jealousy of our people in regard to the designs of foreign powers. It was boldly asserted that England was intriguing with a view of establishing a commercial ascendency over Texas, and that there was great danger that the young republic would yield to the allurements which were held out. The slaveholding states were called upon to protect themselves against the danger of so formidable a rival as Texas would be under the protection of Great Britain. And then there was the pet phrase,

TEXAN DIPLOMACY.

to which, we believe, Mr. Bancroft first gave currency, of " tending the area of freedom!"

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It now appears, from the confessions of President Houston and his secretary of state, Mr. Anson Jones, that our government was not a match for that of Texas in diplomacy. Mr. Tyler and his advisers were completely duped by the finesse of Messrs. Houston and Jones. The bugbear of English interference was the most unsubstantial of chimeras, and the arguments and assertions based upon it and used for operating on the minds of the people of the United States, were false and empty. Mr. Anson Jones, in a series of letters recently published in the Galveston Civilian, claims that it was his diplomacy in bringing about the needful state of feeling in this country, which precipitated the annexation movement; that it was the adroitness of Texas policy which accomplished an object that might have been delayed for years. He at the same time denies that there was any intrigue with foreign powers injurious to the interests of the United States, or really adverse to ultimate annexation. He also makes a declaration which throws light upon the effect which the mode of annexation had upon the origin of the war. He is of opinion that the selection by Messrs. Tyler and Calhoun of the house resolutions instead of the senate amendment was extremely injudicious, and he expresses his surprise that that alternative should have been presented to Texas instead of the other and more peaceful mode presented in the proposition for negotiation. He says that this decision of the government of the United States produced surprise in that of Texas, from the belief that war would immediately follow; whereas, by the senate's mode of proceeding, annexation could have been effected without war: but he says that Texas had no option but to accept the mode selected by President Tyler. The joint resolution of the house provided for the admission of Texas into the Union on certain conditions. The amendment of the senate, which Mr. Tyler chose to set aside, provided for missions and negotiations, for the arrangement of terms of admission and cession.

The appeals and misrepresentations of the pro-annexation party undoubtedly had a great effect upon that large portion of the people who had neither leisure nor opportunity to look be