beautiful leaves, but needing great care and culture. There was much foreign rubbish to be removed which retarded its growth. A glance at its situation determined his course. Nothing within the compass of his ability necessary to hasten on its progress towards maturity, was wanting. Morning, noon and night found him pouring the dew of his diligence upon it in copious effusions. Under its genial influences the trunk shot upward stately and strong, and the wide-spreading branches soon bent beneath large clusters of delicious fruit. The taste of that fruit caused the heart of the nation to bound with gladness, and her good and great men to desire that the inhabitants of the _whole world_ might partake of it. Not a few of them gave utterance to that desire in words that burned with benevolence, but none spoke louder or with more effect than Mr. Clay. His voice infused courage into the hearts of those who were toiling to plant a similar tree on the fertile pampas of South America. Its thunder-tones reverberated among the lofty heights of the Andes, and rang through the halls of the incas. The hunter heard them, and departed for the battle-field to seek a nobler quarry. The gauchios left his lasso on the plain and buckled on his armor. From rank to rank of their embattled hosts they pealed, and nerved their arms to deal the liberating blows. The first public expression of Mr. Clay’s feelings in relation to South American independence, was made in connection with a proposition to reduce the direct taxes of the United States, which he thought too high for a state of peace. The aspect of our foreign relations at that time was peculiarly amicable, although, from a report that the Spanish minister had made an informal demand for a portion of Florida, seemed to indicate that a rupture with Spain was by no means improbable, and he expressed himself in favor of husbanding our means as much as practicable, in anticipation of such an event. At the same time, he hinted the propriety of assisting her colonial dependents in their endeavors to establish a free government. His remarks caused Mr. Randolph to express his sentiments concerning the same subject, which among other things charged Mr. Clay with entertaining a desire for conquest, indeed as being influenced by unworthy motives. He said he was not ‘going a tilting for the liberties of South America.’ She came not to our aid; let us mind our own business, and not tax our people for the liberties of the people of Spanish America. He declared that her inhabitants were incapable of appreciating or enjoying liberty. He thought Mr. Clay had imbibed the war-spirit of Europe. ‘The honorable gentleman has been sent on a late occasion to Europe; he had been near the field of Waterloo, and he was apprehensive had snuffed the carnage and caught the infection.’ He intimated that Mr. Clay advocated an increase of the army for the purpose of marching them to the scene of action.