Page:Life of Henry Clay (Schurz; v. 2).djvu/369

Rh not go into operation east of the Rio Grande. As this was virtually delivering over New Mexico to Texas, the whole provision concerning New Mexico was struck out by the aid of friends of the compromise; and when on July 31 the bill was passed, there was nothing left in the “Omnibus” but the establishment of a territorial government for Utah. All the rest had been amended out of it. The compromise seemed to be lost.

The next day Clay appeared in the Senate once more to avow his devotion to the Union, and to defy its enemies; for he feared that, the compromise having failed, it might now be impossible to save it without the employment of force. “I stand here in my place,” he said, “meaning to be unawed by any threats, whether they come from individuals or from states. I should deplore, as much as any man living or dead, that arms should be raised against the authority of the Union, either by individuals or by states. But if, after all that has occurred, any one state, or the people of any state, choose to place themselves in military array against the government of the Union, I am for trying the strength of the government.” The galleries broke out in applause, which was checked by the presiding officer, and Clay proceeded: —

“Nor am I to be alarmed or dissuaded from any such course by intimations of the spilling of blood. If blood is to be spilt, by whose fault is it to be spilt? Upon the supposition I maintain, it will be the fault of those who raise the standard of disunion and endeavor