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elected for the ensuing term, commencing on the 4th of March, 1805, and ending 4th of March, 1811.

On January 2d, 1811, I was re-elected for the next term, commencing the 4th of March, 1811, and ending the 4th of March, 1817.

On the 23d November, 1815, I resigned the Senatorial office.

In 1816, I was elected by the county of Amelia to the General Assembly, whilst at home in a sick bed; and believed to be at the point of death.

And, in 1826, I was again brought forth as a candidate by the people of the county of Amelia, and elected to the House of Delegates. I have every reason to believe, that my standing in the Senate, and in the public estimation generally, was as good on the 4th of March, 1815, as well as on the 23d November following, as it ever had been, at any period of my public service; and that I resigned, not on account of any unpleasant occurrences of a public character; as my letter of resignation will unquestionably prove. As an evidence of my standing in the Senate, in the session of 1814-1815, it will be necessary, only to state; that I was elected, I believe unanimously, if not, certainly nearly so, chairman of the War Committee; and left the Senate in that character, having the year before withdrawn from that station, in consequence of disapproving of the measures proposed for conducting the war.

Suggestions have often been repeated in the public prints; that I had been driven from my office in consequence of my extreme unpopularity, arising from a difference of opinion, between the General Assembly and myself, upon the true character of the obligation imposed upon the Senator, to obey instructions given by the Legislature? when that difference of opinion occurred in 1811; and in 1812, I vindicated my conduct upon that occasion; and put it on grounds, which, I thought, ought to have been satisfactory to all.

Hence it appears, that I had continued in office four years after giving the offence, and three years after my vindication, and had two years to serve, before the expiration of the term; of course, the resignation could not have been impelled by any consideration in relation to the right of instructions. If my desire of office, had been inordinately great, I might have served two years and then yielded to the supposed unpopularity of the instruction question. But notwithstanding the frequency of the repetition, in the public prints, that I had denied the right of the people to instruct their representatives; and of the state Legislature to instruct the Senators chosen by them respectively; I never did deny the right of either; and as it regards the right of the people to instruct their representatives, I was always a firm advocate of that right. Nor did I ever deny the right of the state Legislature, to instruct the Senators in the Congress of the United States, chosen by them respectively; but I did deny, that such constructions were absolutely mandatory upon the instructed Senator, and stripped him of all discretion in the exercise of his right to vote, granted to him by the express words of the constitution. The opinions, I then expressed, are in the following words, extracted from my speech printed at that time.

"The influence, or the true obligation of instructions, therefore, arises from the expression of opinion by the state legislatures; and the very high respect which is at all times due from the Senator to the expression of such opinion by the legislature of the state he represents a respect which I feel so strongly, that I never would depart from an opinion thus expressed, unless in a clear and indisputable case; but the point I contend for is, that this opinion is not injunctive, compulsory or mandatory. That it is not in the nature of a command, but addressed to the discretion of the Senator instructed; taking into due consideration all the circumstances of the case connected with such instructions."

My Dear Sir,

[See Documents at the end.]

WASHINGTON, 19th April, 1824.

Always recollecting with pleasure, our acquaintance in public life, I have ever felt an unaffected interest in whatever concerns you, and particularly in respect to your health, which I had learnt was not good. I am, therefore, really happy in being authorized to infer, from certain ingenious and learned Essays with which you have enlightened the public, through the respectable medium of the Enquirer, that the state of your health, if not entirely re-established, is much improved; and that the unfortunate disputes and prosecutions in which, according to public rumor, you have been so long engaged with your Miller or Overseer, allow you sufficient leisure, once more to dedicate, to the public service, those fine talents, which I have so often had occasion to admire. I hope that you will be able to command from those unprofitable occupations, sufficient time to peruse a speech (of which I have the honor to transmit you a copy herewith) which I felt it to be my duty to deliver in the House of Representatives. It is sent to you for the sole purpose of exhibiting my real opinions, on the interesting subject of which it treats, and under the conviction, that it will be considered by you with, at least, the same candor and liberality with which you have, in the Essays above mentioned, discussed the public acts and public conduct of those who had the honor to concur and co-operate with you, in important measures, adopted in a most eventful crisis of our common country. Wishing you, sincerely, an entire restoration of your health and much happiness,

I am, faithfully,

Your obedient servant,

H. CLAY.

WILLIAM B. GILES, Esq.

WIGWAM, February 19th, 1826.

Mr. Henry Clay.

SIR,This note will be presented to you by my son, Mr. Thomas T. Giles, accompanied with a letter addressed by you, to myself, on the 19th day of April, 1824.-Your letter would have received some attention, immediately after its receipt; but I was rendered

unable to attend to its contents, at that time, by a severe illness, which commenced the day after its receipt, and continued for some months. During that time, several rumors reached me, stating, that the letter was merely intended as sarcastic, and that you had thought yourself at liberty to show it to a number of your friends, for your joint amusement. This letter, you also thought yourself at liberty, to forward to me, without apprising me of the use you had previously made of it. Since that time, I have received the positive assurance of a gentleman, whose name it is not necessary to mention, but in whose information, I have full confidence; that you did make such use of the letter, as is above stated. You are now requested to state explicitly in writing, whether or not you did show this letter to your friends, before you forwarded it to me; and the object you had in doing so? and whether, or not, you had written it as a mere sarcasm? I hope, sir, you will see the propriety of complying promptly with this request.

Your obd't servant,

WM. B. GILES.

