Page:Life of Henry Clay (Schurz; v. 2).djvu/14

4 The legislature of South Carolina was convened by the governor to meet on October 22, for the purpose of calling a convention “to consider the character and extent of the usurpations of the general government.” The convention met on November 19, and adopted without delay an “ordinance” declaring that the tariff act of 1828, and the amendments thereto passed in 1832, were null and void; that it should be held unlawful to enforce the payment of duties thereunder within the State of South Carolina; that it should be the duty of the legislature to make laws giving effect to the ordinance; that all officers of the state should take an oath to obey and execute the ordinance and the laws made to enforce it; that no appeal from a state court to the federal Supreme Court should be allowed in any case arising under any law made in pursuance of the ordinance; and that, if the general government should attempt to use force to maintain the authority of the federal law, the State of South Carolina would secede from the Union, — the ordinance to go into full effect on February 1, 1833. The legislature, which met again on November 19, passed the “appropriate” laws. But these enactments were not very fierce; as Webster said, they “limped far behind the ordinance.” Some preparation, although little, was made for a conflict of arms.

There was an anti-nullification movement in South Carolina which caused some demonstrations against these proceedings. But the great families