Never  was  Clay's  devotion  to  the  Union  displayed  in  such  thrilling  and
pathetic  forms  as  in  the  course  of  this  long  debate.  On  one  occasion  allu-
sion was.  made  to  a  South  Carolina  hot-head,  who  had  publicly

in  r     i-          •  «Ti          /-I  i     Clay's  Tribute

proposed  to  raise  the  flag  of  disunion.     When  Clay  retorted      to  the  Union
by  saying,  that,    if    Mr.    Rhett    had    really    meant    that    pro-
position, and  should  follow  it  up    by  corresponding  acts,  he   would   be  a
traitor,  and  added,  "and   I   hope  he  will  meet  a  traitor's  fate,"  thunders  of
applause  broke  from  the  crowded  galleries.     When  the  chairman  succeeded


404  THE  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  UNION

in  restoring  silence,  Mr.  Clay  made  that  celebrated  declaration  which  was  so
frequently  quoted  in  1861  :  "  If  Kentucky  to-morrow  shall  unfurl  the  banner
of  resistance  unjustly,  I  will  never  fight  under  that  banner.  I  owe  para-
mount allegiance  to  the  whole  Union,  a  subordinate  one  to  my  own
state."  Again  :  "  The  senator  speaks  of  Virginia  being  my  country.  This
Union,  sir,  is  my  country  ;  the  thirty  states  are  my  country  ;  Kentucky  is  my
country,  and  Virginia,  no  more  than  any  state  in  the  Union."  And  yet
again:  "There  are  those  who  think  that  the  Union  must  be  preserved  by
an  exclusive  reliance  upon  love  and  reason.  That  is  not  my  opinion.  I
have  some  confidence  in  this  instrumentality ;  but,  depend  upon  it,  no
human  government  can  exist  without  the  power  of  applying  force,  and  the
actual  application  of  it  in  extreme  cases."

The  compromise  offered  by  Clay  became  known  as  the  "Omnibus  Bill,"
from  the  various  measures  it  covered.  It  embraced  the  following  provi-
sions :  i.  California  should  be  admitted  as  a  free  state.  2.  New  Mexico
and  Utah  should  be  formed  into  territories,  and  the  question  of  the  admis-
sion of  slavery  be  left  for  their  people  to  decide.  3.  Texas  should  give  up

part  of  the  territory  it  claimed,  and  be  paid  $10,000,000  as
g.^"11  a  recompense.     4.   The    slave-trade    should   be  prohibited  in

the  District  of  Columbia.  5.  A  stringent  law  for  the  return
of  fugitive  slaves  to  their  masters  should  be  enacted.