I was requested, by Mr. Thomas T. Giles, to be present at an interview, between Mr. Henry Clay, and himself to day, at the house of Mr. Clay, who had been previously apprised by myself of the purpose, for which the interview had been invited. Mr. Giles presented to Mr. Clay two letters, the one the original, as I understood, of a letter addressed some time heretofore, by Mr. Clay, to Mr. W. B. Giles: the other a reply to that letter, or containing an enquiry, founded on its contents. Mr. Clay received, and perused the two letters, and then informed Mr. Giles, that in consequence of not recognizing him as an organ, free from objection, from his relation to Mr. W. B. Giles, for a communication, of the character, of that imported by the second letter, he should abstain from giving a reply to it, through him; but was prepared to give such reply, as he deemed the case required, whenever the objection derived from the present mode of communication should be removed. Mr. Clay then returned to Mr. Giles, the letter which appeared to have been formerly addressed by Mr. Clay to Mr. W. B. Giles, and informed Mr. T. T. Giles, it was at his option, to retain, or leave the letter now presented to himself: the latter of these alternatives, was adopted by Mr. Giles, and the interview terminated.

March 4th, 1826,

WM. S. ARCHER.

MR. CLAY'S SPEECH,

IN SUPPORT OF

AN AMERICAN SYSTEM

FOR THE PROTECTION OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY.

DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

On the 30th and 31st of March, 1824.

THE gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Barbour) has embraced the occasion produced by the proposition of the gentleman from Tennessee, to strike out the minimum price, in the bill, on cotton fabrics, to express his sentiments at large on the policy of the pending measure; and it is scarcely necessary for me to say that he has evinced his usual good temper, ability, and decorum. The parts of the bill are so intermingled and interwoven together, that there can be no doubt of the fitness of this occasion to exhibit its merits or its defects. intention, with the permission of the Committee, to avail myself also of this opportunity, to present to its consideration those general views, as they appear to me, of the true policy of this country, which imperiously demand the passage of this bill. I am deeply sensible, Mr. Chairman, of the high responsibility of my present situation. But that responsibility inspires me with no other apprehension than that I shall be unable to fulfil my duty; with no other solicitude than that I may, at least, in some small degree, contribute to recall my country from the pursuit of a fatal policy, which appears to me inevitably to lead to its impoverishment and ruin. I do feel most awfully this responsibility. And, if it were allowable for us at the present day to imitate ancient examples, I would invoke the aid of the MOST HIGH. I would anxiously and fervently implore His Divine assistance; that He would be graciously pleased to shower on my country His richest blessings; and that He would sustain, on this interesting occasion, the humble individual who stands before Him, and lend him the power, moral and physical, to perform the solemn duties which now belong to his public station.

Two classes of politicians divide the people of the United States. According to the system of one, the produce of foreign industry should be subjected to no other impost than such as may be necessary to provide a public revenue; and the produce of American industry should be left to sustain itself, if it can, with no other than that incidental protection, in its competition, at home as well as abroad, with rival foreign articles. According to the system of the other class, whilst they agree that the imposts should be mainly, and may, under any modification, be safely relied on as a fit and convenient source of public revenue, they would so adjust and arrange the duties on foreign

fabrics as to afford a gradual but adequate protection to American industry, and lessen our dependence on foreign nations, by securing a certain and ultimately a cheaper and better supply of our own wants from our own abundant resources. Both classes are equally sincere in their respective opinions, equally honest, equally patriotic, and desirous of advancing the prosperity of the country. In the discussion and consideration of these opposite opinions, for the purpose of ascertaining which has the support of truth and reason, we should, therefore, exercise every indulgence, and the greatest spirit of mutual moderation and forbearance. And in our deliberations, on this great question, we should look fearlessly and truly at the actual condition of the country, retrace the causes which have brought us into it, and snatch, if possible, a view of the future. We should, above all, consult experiencethe experience of other nations, as well as our own, as our truest and most unerring guide.

In casting our eyes around us, the most prominent circumstance which fixes our attention, and challenges our deepest regret, is the general distress which pervades the whole country. It is forced upon us by numerous facts of the most incontestable character. It is indicated by the diminished exports of native produce; by the depressed and reduced state of our foreign navigation; by our diminished commerce; by successive unthreshed crops of grain, perishing in our barns and barn yards for the want of a market; by the alarming di-. minution of the circulating medium; by the numerous bankruptcies, not limited to the trading classes, but extending to all orders of society; by an universal complaint of the want of employment, and a consequent reduction of the wages of labour; by the ravenous pursuit after public situations, not for the sake of their honours and the performance of their public duties, but as a means of private subsistence; by the reluctant resort to the perilous use of paper money; by the intervention of legislation in the delicate relation between debtor and creditor; and, above all, by the low and depressed state of the value of almost every description of the whole mass of the property of the nation, which has, on an average, sunk not less than about 50 per cent. within a few years. This distress pervades every part of the Union, every class of society; all feel it, though it, may be felt, at different places, in different degrees. It is like the atmosphere which surrounds us-all must inhale it, and none can escape it. In some places it has burst upon our people, without a single mitigating circumstance to temper its severity. In others, more fortunate, slight alleviations have been experienced in the expenditure of the public revenue, and in other favouring causes. A few years ago, the planting interest consoled itself with its happy exemption; but it has now reached this interest also, which experiences, though with less severity, the general suffering. It is most painful to me to attempt to sketch or to dwell on the gloom of this picture. But I have exaggerated nothing. Perfect fidelity to the original would have authorised me to have thrown on deeper and darker hues. And it is the duty of the statesman, no less than that of the physician, to survey with a penetrating, steady, and undismayed eye, the actual condition of the subject on which he would operate; to probe to the bottom the diseases of the body politic, if he

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